Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Software Engineering Demo for a K-5 Career Fair?

Posted by Cliff on from the getting-them-early dept.

gmjohnston asks: "A local elementary school is having a Career Fair in a couple of weeks and I volunteered. The idea is for parents with various jobs and careers to show and tell the kids a little bit about what their's is, why they think it's interesting and rewarding, etc. It's to try to give kids a little early exposure to some of the diverse kinds of things one can do with one's life. I'm a software engineer, so I'd like to show something that has to do with programming or Computer Science, but which would be interesting to an elementary school student." What would be the best way to illustrate what a software engineer does to a group of primary school kids? "I'm trying to come up with something like what got me hooked way back when, which was when my Organic Chemistry professor in college showed me a listing of a Basic program (Basic Plus on a PDP-11/70 running RSTS/E if you must know) and I realized that, computers relied on a bunch of instructions that tell the machine what to do, and that if I could change the instructions then I could make the machine do what *I* want it to do! I'll have my laptop with me and I'll be at a table that the kids will be able to gather around and see the screen (or potentially do something themselves on the laptop, depending on what I come up with). Of course, showing them the kind of code I really work on (software development tools) would likely instantly bore them to death. So, the question is: What should I show? If other Slashdot readers have done this kind of thing, what did you do and how did it work out?"

11 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Realistic? by RobertTaylor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bring loads of coffee in with you and feed it to the kids to get them hyper, give them all keyboards and glasses to simulate eye strain. Break their wrists to simulate RSI and get a megaphone with someone shouting 'code faster'...

    1. Re:Realistic? by sgant · · Score: 5, Funny

      Also, don't bathe for a few days beforehand, make sure your hair is as messy as possible.

      Don't sleep for 2 days beforehand either.

      Oh, and at every opportunity keep asking to borrow a few bucks from each of the kids.

      When a parent or school official comes by make sure you start shuffling papers and typing on a keyboard to show that "I'm doing something". Then when they walk away just mumble under your breath "damn Suits".

      In fact, mumble under your breath quite a bit, and don't forget your red Swingline stapler...because they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...

      --

      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
  2. Truth in education... by kclittle · · Score: 5, Funny
    What would be the best way to illustrate what a software engineer does to a group of primary school kids?

    Show them how to quickly switch the browser window away from /. whenever the PHB comes by.

    --
    Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
  3. My first suggestion... by EmagGeek · · Score: 4, Funny

    A basic understanding of how to speak Hindi...

  4. Show them how you spend your free time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bring in some anime DVD's, some pr0n, an empty pizza box, and a crusty sock. If that doesn't convince them, I don't know what will!

  5. That's scary sounding. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    What would be the best way to illustrate what a software engineer does to a group of primary school kids?

    It depends on the programmer. I wouldn't do anything to them at all.

  6. Question. by gerardlt · · Score: 5, Funny
    What would be the best way to illustrate what a software engineer does to a group of primary school kids?

    What do software engineers do to primary schools kids?

    --
    /* This sig is disabled. Press CTRL-W to enable. Thankyou */
  7. There was a dilbert about this by acomj · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dilbert in front of a class:

    "I work in a cube, its kinda like a bathroom stall but the walls are lower"

    "I spend most of my days worring about the electronic fields from my monitor are killing me"

    by the end all the children are in tears..

    I like this approach. We have enough competetion, the fewer of us there are the more they'll have to pay us.

  8. The best way to illustrate... by MondoMor · · Score: 5, Funny
    What would be the best way to illustrate what a software engineer does to a group of primary school kids?
    To illustrate, I'd draw a picture of an overweight, pale man with bad facial hair. Next to that, I draw several hundred children with looks of repulsion and disgust, then one kid with glasses with a longing, wistful look on his face.

    Then I'd color it with bright primary colors and cel-shade it because cel-shading is fucking RAD.
  9. Unrealistic by Col.+Bloodnok · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or turn up in a sports car with a leggy blonde on your arm.

    (You may need to rent these items...)

  10. Now, now ... by ggvaidya · · Score: 5, Funny

    They won't *all* end up EA employees ...