Re: LUG: Schedule for the coming semester - ideas - Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:35:58 -0500

Subject : Re: LUG: Schedule for the coming semester - ideas

From : jpgoel@ncsu.[redacted]

Date : Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:35:58 -0500

Thing is, I think we tend to think of E115 as "intro to linux". But from
what I hear, it also aims to serve as a "intro to managing your own
computer." This explains why more E115 sections are laptop-based, and I
think its also a good goal.

I've worked with CSC116 students who didn't take E115 or place out (they
were still in first year college or something, and thus were not required
to take it.)

They were extremely bright, but had no concept of what a "directory" was
or the difference between Windows' "shell" vs "gui". So I agree that E115
can't just be about "linux", because the course is preparing people for
hardcore computing classes. So it also needs to cover the bread and butter
of filesystems and other underpinnings - on both Windows and Linux. It
does us no good to have people who are experts in linux commandline but
can't see the Windows analogies, they are both important technologies.

As of late, the E115 folks seem to have shifted to more of a
Windows-centric approach to teaching the material. This is fine - students
will learn whatever linux they need as they take more courses. But I'm in
favor of bumping up the linux-ness not so it doesn't seem arcane, but
because it will boost students' grades when they enter CSC 116.

Jay

On Sat, January 9, 2010 11:06 am, iyare omoruyi wrote:
> I placed out of E115 back in the summer of '96. It was a summer session
> before being formally accepted as a freshman in the college of
> engineering.
> We were provided an instructor who gave us classes for like 2 weeks
> instruction or so in order to have enough information and place out.
> E115,
> for me, was just to get over the initial shock of linux. That is it. I
> was
> able to navigate to files, create directories...the basic stuff. What was
> lacking was the reason why it should have been taken further;The benefits
> it
> would provide later in life. I think if the college of engineering where
> serious, they would provide something beyond E115. But then again, I
> guess
> they figure "You know where the library is."
>
> Iyare
>
> 10 years of newbiness
>
> On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 9:09 AM, Daniel Underwood
> <daniel.underwood@ncsu.[redacted]>wrote:
>
>> I don't get it. What's wrong with the current material? I kinda like
>> it. Granted, it's simple, and granted, it doesn't represent the state of
>> Linux art. Is the dissatisfaction just due to the fact that the course
>> does a poor job of "selling" Linux?
>> --
>> Daniel Underwood
>> North Carolina State University
>> Graduate Student - Operations Research
>> email: daniel.underwood@ncsu.[redacted]
>> phone: XXX.302.3291
>> web: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~djunderw/ <http://www4.ncsu.edu/%7Edjunderw/>
>>
>>
>

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Re: LUG: Schedule for the coming semester - ideas