Series 6: From Student to Teacher
“Fresh green layers in the forest, a few red dots hidden in buds” — First time at the podium
Although I officially started at the school in June 2007, my first time at the podium was three years earlier. It was summer 2004. Microsoft and Tongji jointly established the Mobile and Embedded Center and wanted to sponsor our school to offer Windows Embedded courses. But finding a teacher for Windows Embedded was difficult — the entire field was just starting in China. Coincidentally, the project I was working on for the Automotive School used Windows CE, so Teacher Wan wanted me to start the course.
In early September 2004, Teacher Wan called me to the Jiading campus to discuss teaching Windows CE. I had been a TA for the Class of 2003 before, so presenting wasn’t new. But teaching a full course was far beyond giving a lecture. Teacher Wan told me to teach some system底层 knowledge and to vary my pace for engagement. To build momentum, Teacher Wan wrote an article about embedded learning and posted it on tongji.net’s BBS. The analysis was so insightful that it was widely reprinted on embedded websites and forums. I recall it was featured on CSDN’s homepage as “Tongji University Dean on Embedded Learning.” It was a classic.
“Windows CE Embedded System” was first offered to the Class of 2002 undergraduates. About 100 students enrolled. Looking back, the course was somewhat misleading — due to lack of materials, most of the content came from my own understanding of Windows CE, and I had only been接触 Windows CE for half a year! Much of what I taught was vague or even wrong. But the course was project-driven, and seeing the final projects submitted by students was still gratifying.
In September 2005, Microsoft wanted to hold a “Windows Embedded Teacher Seminar” at Tongji, where I was安排 to share our experience offering Windows Embedded courses to teachers from 50+ top universities nationwide, guide them through hands-on labs, and introduce our work to guests from the US. This was a huge challenge — going from teaching students to teaching teachers and foreigners. I was still a novice in this field, so mindset was key. I positioned myself as “casting a brick to attract jade” — learning humbly from other teachers. The seminar was successful, and I made friends with many teachers from other universities. Its success also led Microsoft to make it an annual event with Tongji, putting Tongji at the forefront of Windows Embedded teaching nationwide. The “Windows CE Embedded System” course and its配套 labs won “Ministry of Education — Microsoft Elite Course” for two consecutive years.
Today, the Windows Embedded course has been running at the school for over three years. But I’m acutely aware of our many problems. Building the school’s embedded方向 into a nationally recognized program requires much more work. Fortunately, in late 2007, the embedded direction received support from the Ministry of Education’s “Eleventh Five-Year Quality Engineering” specialty program. With this platform, I believe the school’s embedded方向 will soon present a completely new面貌.
“The sun and moon take their courses, the stars shine within” — Afterword
I promised to write this article for the school journal long ago. But constant business and travel kept delaying it. This article was completed entirely in the gaps between trips. Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. Writing brought back fond memories of my growth from immature youth to vigorous young adulthood to gradual maturity, and of my joyful student days with teachers and classmates.
The wheels of history roll forward. Today’s Tongji University Software School has transformed beyond recognition from the past. Many words come to mind, but none quite fit: earth-shattering, past not present, the seas change, times change, vigorous growth, feathers gradually filling… Some people, some events, some scenes in this article have already left us. We cannot forget the past, but we must focus on the future.
While witnessing history, we have also unknowingly become creators of history.