From c1efe59c4f8137f85cbb9ee2753880caa9f4ee10 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alex Schokking Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2026 15:01:30 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Make clear everyone starts at the top of the curriculum The overview led with "No programming experience? Start here", which implies there is a different entry point for people who do have experience. There isn't - everyone does Setup then the Challenges, because the robot concepts are new regardless of Java background. The opening now says that outright, and splits only the Java reading by experience level: read Java Basics and the Java track if you are new, skim Java Basics and skip the track if you already know Java. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) --- docs/curriculum/index.md | 7 +++++-- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/curriculum/index.md b/docs/curriculum/index.md index 9b84efa..a26ddcf 100644 --- a/docs/curriculum/index.md +++ b/docs/curriculum/index.md @@ -2,9 +2,12 @@ Welcome to the XBot programming curriculum. You will go from writing your first Java code to making a robot drive itself. -**No programming experience?** Start here. The curriculum assumes you know nothing about programming and teaches you everything step by step. [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) covers the minimum you need to begin, and the [Java track](#java-track) below goes deeper when you want it. +**Everyone starts here**, whatever your programming background. Do the [Setup](#setup) steps, then work through the [Challenges](#challenges) in order -- each one builds on the one before it. The robot concepts are new to almost everybody. -Work through the steps in order. Each challenge builds on the one before it. +What changes with experience is how much Java reading you do along the way: + +- **New to programming?** The curriculum assumes you know nothing and teaches you step by step. Read [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) before starting the challenges, and dip into the [Java track](#java-track) as you go. +- **Already know some Java?** Skim [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) for the conventions we use, skip the Java track, and go straight to the challenges. ## Setup From 2900134bf029f11ff54e892c1fb1d07497bd88b5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alex Schokking Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2026 15:03:54 -0700 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Say the curriculum assumes basic Java, and point beginners at CodeHS The overview claimed the curriculum "assumes you know nothing about programming and teaches you everything step by step". It does not - it teaches robot programming and expects you to already read variables, conditionals, methods and classes. New "Do I know enough Java?" section states that expectation as a concrete list, then points beginners at CodeHS AP CS A (the on-ramp chosen in the curriculum plan: free, in-browser, autograded) with the Helsinki Java MOOC as an alternative. Also notes the language work runs alongside the early challenges rather than blocking them, with classes and objects as the one hard prerequisite before the collector challenge. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) --- docs/curriculum/index.md | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++---- 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/curriculum/index.md b/docs/curriculum/index.md index a26ddcf..fa71cd6 100644 --- a/docs/curriculum/index.md +++ b/docs/curriculum/index.md @@ -4,10 +4,27 @@ Welcome to the XBot programming curriculum. You will go from writing your first **Everyone starts here**, whatever your programming background. Do the [Setup](#setup) steps, then work through the [Challenges](#challenges) in order -- each one builds on the one before it. The robot concepts are new to almost everybody. -What changes with experience is how much Java reading you do along the way: +## Do I know enough Java? -- **New to programming?** The curriculum assumes you know nothing and teaches you step by step. Read [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) before starting the challenges, and dip into the [Java track](#java-track) as you go. -- **Already know some Java?** Skim [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) for the conventions we use, skip the Java track, and go straight to the challenges. +This curriculum teaches **robot programming**, not the Java language. It assumes you can already: + +- read and set a variable +- use `if` statements +- write a method that takes parameters and returns a value +- read code that uses classes and objects + +[Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) is a quick tour of that, enough to recognize what you are looking at in the robot code. + +**If that list is unfamiliar, learn the language first.** Two free options: + +| Resource | Why | +|----------|-----| +| [CodeHS AP Computer Science A](https://codehs.com/info/curriculum/apjava) | Our first choice. Runs entirely in the browser with nothing to install, and autogrades as you go. The first few units are all you need to begin. | +| [Helsinki Java MOOC](https://java-programming.mooc.fi/) | A thorough, well-regarded free course if you would rather go deeper. | + +You do not have to finish either one before starting. The early challenges need very little Java -- read a joystick value, call a method -- so most people work through the language material **alongside** the first few challenges. The one thing to have solid before the [Auto-stopping Collector](challenges/auto-stopping-collector) challenge is **classes and objects**, since that is where you start writing a class of your own. + +Already comfortable with Java? Skim [Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) for the conventions we use, skip the [Java track](#java-track), and go straight to the challenges. ## Setup @@ -35,7 +52,7 @@ Background you will be pointed at from the challenges, and can come back to any ## Java track -[Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) is deliberately short -- just enough to start driving a robot. These two pages go further, and you can work through them alongside the challenges rather than before them. +[Java Basics](getting-started/java-basics) is deliberately short -- just enough to start driving a robot. These two pages go further on the language itself, and pair well with [CodeHS](https://codehs.com/info/curriculum/apjava) if you are learning Java from scratch. Work through them alongside the challenges rather than before them. | Page | What It Covers | |------|----------------|