Object-Oriented Programming with Java Course
The Scrambled Words Game was created as the final project of the Object-Oriented Programming with Java Course. This course is taught by ITA (Technological Institute of Aeronautics) and made available through Coursera (an online learning platform).
The Object-Oriented Programming with Java Course is not project-based — the instructors do not develop the application’s code step-by-step with the students; instead, they focus only on concepts, which are tested at the end of each module through a coding challenge. Each challenge requires the creation of original code based on the module’s content in order to be completed.
After completing the challenge, students submit their work for evaluation by other students (a process Coursera calls Peer Review). While the evaluations are done by peers, the criteria for assessment are set by the course instructors, ensuring consistency and fairness. Coursera strictly prohibits code copying or plagiarism in these submissions.
The Scrambled Words Game was developed during the coding challenge for Module 6 — the final module of the course.
Personal Opinion
The challenge-based course model has numerous advantages over the project-based model. Among them, I highlight:
- Theoretical lessons.
- Greater creative freedom.
- Increased learning and knowledge retention.
- Effective and lasting memorization of acquired knowledge.
However, the time required to complete the course is significantly greater. To give you an idea, the Scrambled Words Game took 1 year to complete, totaling 667 hours of work — and this does not include:
- Time spent completing the six course modules (watching the lessons and doing the exercises).
- Time spent completing the other coding challenges (there were five more).
- Time spent creating the project presentation video (a mandatory requirement to submit the code to the Peer Review system)
In short: 667 hours of work dedicated solely to building the game (Design, Implementation, Documentation, and Testing).