Building Server-Side Web Language Processors

 

Let’s talks about the article “Building Server-Side Web Language Processors” by Ariel Ortiz. In short, the articles discuss some very interesting aspects of using a web approach to many computer sciences courses. In simple words giving students a project that they can visualize working on more applicable environments such as web servers can be more attractive and rewarding than a program just running in a command line. The article also gives some of the author’s personal experience with giving classes using this approach.

I agree completely with this article, in my personal even though it is more time consuming and sometimes simply frustrating I feel I learn more when doing project that I could see being used for real life jobs such as building a web pages, web server o a compiles. I still remember how interesting yet sometimes frustrating it was to build a full playable video game for one of my classes, I understood the requirements, the applications and was able to apply the knowledge learn in class.  Yet in contrast the classes that only concentrated in very specific aspect of computer science and where either mostly theoretical or just practice where the ones that made it the hardest for me to retain the information and later on applied it on more practical stuff.

In addition, just like the article states it gives some diversity to the student’s curriculum specially nowadays that web bases development is growing exponentially every time. So, integrating this extra knowledge to students will be beneficial for the long term. The only downside it that this added step may cause too much overwork to students if it is not planned carefully and the workload isn’t balanced correctly form both sides the teacher and the students. Even if the results are a well done work it will mean nothing if the student ends up hating his or her career.

In conclusion I love this type of approach but I think it has to be planned very well or it night just add more stress to an already very difficult course.