DrRacket Textbook — Tanya Kler

drracket textbook capstone

spring 2023

TASK

For my senior capstone the task was to tackle a problem that was meaningful to use and create a well designed solution showcasing what we had learned through our design education at Northeastern. The problem I chose to focus on was the absence of a textbook for the introductory computer science curriculum at Northeastern that I have been a Teaching Assistant for for 5 semesters. I decided to design a textbook that could be used to learn the coding language from the course, DrRacket, in a context with the course concepts. Having taken the intro CS course (CS2500) my first semester and then having been a Teaching Assistant for the following years at Northeastern, I developed a deep appreciation for DrRacket, the coding language unique to this course, and the concepts covered in the course. Since it had been an integral part of my Northeastern experience, it only made sense for me to develop something related to the course that would combine the two halves of my degree so well.

process

I started the process by developing a plan for the concepts covered in the book and meeting with my CS2500 professor. After getting some feedback from him on what he believed would be beneficial in a textbook for the class, I got started. I watched all of his videos of the course materials and transcribed his notes and examples while also adding some explanations of my own based on what concepts I know are a little more difficult for students to grasp with my experience as a TA. When I began to start the design of the textbook, I focused heavily on making the book as approachable as possible as not to scare students away. I chose a side by side layout for the code snippets and explanations to ensure there was enough contrast between the sections. I made use of negative space to let the code be digested easier by the readers. The final color palette I went with was bright and colorful to contrast the rigid, technical, and cold connotation that coding can have. The final product is a textbook which covers the curriculum of the course that can be used on its own or in conjunction with taking the course to learn the coding language with no prior coding experience needed.