Creating a Kotlin Course from Scratch (JetBrains Kotlin webinar)

This talk tells the story of mobile development at BME-VIK-AUT, how I joined that story, and how we introduced Kotlin to the university curriculum. First as part of the Android software development course, then eventually creating a standalone course to teach it in depth.

It covers the all-live-demo approach used for lectures, the choices made to make the course fun to complete, the wonders that remote teaching introduced, and how the students have received the course.

More about the talk:
https://zsmb.co/appearances/kotlin-for-education-webinar-july-2021/

Transcript

1. zsmb.co
   zsmb13
   Creating a Kotlin
   Course from Scratch
   Márton Braun
   

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3. › Budapest, Hungary
   

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4. › Budapest, Hungary
   › BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics)
   

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5. › Budapest, Hungary
   › BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics)
   › VIK (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics)
   

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6. › Budapest, Hungary
   › BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics)
   › VIK (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics)
   › AUT (Department of Automation and Applied Informatics)
   

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9. 2013
   2014
   2015
   2016
   2017
   2018
   2019
   2020
   2021
   2012
   2022
   2010
   2011
   Android & iOS courses (elective)
   

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10. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    

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11. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    

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12. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    

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13. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    

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14. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    

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15. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    

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16. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    

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17. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    

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18. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    Converting the Android course to Kotlin
    

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19. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    Converting the Android course to Kotlin
    Creating a Kotlin Course from Scratch
    

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20. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    Converting the Android course to Kotlin
    Creating a Kotlin Course from Scratch Kotlin course (elective)
    

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21. 2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2012
    2022
    2010
    2011
    Android & iOS courses (elective)
    Android development book
    Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
    Flutter course (elective)
    Mobile and Web Development course (BSc)
    Android course (as a student)
    Learning Kotlin
    Converting the Android course to Kotlin
    Creating a Kotlin Course from Scratch Kotlin course (elective)
    

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22. Acknowledgements
    Bertalan
    Forstner
    Péter
    Ekler
    Hassan
    Charaf
    Imre
    Kelényi
    Gergely
    Csúcs
    

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23. Goals
    › Teach independently of Android
    

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24. Goals
    › Teach independently of Android
    › Build an interest in Kotlin
    

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25. Goals
    › Teach independently of Android
    › Build an interest in Kotlin
    › Deep understanding of language basics
    

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26. Goals
    › Teach independently of Android
    › Build an interest in Kotlin
    › Deep understanding of language basics
    › Building on Java and OO knowledge
    

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27. Student language stats
    3%
    4%
    4%
    10%
    11%
    25%
    32%
    37%
    61%
    72%
    77%
    87%
    0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
    Dart
    pascal
    Swift
    PHP
    TypeScript
    Kotlin
    JavaScript
    Python
    C#
    C
    C++
    Java
    

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28. Materials
    › Full written material in English
    

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29. Materials
    › Full written material in English
    

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30. Materials
    › Full written material in English
    

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31. Materials
    › Full written material in English
    › Many links, lots of code
    

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32. Materials
    › Full written material in English
    › Many links, lots of code
    › Some original illustrations
    

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36. All on GitHub
    

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37. All on GitHub
    István
    Juhos
    stewemetal
    

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38. Lectures
    

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39. Lectures
    › 0 slides
    

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40. Lectures
    › 0 slides
    › All live coding
    

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41. Lectures
    › 0 slides
    › All live coding
    

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42. Live coding
    

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43. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of the Kotlin experience
    

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44. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of the Kotlin experience
    

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45. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of the Kotlin experience
    

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46. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of the Kotlin experience – and it’s free!
    

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47. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of
    the Kotlin experience
    

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48. Live coding
    › The IDE is a core part of
    the Kotlin experience
    › Great for encouraging
    questions
    

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49. Useful IDE functionality
    

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50. Useful IDE functionality
    

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51. Useful IDE functionality
    

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52. Useful IDE functionality
    

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53. Useful IDE functionality
    

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54. Useful IDE functionality
    

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55. Useful IDE functionality
    

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56. Useful IDE functionality
    › Java to Kotlin converter
    › Kotlin scripts
    › Scratch files
    › REPL
    

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57. Lectures
    › Usual setup
    › In-person lectures
    

