eBeckett: Using The Work Of Samuel Beckett To Teach Fundamental Computing Concepts

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eBeckett Using The Work Of Samuel Beckett To
Teach Fundamental Computing Concepts

• Damian Gordon

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Motivation

• Learning to program can initially be very
  difficult
• Two barriers to learning this skill are
• the abstract nature of programming, concepts such
  as variables, data types, arrays, etc. have no
  real world counterparts, and

• programming requires an exactness of
  specification that contrasts strongly with the
  flexible nature of the English language.

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TeachingbyAnalogy

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So

• To understand how to program, you need to know
  how a computer computes

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So

• To understand how to program, you need to know
  how a computer computes
• von Neumann Architecture This means that they
  execute programs by accessing both instructions
  and data on the same storage device, which makes
  the computer a very flexible device.

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So

• To understand how to program, you need to know
  how a computer computes
• von Neumann Architecture This means that they
  execute programs by accessing both instructions
  and data on the same storage device, which makes
  the computer a very flexible device.
• The computer performs the following sequence of
  steps
• Fetch the next instruction from memory at the
  address in the program counter
• Decode the instruction using the control unit
• Increment the program counter
• The control unit commands the rest of the
  computer to execute the instruction
• Go to step 1

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So

• To understand how to program, you need to know
  how a computer computes
• von Neumann Architecture This means that they
  execute programs by accessing both instructions
  and data on the same storage device, which makes
  the computer a very flexible device.
• The computer performs the following sequence of
  steps
• Fetch the next instruction from memory at the
  address in the program counter
• Decode the instruction using the control unit
• Increment the program counter
• The control unit commands the rest of the
  computer to execute the instruction
• Go to step 1
• Fetch-Decode-Execute (FDE) cycle.

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But

• How do we explain all this to the students?

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• We say that theres a little man computer inside
  it -)

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Cartesian Theatre
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Cartesian Theatre
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Cartesian Theatre
of the Absurd
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Beckett's most perfect piece of writing for the
theatre
Krapps Last Tape
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Krapps Last TapeAn Extended Analogy
Little Man Computer
Krapp the LMC room
Krapp's Den the stored information
Krapp's Tapes The analogy of the LMC
paradigm becomes the extended analogy of "Krapp's
Last Tape" which will hopefully be more dramatic
and memorable for the students.
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Krapps Last TapeAn Extended Analogy
Students required to undertakes exercises based
on KLT and
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Nexus Model of Learning Styles
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Nexus Model of Learning Styles
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Some Feedback

• "Good practice for understanding specifications
• "It was a bit of a laugh and brought the class
  together
• "It made me think outside the box"

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Some Results
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Some Results
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Some Results
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Some Results
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Ideas Encountered

• Stored Program
• Indirection (pointers)
• Analysis of complex requirements
• Serles Chinese
• Room Problem

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