I came at software from the electronics upwards, and maybe because of that I sometimes don't see the woods for the trees. If these kids get to handle objects in a more natural way without being concerned about what they are made of they might get a better feel for OOP.
Also, in today's world it's more important to learn how to learn and go for the detail as you need it. The most important thing is to grab their interest and let their motivation kick in. All the same I take your point about the need for basics. Many people here in the UK know how to handle software but are unfamilar with files and folders and so come unstuck. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Sacks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 7:53 PM Subject: Re: [Flashcoders] Intro to OOP using ActionScript > OOP might seem easy to understand to people who understand it, but how > can you expect anyone to think abstractly about concepts they don't even > understand at a concrete level? If this was a class of people who > understood basic programming but had no OOP experience, then I'd say > sure give it a shot, but these are non-programmers. > > There are classes that require abstract thinking by students on subjects > that they have a solid foundation on already, and those classes can be > very challenging for some people. Attempting to explain the benefits of > inheritance to somebody who doesn't even understand the difference > between indexed and associative arrays (or even what they are) is pointless. > > You can't teach chromatic scales to somebody who is just learning to > read sheet music. You can't teach iambic pentameter to somebody who is > just learning how to speak. You can't teach calculus to somebody who is > just learning algebra. You can't teach OOP to somebody who is just > learning what variables and functions are. > > OOP is not a foundation for programming, it's a programming paradigm. > You can't look at different paradigms if you don't know even know what > you're looking at in the first place. It's a topic you don't get into > until you're at least intermediate level, and a topic you don't truly > grasp well until you've been doing it for awhile (i.e. senior level). > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com > To change your subscription options or search the archive: > http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders > > Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software > Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training > http://www.figleaf.com > http://training.figleaf.com > _______________________________________________ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
