Have students test in different environments to understand the interaction between code and the environment the code is executing in.

  • It’s crucial for students to learn that theory and reality are not the same!
  • If you’re teaching with robots, having students make the robot turn will often reveal how the angle specified in the code does not match up with the actual angle the robot rotates.
    • Drive the point even further by having students test the robots on different surfaces!
      • They’ll see how the same coded angle can elicit different results in different environments.
  • Explain how software updates, like frequent Microsoft updates, are adjustments made when they find out something doesn’t work the way it is supposed to.

More about this tip

External Source

Interview with Marcel van Baal