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58. Lectures
    › Usual setup
    › In-person lectures
    › Extras outside of the core
    material
    › Events
    › Language news
    

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59. Lectures
    › Usual setup
    › In-person lectures
    › Extras outside of the core
    material
    › Events
    › Language news
    › Easy interaction
    

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60. Remote
    

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61. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    

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62. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    

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63. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    

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64. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    › Available in multiple forms
    

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65. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    › Available in multiple forms
    

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66. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    › Available in multiple forms
    › Zoom classes
    › Harder to get interaction
    

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67. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    › Available in multiple forms
    › Zoom classes
    › Harder to get interaction
    › Clear communication of important info
    

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68. Remote
    › Recordings are essential
    › Started these in person already
    › Making them available very quickly
    › Available in multiple forms
    › Zoom classes
    › Harder to get interaction
    › Clear communication of important info
    

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69. Requirements
    Homework Test
    

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70. Homework
    › Free choice of project
    

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71. Homework
    › Free choice of project
    › … as long as it’s not Android
    

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72. Homework
    › Free choice of project
    › … as long as it’s not Android
    › Varying difficulty
    › Create something meaningful
    › Write neat Kotlin code
    

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73. Homework
    › Starter projects
    › Command line, JDK8
    › JavaFX JDK8
    › TornadoFX
    › JavaFX JDK11
    

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74. Homework
    › Starter projects
    › Command line, JDK8
    › JavaFX JDK8
    › TornadoFX
    › JavaFX JDK11
    › Largest setup problems
    › JDK versions
    › Missing JavaFX support
    

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75. Homework
    › Starter projects
    › Command line, JDK8
    › JavaFX JDK8
    › TornadoFX
    › JavaFX JDK11
    › Largest setup problems
    › JDK versions
    › Missing JavaFX support
    › No problems installing IntelliJ IDEA
    

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76. Homework examples
    

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77. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    

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78. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    › REST services
    › Ktor/Exposed stack
    › Spring Boot apps
    

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79. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    › REST services
    › Ktor/Exposed stack
    › Spring Boot apps
    › JavaFX / TornadoFX games
    › Minesweeper, Tetris, Game of Life
    

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80. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    › REST services
    › Ktor/Exposed stack
    › Spring Boot apps
    › JavaFX / TornadoFX games
    › Minesweeper, Tetris, Game of Life
    › Integrations with video games
    

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81. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    › REST services
    › Ktor/Exposed stack
    › Spring Boot apps
    › JavaFX / TornadoFX games
    › Minesweeper, Tetris, Game of Life
    › Integrations with video games
    › Image processing
    

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82. Homework examples
    › Basic Kotlin classes with operators, unit tests, conventions
    › REST services
    › Ktor/Exposed stack
    › Spring Boot apps
    › JavaFX / TornadoFX games
    › Minesweeper, Tetris, Game of Life
    › Integrations with video games
    › Image processing
    › Data analysis
    

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83. Testing
    

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84. Testing
    › Not super hard
    

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85. Testing
    › Not super hard
    › Lots of quiz type questions
    

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86. Testing
    › Not super hard
    › Lots of quiz type questions
    › Open ended questions
    

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87. Testing
    › Not super hard
    › Lots of quiz type questions
    › Open ended questions
    › Some coding questions
    

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88. Testing
    › Not super hard
    › Lots of quiz type questions
    › Open ended questions
    › Some coding questions
    › “Rewrite this by using apply”
    val square = Square()
    square.x = 10
    square.y = 20
    square.side = 50
    

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89. Testing
    › Analyzing broken code
    

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90. Testing
    › Analyzing broken code
    › “Someone wrote this code without sufficiently learning Kotlin.
    Mark and fix as many mistakes as you can!”
    

