[ale] Teach yourself classes

[ChangingLINKS.com]

I would be interested in learning more php, java, perl (in that order).
Drew

On Friday 29 March 2002 03:01, aaron wrote:
> I find this Peer Group Instruction idea very appealing and intiguing.
>
> While there are obvious advantages to learning from experienced
> instructors, there are a lot of people whose life situations (schedules,
> finances, etc.) can make participating in traditional classroom options
> difficult. Not everyone is well suited to the challenges and discipline
> of self teaching, either.
>
> From my own work as a college instructor I know that interaction and
> accountablity among classmates are often vital aids to the learning
> process. If a peer instructed class is comfortably sized (say, 5 to 10
> people) and its participants are committed to the process, I can see how
> the group interchange could substitute for an instuctor fairly well.
> Given a good textbook to work from, "skill" oriented subjects such as
> computer programming would seem especially well suited to the method.
>
> I'd be up for organizing and participating in a Peer Group Instructed
> class on most any of the mainstream programming, CGI and scripting
> languages. Even if the study subject is something I have experience with,
> I'm sure the group dynamics would help me expand and improve on what I
> know.
>
> I would second Charles' suggestion of a meeting place like Innovox Lounge
> as well. If that ends up the location of choice I can also help with
> facility arrangements. There's high speed network access and the meeting
> room is quite private, though participants would probably need to kick in
> a few dollars "rent" to insure availability on a regular basis.
>
> Anyone else up for a casual 10 week PGI course in C? C++? Java? PHP? Perl?
>
>
> aaron
>
> On Friday 22 March 2002 09:00, you wrote:
> > We tried this approach to learning Java at a previous job. The text we
> > used was Bruce Eckel's _Thinking_In_Java_, 2nd edition (Prentice Hall,
> > New Jersey, 2000, ISBN 0-13-027363-5). The class was composed primarily
> > of professional coders with strong backgrounds in C and C++ but limited
> > or no Java experience.
> >
> > In its favor, you're pretty much forced to read the material. Going
> > over it with others can help you get it better, and having to explain
> > it to other folks keeps you honest.
> >
> > Against it, it's difficult to keep a study group going, and the larger
> > the group the harder it gets.  Your understanding of language concepts
> > can vary according to the (random) quality of the person leading the
> > discussion for that chapter. I've also had good luck teaching myself
> > from books, but it often hinged on doing the exercises as well as
> > reading the text. We were on a schedule which made it hard for me to
> > cover both the material and the exercises, which limited its
> > effectiveness for me.
> >
> > If you can figure out a way to do the exercises and spend time on them
> > in the 'teach yourself' classes, this can be effective and k00l. I
> > might-could even be innarested in helping with something like this,
> > perhaps at Innovox? I've just coded my very first production Java
> > program, and my knowledge of the language is still weak in many areas.
> >
> > -- CHS
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Chris Fowler [mailto:cfowler at outpostsentinel.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 7:01 PM
> > To: ale at ale.org
> > Subject: [ale] Teach yourself classes
> >
> >
> > A friend of mine told me that he learned Java at
> > a teach yourself class.  Basically it is a
> > group of people that chose a topic and a book.  Each
> > week they meet and it the responsibility of teaching
> > falls on a different person.  It was a chapter a week.
> > Has any people here thought about doing something like
> > that?
> >
> > I have purchased *many* books on various topics.  I teach myself
> > but I would guess that this method would be even better.  It provides
> > accountability and help.
> >
> >
> > Chris
> >
> > ---
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> >
> >
> > ---
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> ---
> This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
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-- 
Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew
http://www.ChangingLINKS.com

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