Approach
If you've decided to use C# for Students, you have probably also decided to:
-
use GUI's from the start (more fun and more current than command line)
-
use graphics fairly extensively (more fun, more dynamic than text only)
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use objects early on
-
delay writing objects a little (until after the basics have been covered)
Information on the Libraries
When you use a modern language such as C#, you clearly need to spend time learning
the language but equally you have to learn about the libraries - because most of
the functionality is provided by the libraries. Having access to good clear
information about the libraries can be a problem, we feel. There are the following sources:
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appendix A of the book, provided for just this purpose
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the help system
We also find that students sometimes get confused about what is a C# keyword and what
is a library method. To assist, appendix B lists all the keywords. Also at the
end of each chapter the newly-introduced keywords are listed.
Novices?
The book is aimed at novices, so it spends quite some time on basic control structures
and on using methods. For more experienced students, you could romp through the early
material quite quickly, while the students would probably enjoy creating GUI's and the
associated event handling.
You might well be used to fitting course within a semester structure. Here in England
a semester lasts about 12 to 15 weeks, or roughly half the academic year. We think
that there's too much in the book for a single semester of 1 lecture per week.
There are a lot of ideas that would need to be understood in a short elapsed time.
So we tend to think that there is a course on basic topics (see below),
then a course on advanced topics (see below). It can be difficult to distinguish
between what topics are basic and which are advanced. The partitioning we have
used is simply our view, and we recognize that there are other views.
Practical work
We believe that practical work is vital in learning programming. To be realistic,
there usually isn't enough time for students to attempt more than 2 or 3 exercises
each week from the end-of-chapter exercises. We suggest that you choose the ones that
seem most fun.
Arrays or not?
Covering arrays has always been part of a course in programming. For this purpose we have
provided chapters on one-dimensional arrays and on two-dimensional arrays.
But there is an alternative. We feel that arrays are becoming less important, as other
data structures - such as lists, stacks, queues - become part of the standard armoury
of modern programming languages. We have successfully introduced students to the idea
of a list (and data structures in general) using the C# list box component (chapter 13),
instead of using arrays. We feel that this has great appeal to the students because it
is a data structure that is immediately visible.
On the other hand, you could do both arrays and list boxes.
Calculations
Chapter 12 explains how to do non-trivial calculations in C#.
If your students are information system students or more business oriented, the week could be
spent on doing financial calculations (chapter 12).
Alternatively, if your students are mathematical, scientific or engineering, the week could be
spent on numerical calculations (see also chapter 12).
A Course
Reminder: aimed at students new to programming.
Uses one chapter each week. Runs over 2 semesters
We feel that this is a fairly demanding schedule. Some topics could be easily
omitted if time is short. Candidates include data structures, arrays and strings.
Testing, debugging and program style could be collapsed to a smaller time scale.
First Semester
| week | topic | chapter |
|---|
| 1 | Introduction to C# | 1 |
| 2 | Using the C# IDE | 2 |
| 3 | Introductory graphics | 3 |
| 4 | Variables and Calculations | 4 |
| 5 | Methods and parameters - part 1 | 5 |
| 6 | Methods and Parameters - part 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Using Objects | 6 |
| 8 |
Decisions - if, etc | 7 |
| 9 | Repetition - for, while, etc | 8 |
| 10 | Debugging | 9 |
| 11 | Writing Classes | 10 |
| 12 | Calculations | 12 |
| 13 | Data Structures - list boxes | 13 |
Second Semester
A second semester course aimed at students who have completed the
novice course in semester 1.
Some of these ideas - like polymorphism - are challenging, we think.
So students need some time to understand them.
| week | topic | chapter |
|---|
| 1 | inheritance | 11 |
| 2 | One dimensional arrays | 14 |
| 3 | Two dimensional arrays | 15 |
| 4 | Strings | 16 |
| 5 | exceptions | 17 |
| 6 | files | 18 |
| 7 | console programs | 19 |
| 8 | OO design | 20 |
| 9 | Program style | 21 |
| 10 | Testing | 22 |
| 11 | Interfaces | 23 |
| 12 | Polymorphism | 24 |
Best wishes for successful and enjoyable teaching.
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