Computer science is more than just typing in a few keywords on the computer, and more than just 1’s and 0’s. It’s a language, just like Spanish or Italian. And if you are saying something incorrectly, the computer will let you know with a bright red ERROR. While AP Computer Science Principles is a class focused on more of the content rather than precision, I try to stress how important it is to be clear and precise, tying in the definitions of what we learned to show what they were doing in spoken word, like ‘iteration.’ In a card algorithm activity, if the girls said a card would move left without any indication of when to stop, then I would keep moving it left. After clarifying, I had many “if this card is greater than this one, move right one,” but then what happens if the card is less than the other? Error.
Similarly, when I was trying to show the freshmen how a computer could pick up a bottle across the room, they would tell me to walk. I would keep walking until I hit a wall, but assured them I would be moving on infinitely. Slowly but surely they would stop telling me to lower my arm or turn around- because I would keep going. “Turn around” would become “turn 90 degrees to the left,” and “lower your arm” would be “lower your right arm to a 45 degree angle.” They learned ambiguity was not enough to get something done. Most of their orders resulted in infinite loops, or they would assume I knew what a bottle was. I assure you, until you specify to a computer what an object is, it will refuse to work until then.
They are programmed in their brains to draw conclusions – computers do not have that capability. They can roll their eyes at me when I tell them that I don’t know what to do if this is not true, because I definitely roll my eyes at my computer when Python slaps an error in my way. I tell them time and time again that computers are stupid, and can only do what they are told. If they are not told correctly, they will do it incorrectly, or not at all. Once we get into the actual programming portion of the class (next week YAY!), they will hopefully appreciate my pickiness a bit more.
if only Spongebob defined “the lid”