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Introductory C# web-based tutorials

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kyrathaba:
I'm doing an introductory series of tutorials on programming using C#.  They take the form of flash presentations that play inside the webpage you visit to view the tutorials.  I believe Mouser is going to be making them available on a DC page soon.

Currently there are four tutorials in the "C# for the Completely Uninitiated" series.  Tutorial #5 will be available in the next few days.   These tutorials are really intended for an audience of new programmers who have chosen C# as their initial language.  Those who already have OOP experience in other languages, or who are already proficient in C#, will probably not find much of interest in this particular series. 

One of the advantages of the presentation format I have chosen is its ability to show screencasting of actual programming in action.  I have also attempted to interject humor at various points, though my success in that endeavor will no doubt be in the eye of the beholder ;)

The majority of each tutorial is comprised of static frames/pages that make use of a mixture of text, source code listings, and images to help convey information.  Where I feel that it would be helpful, I sometimes show a short screencast.  For example, in the first tutorial, I use a screencast to show users who are brand new to the Visual C# 2005 Express IDE how to create a console project.  Although the tool used (Wink 2.0) also enables voice capture (and does a pretty good job of it, too) I have not yet used that feature, in the interest of keeping the final filesize of each tutorial's .SWF file as small, and therefore fast-loading, as possible.

The first tutorial covers downloading and installing the IDE, and creation of your first project.  Subsequent tutorials that have been released, to date, cover the console class, use of comments, the parts of a C# program, creating custom methods, variables and assignment, method return types, string concatenation and interpolation, assemblies, types, classes, and instantiation. 

After the completion of the fifth tutorial (that I'm working on right now), there will be a Review that quizzes the user over the content of the first five tutorials, and also gives brief, to the point, programming exercises (and their solutions, at the end of the presentation).

My motivation in creating this series of tutorials is threefold: (1) in the process of creating each tutorial, I've reinforced, and sometimes extended, my own intermediate knowledge of the language, (2) as a potential source of help for people brand new to programming, and hopefully a bridge that will encourage greater participation in the C# section of the Programming School, (3) as advertising for DC:  since the tutorials allude to the DC site favorably, and suggest it as a home for programmers and would-be programmers.

The tutorials can currently be accessed at the following URL, although soon they will also be available on a DC page, for which I am indebted to Mouser.  I am also appreciative of his enthusiastic support and encouragement of this project.

http://www1.webng.com/bowrsanryld/non_bowrsanryld/wink_videos/index.htm

nudone:
fantastic.

i shall view them them properly when time permits - and hopefully learn a bit of C#. i thought i'd miss the voiceover but i like how you've put it all together (if it's ever possible to do a 'talky' version in future then please do as it always seems more instructive to hear the tutor).

these really do look great to me. i hope they'll be up on DC soon.

mouser:


Well I have to say that Bryan has done an absolutely outstanding job with these.  They really deserve a wide audience, and Bryan, I think you've got a bright future in teaching (or tutorial writing).

kyrathaba:
Thanks to you both for the kind comments.

Nudone, I can easily add voice.  I just hadn't for the reasons I stated.  But, if there's an interest in it, and people don't mind the SWF files being larger and therefore a bit slower-loading, I'm all for it.

Mouser, I managed to upload the tutorials to the DC page, but I can't seem to access the url with my browser to view the index page (yes, I'm the sort of guy who can program computers, but can't even figure out how to make his VCR record a show)

nudone:
i wouldn't know what's best. i'm used to following lynda.com, vtc and total training (and others) videos - which are all very good. but the ones that www.3DBuzz.com produce have always been the most entertaining as they do a kind of question and answer running dialogue. i'm not suggesting you go that far - i'm just one of the people that doesn't mind downloading larger vids with audio inside.

maybe you should have a poll to see if anyone really wants audio. like you said, no point doing it and using bandwidth if audio isn't that expected.

(i still think audio makes all the difference  :D)

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