JCSE Online
November 2001
I know you may be thinking that you just finished reading an issue of JCSE Online. That's probably because it's been so long since we were on schedule. Actually, our planned schedule has two fall issues close together in September and November and the other two in February and April. Then you should receive a print compendium in May.
In this issue we have the "normal" complement of four articles–two refereed features and two reviewed articles. Refereed articles are examined by at least two SIGCS members other than me. Often, the authors are college instructors who are required to publish in refereed journals. The writing will often be more formal. The other articles only have to pass my critical eye, and they are often less formal and more practical in nature. In all cases, however, we try to work with the authors to make their words communicate well to all our readers.
I am happy to report that there seems to be a relatively steady stream of articles coming in. Still, if you have something to add, send it along. Also, if you are willing to do some reviewing of articles, let us know. Reviewers judge whether an article is appropriate for JCSE Online. Additionally, indications of areas where communication is not clear and suggestions for change and improvement of the article are welcome.
Now for the contents in this issue!
FEATURES
OOPs!
Tim Margush
About a year ago, Tim read an article published on the Web that dealt with object-oriented programming in Visual Basic (VB). He thought the article did not accurately illustrate object-oriented programming and submitted an article discussing not only flaws in the earlier article but also some object-oriented techniques one can use when developing VB projects. As regular readers know, I am always looking for articles that help us (me) better understand object-oriented programming. Dr. Margush has enhanced my understanding of both object orientation (particularly inheritance and composition) and VB. [Please note, just before press time we discovered that the article Dr. Margush was responding to was no longer available. That may hinder your ability to fully study the issues involved but we believe this article still provides useful information and insight. We will add a link to the article if the periodical in which it was published is reposted.]
Read
Computing and Composition: Common Skills, Common Process
Fadi P. Deek and Robert S. Friedman
Fadi and Robert show the similarities between writing programs and writing papers. However, the article goes further. These two professors worked together so that the writing class and the programming class overlapped student-wise. Thus, the students could actually write about their programs and the programming process. Their article focuses on the process similarities but also hints at some positive benefits from team teaching these two courses. Both ideas seem useful for us to think about.
Read
ARTICLES
One of My Favorite Assignments: Automated Teller Machine Simulation
Paul Oberman
Paul, like Fadi, has appeared here often in the last several years. I appreciate both of them for making my life easier and helping me bring you some useful reading. Paul has another favorite assignment for us. This time he discusses the ATM problem or assignment. Personally, I had never heard of this program until I started encountering it in relation to object oriented programming. Paul apparently had, as his discussion does not take an OO approach. As when students find programming errors merely by talking through their programs, teachers can gain insights into teaching and assigning problems by seeing discussions of programming assignments. I hope you gain something useful from this article.
Read
The Nifty Assignments Site
Nick Parlante
Our fourth piece in this issue is a new form for us. A while back, I encountered Nick’s Nifty Assignments Web site. I thought some information about it might be useful to some of you. In trying to decide how to get information to you, the notion of a Q & A jumped into my head. Professor Parlante was willing to give up some of his time, so I whipped up some questions I thought would allow him to give you some insight into his efforts. I encourage you to examine what Nick has to say in this article and to examine the Web site at http://cse.stanford.edu/nifty.
Read
There is no message From the Chair in this issue. He/I had nothing burning to release on the world at press time. For those of you who have a point of view you would like to share, I encourage to consider submitting it as an editorial. The fact that we are publishing online ought to make that easier. There is no page limit for each issue, so adding a piece does not require taking something else out. Additionally, we now have shorter lead-time requirements and, I believe, some flexibility for inserting something at the last instant (well, maybe the last month to six weeks). Anyway, if the editorial writing bug hits you, consider sending the result to us.
More generally, we are always interested in receiving good articles. Keep in mind that we publish both refereed and non-refereed pieces, and that we will work with new writers to help them communicate what they want to say. Of course we always are interested in what you think of JCSE Online, so feel free to contact me about nearly anything.
J. Philip East
Interim Editor
east@cs.uni.edu
Note: All Web links in this issue were active as of the post date (November 26, 2001). However, the Web is volatile, and neither ISTE nor SIGCS have any control over external sites. Please contact the managing editor, Audrey Vanderford (avanderford@iste.org), if you have a fix for a broken link.
Copyright © 2001, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.
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