The Art of Doing CS

Combining my expertise as an educator and my own personal interest in self-guided learning led me to a telling realization;  most educational material for the self-guided learner is NOT EDUCATIONAL AT ALL.  Instead, it falls into one of two categories:

First, the uninspired presentation of pure factual knowledge.  It's not the memorization of information that is of importance, but rather how we synthesize and apply those facts into our own creations and applications.   By only being provided with content knowledge, students often lack the understanding and roadmap of how to apply that knowledge.  There is a lack of meaning.  

Second, the unsupported conclusion of someone else's completed projects.  Here the problems have already been identified and the solutions have already been formed.  You, the student are just here to simply retrace the steps; to travel through someone else's mind.  There is a lack of engagement.

We learn by doing.  We learn by creating.  We learn when we are given the freedom to explore on our own but given a structured and supported environment to do so.  Our learning must have purpose.  We must be able to see factual knowledge for what it can create and be given support on how to move through that creative process.  This is the Art of Doing CS.