Using Java Language Features Gently in CS1 Elliot Koffman Computer and Information Science Department Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 01 215 204 1913 FAX: 01-215-204-5082 koffman@cis.temple.edu Ursula Wolz Department of Computer Science The College of New Jersey, Box 7718 Ewing, New Jersey, 08628-0718, USA +01 609 771 2268 wolz@tcnj.edu

Paper for Conference Topics:

Need for future changes to courses, innovative instructional methods

Abstract

Teaching a new programming language in CS1 requires the instructor to make several important decisions regarding sequencing of topics. In teaching Java, the basic decisions center around how to perform input and output, when to teach the AWT and threads, whether to begin with applets or applications, and how much detail about object-oriented programming and Java language features is required in the beginning. This paper describes a language features gently approach to teaching CS1 in Java.

THE PAPER