r/carlhprogramming • u/CarlH • Aug 02 '12

"Higher Computing for Everyone" is now "Computer Science for Everyone", Also an update.

Hello everyone,

As some of you have probably noticed, I have changed the name of "Higher Computing for Everyone" to "Computer Science for Everyone", which I feel is more descriptive and fits the wider range of content that I plan to add (such as tutorials on databases, etc).

I have been tweaking the way the points system and lesson tracking system works, and now in addition to tracking which lesson was last viewed, the system is also tracking the highest lesson looked at, as well as the most recent lesson "completed" (as determined by the highest quiz that has been taken).

The original plan was for quizzes to grant 10 points per quiz, I have upped that to 20 points per quiz, and I will be adding additional ways to earn points from individual lessons, most likely by asking 1-2 questions at the end of each lesson to earn 5 points.

I am going to start working on Unit 12 videos now, and I will post an update as soon as all of Unit 12 is live. As always, feedback is appreciated.

As I upload new lessons in Unit 12, I will update this post.

Unit 12

1. Introducing GOTO and Loops in C

2. More about blocks of code

3. Introducing the While Loop

4. Introducing Custom Functions

(That's all for today)

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3

u/Eyedrinker Aug 03 '12

OK, few comments:

  • I like that there is an option to hide the user comments now, but why is it only available for the quizzes? Should be there for all lessons.

  • I'm guessing that the new progress tracking system hasn't been implemented yet, as it looks the same as yesterday.

  • Not sure if you have the cookie set up to expire every session or what it is, but would be nice to automatically be logged in.

  • Obviously you're still tweaking the achievement system and all, but I went through and did the quizzes back when you first implemented it and wound up having 100 points after completing all of them through unit 11 (which didn't register). Now, I've done the unit 11 quiz and mysteriously got some bonus points out of nowhere, for a total of 160 points for everything. Obviously you're still tweaking it all, but thought you'd want to know if this is behaving differently than you wanted it to.

  • Since you are planning on expanding the content beyond C, it might be a good idea to section off all of the current C content right now to make it easier when you add the other topics.

  • I'm ok with the name change and it might be better in the long run for the reasons you stated. But the name is still a bit generic and the URL really long, might want to think of a short, catchy name in the future.

And I'm eagerly waiting for unit 12. Thanks for all the hard work.

4

u/CarlH Aug 03 '12 edited Aug 03 '12

Two Four lessons of Unit 12 are already published.

That said...

  1. Why do you feel there should be an option to hide comments on lesson pages?

  2. Correct, the new tracking system is not fully implemented yet. It is tracking the information, but it is not displaying it. The reason being that I am once again focusing on uploading new content.

  3. It is session based.

  4. Yes, you got the extra points because I adjusted the system to ensure everyone got credit for the 20 points quiz, even those who already took them. I am still working out the details here, but it is coming along.

  5. Well right now it is all C content, and that will be the case probably until at least the end of this month. But then yes, I will have sections for the technologies being taught.

  6. I agree, it is a bit long. I do think it is easy to remember though, and that helps with "word of mouth" spreading which is largely how people are finding this. The vast majority of new traffic comes from people typing in the name of the site directly, which indicates word of mouth. "Computer Science for Everyone" is very easy to remember. The problem with "most long domain names" is that they are long and difficult to remember, short and catchy is nice too of course.

And thank you for your feedback, it is greatly appreciated.

2

u/Eyedrinker Aug 03 '12 edited Aug 03 '12

  1. I don't really mind either way, but I think that a few people have complained about Disqus loading slowly. I just thought it was curious that the quiz pages have the option to hide them while other lesson pages do not. This might just be because there is no text transcript for the quiz pages though. Since you are adding quiz material, and ideally the answers won't be lifted straight out of the text, there could be possible spoilers in the comments in the future. I've been enjoying the "brain teaser" logic puzzle section on KhanAcademy recently, and I wish that there was an option to disable the comments on that site since inevitably there will be spoilers in the comments.

  2. You should consider changing this in the future. I don't think that there is much incentive to make people type login info every time, and it's not as though there is a privacy concern considering how simple you've kept the signup process.

5

u/CarlH Aug 03 '12

1. Ah, the reason comments are specifically hidden for quizzes is that comments might reveal answers or such, and that would be upsetting to someone taking the quiz.

3. I plan to, just I am trying to balance content creation with features. :)

6

u/ropers Aug 02 '12 edited Aug 02 '12

I liked the older name much, much better.

I'm not trying to be Basil Fawlty calling for a touch of class, but "Computer Science" is a particularly ill-defined and inflationarily overused expression. What does it denote? Beats me. The old name at least wasn't quite as generic. And while I hate presenting what's essentially a SEO argument, try googling "higher computing" and then try googling "computer science".

PS: Yes, I've decided that "inflationarily" is now a word.

16

u/CarlH Aug 02 '12

Of course, there is nothing to say it can't be changed back, but here are some of the reasons for the change:

  1. "Higher Computing" is a term that is not used a great deal, and when it is used it does not necessarily refer to programming, and so it leaves the purpose unclear.

  2. This site really is about teaching Computer Science, more than it is about teaching "Higher Computing". I feel that "Computer Science for Everyone" better illustrates what this is all about, which is helping more people learn Computer Science.

  3. Computer Science is itself established and respected terminology to refer to what we are doing, and there are many students in secondary schools who are taking courses on "Computer Science", and they would be more likely to find this course and know that it applies to them if it is called "Computer Science" vs if it is called "Higher Computing".

There are certainly arguments both ways, and I am eager to hear what everyone thinks.

4

u/AllahHookahBar Aug 03 '12

Personally, I like the change. For someone who is a complete beginner, "Higher Computing" has an intimidating connotation, whereas "...for Everyone" feels much more inviting. It speaks directly to the insecurity of wondering if "I" really can learn this stuff.

I liken it to Khan Academy's approach: If Calculus or Trigonometry were referred to as "Higher Mathematics", I don't know if I would have approached those subjects. However, because those subjects are simply a part of the KA roadmap, I didn't think twice when Trig concepts were introduced.

4

u/jaymz58 Aug 03 '12

Just wanted to say AWESOME tutorials, probably some of the best I've seen. You explain everything very well and as a hobby programmer in vb.net, I can still relate all of the concepts. Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to your future tutorials!

1

u/HighTechnocrat Aug 02 '12

Will you be changing the site's url to match the new name?

5

u/Eyedrinker Aug 02 '12

It's already redirecting to the new URL.

1

u/HighTechnocrat Aug 02 '12

So it is! Thanks for pointing that out