Hot Spot

[MarkShot]

BTW, learning with your son should be great fun.

Our first lesson went like:

Question: Where do you find computers?

...

Answer: Everywhere.

Question: What can computers do?

...

Answer: Anything.

...

Question: Why should kids learn to program?

Answer: It is like math and learning to read. Essential to understand today's World. Computers unlike all other tools produced by humans are the one and only tool which is totally general and can be used for a myriad of purposes.

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So, her mom sat in with her and I think also learned quite a bit. As a treat for her mom on graduation day, I gave her three very different implementations of a program ... each produce exactly the same output. But V2 was better than V1, and V3 was better than V2. With the riddle of "Why?". (I felt having a doctor attend a kid's computer class ... that she deserved a worthy riddle just for her.) The answers were by no means obvious, but would give her a hidden view as to how the programmers screwed up the next time she sees a hospital brought to its knees by the new release of a patient clinical management system!

[Phoenix100]

That's very of kind of you, Markshot. Many thanks. I'll try the Scratch thing, I think. He's very much into Minecraft (and I'm afraid we haven't prevented him playing games at all, unlike your Chinese friend - we limit his access, for the sake of his eyes and his imagination, but don't prevent it).

I would very much appreciate your lesson notes, for ideas. I'll PM you. Many thanks, again.

Peter

[MarkShot]

Peter,

Sent. If you don't find it, look in your SPAM folder for a title "Programming Materials".

[Phoenix100]

Got it, Mark. You sure you don't have a teaching qualification? It looks very professional! I'll peruse with interest, though most of the technical points look way over my head. Thanks so much. Much appreciated.

[MarkShot]

You are very welcome!

No educational credentials.

My background is systems design, development, and staff management ... I was running my own business before relocating to Taiwan acting as a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) to startups.

Right now as a favor, I teach my friends daughter some English (now Sundays over Apple's Facetime) and her sister-in-law over here once a week. The 11 year old is a fascinating story. She was incredibly shy (in English or Chinese), but once we started with LINE messaging and then Facetime video, she totally came out of her shell. The impact of an iPad on children is amazing. Maybe the next time I see her in person, I will bring a 10" piece of glass to hold in front of my face!

I could make quite a bit of money teaching English if I wanted to here. I can legally work based on my resident status. I have quite a few friends who are doctors or are connected to doctors which puts me in touch with a client base with money to pay premium rates. (most of those teaching English here are 20 something Americans who are also studying Chinese ... the difference in background, maturity, and knowledge is a stark contrast) Working full time and considering the cost of living difference with the USA, it would be like making about $200,000 USD tax free (a cash business). A las, time is very precious and I am not really eager to forfeit my retirement to start a business. However, many doctors here will rotate to the USA for additional training, and it could be interesting to learn some medicine by virtue of teaching.

At the moment, I am just doing it as a means to bond with friends. Of course, it doesn't hurt (getting older) to have friends who are doctors. About two months ago, I hurt my shoulder and my mobility rapidly fell to only 10%. Proceeding through the normal channels, it could have been 2-3 weeks to get testing, diagnosis, and correct treatment. A few calls from friends and I was on the path to mending in just a couple of days.

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Well, get your son up to speed! Dave could always use some help with the game engine.