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91. Testing
    › Analyzing broken code
    › “Someone wrote this code without sufficiently learning Kotlin.
    Mark and fix as many mistakes as you can!”
    class Car(val year = 2000) {
    val model: String;
    }
    void drive(car: Car?) {
    println("Driving around in a $car.year $car.model")
    }
    

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92. Stats
    0
    20
    40
    60
    80
    100
    120
    2019/20/1 2019/20/2 2020/21/1 2020/21/2
    Students Survey responses
    

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93. External resources used
    

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94. External resources used
    › kotlinlang.org
    

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95. External resources used
    › kotlinlang.org
    › Ktor, TornadoFX, Spring docs
    

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96. External resources used
    › kotlinlang.org
    › Ktor, TornadoFX, Spring docs
    › StackOverflow
    

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97. External resources used
    › kotlinlang.org
    › Ktor, TornadoFX, Spring docs
    › StackOverflow
    › YouTube tutorials
    

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98. External resources used
    › kotlinlang.org
    › Ktor, TornadoFX, Spring docs
    › StackOverflow
    › YouTube tutorials
    

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99. External resources used
    › hyperskill.org
    

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100. External resources used
     › play.kotlinlang.org
     

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101. More to consider
     › play.kotlinlang.org
     

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102. More to consider
     › play.kotlinlang.org
     

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103. More to consider
     › play.kotlinlang.org
     

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104. More to consider
     

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105. Favourites
     

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106. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     

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107. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     

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108. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     › GitHub repo materials
     

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109. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     › GitHub repo materials
     › Functional programming
     

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110. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     › GitHub repo materials
     › Functional programming
     › Coroutines
     

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111. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     › GitHub repo materials
     › Functional programming
     › Coroutines
     › Looking at Java bytecode
     

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112. Favourites
     › Showing everything through examples
     › Homework assignment
     › GitHub repo materials
     › Functional programming
     › Coroutines
     › Looking at Java bytecode
     › Nyan progress bar
     

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113. Favourites
     

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114. Feedback
     

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115. Feedback
     “Never seen live coding like this in a course before”
     

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116. Feedback
     “Never seen live coding like this in a course before”
     “The most useful elective course I’ve had so far”
     

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117. Feedback
     “Never seen live coding like this in a course before”
     “The most useful elective course I’ve had so far”
     “Finally understood lambdas after seeing it elsewhere before”
     

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118. Feedback
     “Never seen live coding like this in a course before”
     “The most useful elective course I’ve had so far”
     “Finally understood lambdas after seeing it elsewhere before”
     “Didn’t just learn the language, but also the design decisions
     behind it, and the IDE’s capabilities”
     

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119. Feedback
     “Never seen live coding like this in a course before”
     “The most useful elective course I’ve had so far”
     “Finally understood lambdas after seeing it elsewhere before”
     “Didn’t just learn the language, but also the design decisions
     behind it, and the IDE’s capabilities”
     “Would love a 4 credit subject with labs each week”
     

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120. Feedback
     “I’m an electrical engineer in the 4th semester, realized I
     want to code for a living instead, this course reenforced
     that decision.”
     

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121. Feedback
     “I’m an electrical engineer in the 4th semester, realized I
     want to code for a living instead, this course reenforced
     that decision.”
     “Was looking for copper but found gold. I wanted to take a
     2 credit filler course for my last semester, but this turned
     out to be really useful.”
     

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122. Overall subject rating: 9.63
     0
     20
     40
     60
     80
     100
     120
     140
     160
     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
     

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124. › Meet students where they are
     › Live lectures or recordings
     › Written material
     › Projects to follow along with
     

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125. › Meet students where they are
     › Live lectures or recordings
     › Written material
     › Projects to follow along with
     › Teach more than syntax
     › Explain the “why”
     › Show underlying details
     

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126. › Meet students where they are
     › Live lectures or recordings
     › Written material
     › Projects to follow along with
     › Teach more than syntax
     › Explain the “why”
     › Show underlying details
     › Put students first
     › Clear communication, open for feedback
     › Involve them in the lectures
     › No super hard requirements
     

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128. Everything’s a remix
     › Android-based Software Development
     (VIAUAV21)
     › C11 and C++11 Programming
     (VIEEAV01)
     › Server Side JavaScript
     (VITMAV42)
     

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129. Kotlin @ BME
     › Android software development (4)
     › Kotlin software development (2)
     › Mobile & web development
     › 400+, all BSc students
     › Mobile Software Development minor (MSc)
     › Mobile Software Platforms (4)
     › Mobile Software System Development (4)
     › Mobile Software Laboratory (4)
     › 3D Graphics
     › KotlinJS for WebGL
     

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130. zsmb13
     zsmb.co/talks
     

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131. zsmb.co/talks
     zsmb13
     Márton Braun › Meet students where they are
     › Teach more than syntax
     › Put students first
     Creating a Kotlin
     Course from Scratch
     

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