Ask Slashdot: How Can I Make a Computer Science Club Interesting?

plutoclacks writes "I will run a computer science club at my high school next semester with two other friends. The club was newly introduced this school year, and initially saw a massive success (40+ members showed up at the first meeting). Unfortunately, participation has decreased a lot since then, down to four active members. I feel that the main reason for this decline was the inability to maintain the students' interest at the beginning of the year, as well as general disorganization, which we hope to change next semester. The leaders of the club all have fairly strong Java backgrounds, in addition to enthusiasm about computer science and programming. We have a computer lab with ~30 computers, which, though old, are still functional and available for use. What are some ways we can make the club have an impacting interest to newcomers?"

Comments

Normal.

[nospam007]

First, reduce your expectations.

From your initial 40 'applicants' only 20% will stay, that's everywhere the case, from Pilates to Yoga, from Knitting to Pottery.

So in the best case, you'll get 4 additional members.

Keep it interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

As and educator for 20+ years (University level) I can attest that I too have had the same problems. The way to stop the declining numbers it to make it more fun. Have everyone War Drive on the way to the meeting and hand out a $5 gas card to the one who fins the most open AP's. Have a contest to find the most expensive computer on ebay. Have a hackathon over a 12 hour period where they get to try their hand at protecting and attacking computers in a safe environment.

Re:Keep it interesting

[robthebloke]

+1 (and an ex-educator)

If you want to bore the pants off people, teach them the syntax of a programming language. If you want to maintain an enthusiastic class, teach the bare minimum language skills (for-loop, not for/while/do-while. std::vector, not std::vector/std::deque/std::stack/std::list. member funcs, not member funcs/operators/static methods/etc), and encourage them to 'build' interesting things (simple games, basic apps, image editing tools, sound sequencers, etc). Enthusiasm for programming and computer science is something that you develop over time. Enthusiasm for being creative and making your own computer game, is something that can grab peoples attention. Just remember that whilst *you* might love the inner workings of a 6502 processor, there will be a large number of people that will find that dull and unexciting! Constantly ask yourself the question: "Why am I showing them this? Is this going to help them be creative?", and you can't go too wrong imho (and try to encourage the people to make links with other passions they may have, e.g. art, sound, etc)

Re:Lots of hot smart chicks

[gandhi_2]

Hookers and coke.

Re:Forget Java

[XxtraLarGe]

Heavy languages like Java/C++ are tedious for kids/adolescents. Program in something fun and lite like Python/Ruby/Perl.

Javascript is better still. No compiler, near instant results. You just need a text editor & browser.