<p>Has anyone had a son or daughter take an online Java or other object-oriented programming course? My son is looking for a good way to get an introduction to programming this summer and we are trying to decide the best route for him to take. He does have access to several beginning programming textbooks; however I suspect it might be easier if there is some type of instruction or tutorial to work from. They offer Java at his school, but based on my older son's experience the class is seriously lacking. His main goal for taking the course is to decide whether or not he would be interested in pursuing a degree in computer science or a related field (he is a rising high school senior).</p>
<p>Any help or insight anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>^I am computer programmer. Your sone will not know if he likes it or not by taking on-line course. It might even spook him off. He should sign up for college class. Why not going to class? There are might be some proffessional who would be able to help, he will learn more intracting with others. I have been taking some classes at local college paid by my employer’s during working day. I have helped some kids. But better yet, your S. should just relax and have fun in a summer.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP - Thank you for your response. With his schedule this summer I’m not sure he would be able to take a class at a college. He will be out of town several weeks throughout the summer. </p>
<p>I agree that he should be able to relax and have fun this summer. My concern is that he wants to apply for the program his brother is in and it is a freshman admit program that requires a significant amount of programming all four years. I would hate to have him get into the program and then decide he really doesn’t enjoy programming. My older son would be willing to help, but he will be interning out of town this summer. I may call the local colleges and see what they have available.</p>
<p>Thank you again for your response.</p>
<p>There are tons of online tutorial on Java, but if you want the material in a real class format, MIT Courseware has 2 introductory classes on Java but no video lectures. It depends on how much of a self-starter and motivated your son is, these online courses could be all he needs. The hard part would be to setup the environment and tools in whatever platform you are using to start programming in Java. I am not a Java developer but you need to look into what kind of tools and platform you want to use and downloading a Java development kit from somewhere as a starter. I am sure Sun/Oracle has a free one that you can get. Again, it is doable, but not for the faint of heart if you are a novice.</p>
<p>Also found this one with google search.
[Introduction</a> to Computer Science using Java](<a href=“http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html]Introduction”>http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html)</p>
<p>ttparent - Thank you for the information. I also found many options when I did a Google search, but was not sure if some were better than others. I will look into the MIT Courseware classes. My other son was able to download all of the tools he needed so I assume that part won’t be a problem. He will be available over the phone (and potentially some weekends) as a resource to my younger son.</p>
<p>ps. My younger son doesn’t have as much self-motivation as his older brother; however he is very smart and seems to respond well to the helicoptor propeller spinning over his head :-).</p>
<p>Sounds just like my son. He took his first Java course at college last Spring. Now he thinks that he might want to switch major or minor in CompSci.</p>
<p>If your older son is setting everything up and is available for occasional advice and answers, then I say go for it. Some kids even made a lot of money writing some homegrown apps. You never know.</p>
<p>My son taught himself Visual Basic in elementary school and learned Java in a one week computer camp in 6th or 7th grade. That one week gave him enough that he taught himself the rest. My son however is way too self-motivated as far as computers are concerned - we were always trying to drag him away. Didn’t work! He graduated from college last week as a comp sci major. At the time we never found any online courses that were very useful, though I know he did look at MIT’s Open Sourceware materials later in high school.</p>
<p>He earned a lot of money in high school thanks to his skills.</p>
<p>Mathmom - Congrats to your son! I assume he will be gainfully employed in his chosen field following graduation? He sounds like my older son. He enjoys writing computer programs in his down time and will stay up all hours of the night doing so. </p>
<p>My younger son had his last final of the semester today and we went for a nice long walk when he got home. He seems very excited about the things he needs to do this summer in order to get into the college program that he desires. Hopefully that motivation will be enough to inspire him to self-study Java.</p>
<p>I took an online Java programming course and data structures course. The assignments were pretty much easy as long as read the book and look at the examples. The downside was that the professors said it was illegal to post lecture notes and/or video from the class on the online medium to make it easier for us to know what is going on in the class seeing as we will be taking the same exams as them. So the exams were tough because we didn’t know what to study but the programming was easy. The book is very well authored though.</p>
<p>Art of Problem Solving has an Intro to Programming course. It uses Python, not Java. </p>
<p>The class will probably be full of math-y kids, since that’s the Art of Problem Solving crowd.</p>
<p>My daughter has taken several classes at AoPS (although never their programming class, which was new this last fall) and we’ve never been disappointed.</p>
<p>I recommend EIMACS</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Student_UCS_Overview”>Student_UCS_Overview]Student_UCS_Overview[/url</a>]</p>
<p>It uses Scheme, but it’s much more real computer science than most introductory programming classes are and will give him a good feel for what it entails. </p>
<p>My D2 did this in 6-7th grade. It’s not that hard for a mathematically inclined kid. Don’t let the name fool you. The class was originally designed for high school kids and they recently changed the name because all of the colleges were subscribing to it.</p>
<p>Florida Virtual School offers an AP Computer Science A course. I took this over the summer and blew through the course quickly with a high grade. This is not because I am any sort of natural at computer programming but more because the class is presented in an excellent fashion with a good number of practice assignments. It really breaks things down easily for you to understand. I am really considering majoring in computer science because of this class. If you do not live in Florida, you will have to pay to take the course, however.</p>
<p>My son did an online C++ course through UC-Berkley since his college didn’t teach it and he thought it would be a good language to know. The course was self-paced but had an instructor to work with and online forums to chat with other students. But not cheap.</p>
<p>[Online</a> Courses - UC Berkeley Extension](<a href=“http://extension.berkeley.edu/cat/online.html]Online”>http://extension.berkeley.edu/cat/online.html)</p>