Re: intro

[email protected] writes:
> > Do you use analogies and metaphors, anthropomorphisation, puppet shows?
> 
> I have this analogy about HTTP servers and how they work.  The "port 80"
> concept was causing problems, so I now describe the web server as being
> like a big castle with one of those HUGE doors.  And instead of just
> having one of those little slidy peepholes, it's got hundreds of them,
> all numbered, and a separate wizened little servant guy behind each one.
> The servant behind the one marked 80 is the web server.

Cute.  I just say that a machine is like an apartment building: all
the services share the same IP address (street address), but have a
different port number (apartment number) to distinguish them.  You're
obviously an SCA afficionado while I'm an urbanite :-)

> I'm glad to say that our general approval rating is quite good, but we
> do find that the sub-questions about the course materials and exercises
> tend to get a really wide range of answers.

I find that students are almost completely incapable of giving useful
feedback.  Oh sure, they can complain about loud air conditioning or
out-of-order materials, but when it comes to "I didn't understand
section XXX because I didn't grasp the explanation of YYY and was
lost from then on", they only end up writing "I liked ZZZ, and didn't
like XXX."

It's bloody frustrating trying to improve courses based on most
student feedback.

Nat