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TechEd 2007 SEA: How to Balance Teaching Academic Concepts and Using High Level .NET Controls

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[4:09PM]

This next session, I have to be particularly proud of since the session is done by Oh Chin Lock, Section Head and Lecturer in Temasek Polytechnic.  The session will be about balancing teaching real-world skills versus fundamentals.

Chin Lock is now talking about an article in eWeek that presents a study that most graduates are entering the software development industry with little practical knowledge (there is a skills gap).  The article can be found here: https://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2178319,00.asp.  There is always a balancing act - students must be able to hit the orad running (teach the how to) and also able to learn on their own (fundamentals are important).  However, faculty are faced with available curriculum time and available resources.  It's definitely not easy to teach students all they need (including soft skills) in the amount of time most institutions have.

Chin Lock is now talking about the Diploma in IT course in Temasek Polytechnic.  The curriculum is quite specialized.  Data Structures and Algoirthms is taught in C#.  Client-Server Application Development and Web Application Technology are 2 additionally courses taught in .NET.  In students' 3rd year, students take E-Commerce Security and Architecture, Web Services Applications Development, and Major Project (all of which are done in .NET).  Finally, students move on to their industry attachment for a whole semester.

Chin Lock is now talking about how TP does the "balancing act" - at the curriculum level (sequencing and integration of subjects), subject level (how-tos and fundamentals), and at the individual level (problem-based learning, team skills, and communication skills).  He's getting quite technical now on the various components of the curriculum.  He's also discussing how various subjects are tightly integrated with one another such that knowledge in one course can be used by students in further or concurrent courses.

[4:29PM]

Chin Lock is now describing what Bigg's SOLO Taxomomy is - achieve extended abstract level.  How do you measure this (fundamental concepts and practical knowledge)?  Examples include TP SecondLife (students had to learn Linden Script, PHP, MySQL, etc.), Imagine Cup (2nd prize in IC '07 in Singapore - students had to learn AJAX, Live ID integration, Virtual Earth SDK and Live Messenger SDK), Physiotherapy Game (students had to learn gaming concepts, web cam integration, graphics programming, and motion and collision detection), i-Shot (students invented the concept themselves and had to learn DirectX, Tablet PC SDK, GSM Modem, and Web Cam integration).  Chin Lock is now going to demo TP's area in Second Life.  He's flying around in Second Life showing a presentation area  as well as resource areas (with information on Data Structures and Algorithms).  Their students developed this pretty cool looking area (amazing students developed this and came up with the concept).

In conclusion, TP is still learning along the way, but always looking for integration opportunities to achieve "balance".

TP: https://www-it.tp.edu.sg/

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