So, how do you take the pain out of learning to program? Minimizing lectures is always a good idea. And pushing 'hand-on' time with the keyboard is really the best way to make the learning happen. But how do you keep students engaged and motivated? 

Here are a few great tips from the following blog (Infinigons) on how to make learning to program fun. The background is Python based, but the advice really applies to any development platform:

• I learned to minimize lectures. Kids (and all people) learn programming by doing. Giving them a few examples to follow and execute on their own is much more effective than parsing code as a class in lecture format (at least with my group, which tended to get squirrelly really quickly).
• When I did lecture, I used PowerPoints that the students could upload onto their laptops so they could follow along at their own pace. I also tried to include as many opportunities as possible for them to try out commands along the way. I finally started getting the hang of this when we were doing Visual Python; see my lecture notes here if you are interested.
• Tiered programming assignments rock. There are easy, medium, and hard programs in a single assignment. Students choose whichever ones they want and aim for a certain total point value. Harder programs are worth more points. See my programming assignments here if you are interested.

Read the full discussion here:

http://infinigons.blogspot.com/2011/01/is-programming-new-math.html

We have come a long way from inspiring the students to learn to solve optimal control problems so we can go to the moon. Now it is enough - no, imperative -  to have them write a program on how much to tip the waitress.

That's how the civilization ends - teachers who are supposed to teach are required to be entertainers so that learning is FUN.

John, I think you're missing the point. 

Students worldwide hate Math because it's poorly taught. If your Match class is boring, you're teaching it wrong. Same with computers.

Teaching *fun* and *engaging* computer courses is a GOOD thing. I can assure you your NASA engineers loved their courses and found them engaging.

Engaging != shallow.

John, I think you're missing the point. 

Students worldwide hate Math because it's poorly taught. If your Match class is boring, you're teaching it wrong. Same with computers.

Teaching *fun* and *engaging* computer courses is a GOOD thing. I can assure you your NASA engineers loved their courses and found them engaging.

Engaging != shallow.

 

I agree with engaging but not the fun part. Students need to see the utility in what they are learning. Showing how the tools learned over a course is applied to a real life solution has value. Making it "fun" for fun's sake doesn't necessarily make it so. Math and science will always lose to art/music/glee if you try and compete on a "fun" level.

Students worldwide may hate Math but IMO because of the difficulty in learning -- not necessarily the quality of teaching. Overcoming a challenge or a problem has been trumped by instant gratification in the "easy" classes with the high glamour. It's cultural nowadays.

If the society puts little to  no value on Math/Sciences, the youth will not embrace them. No amount of "happy happy joy joy" tactics will counteract that mentality.