That's in addition to the computer books he has written that include 'Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6'; 'Learn to Program with Visual Basic Examples'; 'Learn to Program with Visual Basic Databases'; 'Learn to Program with Visual Basic Objects'; 'Learn to Program with Java'; 'Learn to Program with VB.Net'; and his latest book 'Learn to Program with C#' (which will be available May 2002).
Smiley reports that, as far as the actual online classroom is concerned, most classrooms are pretty easy to set up, although a knowledge of HTML is very important.
"For my own classes," says Smiley, "I use Blackboard.com , which has plans allowing you to set up a classroom for free, up to a AU$295 lease per classroom. As is the case with any course you teach, whether Internet or conventional, the majority of your efforts are in preparing a syllabus, a curriculum of reading assignments, quizzes and exams, and other support material. I also supplement my courses with an online quiz tester, which I wrote myself using Active Server Pages".
(Note: If you would like to check out Smiley's 'Webtester' and even take a quiz yourself, you can do so by following this link: www.johnsmiley.com/tester/login.asp)
"Blackboard permits me to create an online web site for each of my offerings--and it's very quick and easy to set up. Each Blackboard 'classroom' has facilities for posting course documents, quickly sending email to all of my students, and most importantly, a virtual chat facility, where once a week we all get together and discuss whatever comes to mind".
So just how effective and satisfying is teaching a computer language over the Net?
Smiley admits that when he was first asked to teach a programming language over the Internet, he had some reservations.
"I really wondered how effective it could be to teach a programming language when I wouldn't be able to look over the student's shoulder. However, I can tell you that within the first week of my first class, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Internet teaching is not only as effective as conventional teaching, I think in most cases, it's more effective. Also, because a student 'attends' the class at a time when they are most ready to learn, they are more apt to learn quicker".
"As far as satisfaction, what more can I say? As a teacher, you really want to make a difference in the lives of your students. I've taught more students over the Internet than I could ever have taught in 20 lifetimes in a conventional class - and many of them have gone onto very successful professional careers".
Finally, what sort of feedback has Smiley received from his students.
"The feedback from my classes has been overwhelmingly favorable. Most of them speak in overwhelmingly positive ways about my teaching style, and how learning a programming language has either been very satisfying for them, or has led to a job in programming or a related field".
"The little negative feedback I have received has come from those students who don't understand my wisdom of leading students to answers, not spoon feeding them. I won't be with these students their first day on the job - knowing how to solve problems on your own, how to debug your own program, how to search and find answers to your own questions is what I hope my students learn in my classes".
"Aside from that, students sometimes regret that they can't have me in the room with them, but that is one of the disadvantages to Internet learning".
Smiley believes that learning a program language over the Internet can be an extremely rewarding experience, and he highly recommends it. "Teaching one can be even more rewarding," says Smiley. For more information about John Smiley's online courses and his books, pay a visit to his Web site that's located at www.johnsmiley.com .
