John Thorton
ABSTRACT
As the number of new computer users grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to give introductory short courses to everyone. In the past, we have dealt with this by offering more and more sections each semester. When all the sections fill up, we schedule an additional section (and end up, it seems, teaching all the time). Even then, people come to other short courses without the “Introduction to Timesharing” prerequisite; or they say, “I couldn't fit any of your 5 sections into my schedule.”
To alleviate the pressures of teaching many sections (and to allow our students even more scheduling freedom), we at SUACC have tried several alternatives, such as tutorial programs and more printed material. This paper describes some of the alternatives and combinations of alternatives we have experimented with. Some were successful, some not. While we are still experimenting, we have found a combination which seems to please the students, while saving staff time.
Index Terms
- Alternatives to teaching introductory short courses
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