Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Marwan Shaban goes back to the programming basics

“I’m always telling my students to keep practicing,” says Dr. Marwan Shaban, professor and program manager of computer programming and analysis at Seminole State College of Florida. “You can’t learn programming by just reading a book. Practice is a required part of the learning process. Imagine trying to learn riding a bike by just reading a book. Learning to write code is the same way.”

It’s all part of his teaching philosophy in which he implores students to master the basics to become programming experts, which he says is a key to job security in a world where artificial intelligence is becoming more prominent, especially in the software development industry where programming skills are in high demand. 

“AI use in the software development industry will reduce the number of developer jobs,” says Shaban. “But being an expert never goes out of style, and the good programmers will still be able to get jobs.”

With nearly 40 years in the industry, Shaban is proving there’s wisdom in his words. He started as a full-time software developer in 1988 and kept building his skills and learning new technology. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science in the ’90s, focusing his graduate work on computational linguistics, which is the intersection of computer science, linguistics and artificial intelligence.

While technology has certainly evolved since his first developer job in the ’80s, Shaban says the basics are still relevant. “The skills are the same even though the computer languages have changed. You’re writing instructions. You build up a skill set. That will translate to any language in the future.”

From Doing to Teaching

While Shaban was advancing in his career as a software developer, software architect and then manager, he saw some of his peers stay in the industry and others transfer their skills to academia. With his Ph.D., he knew he was qualified to teach, so he decided to enjoy the best of both worlds and taught a software development capstone course as an adjunct instructor at UCF for a few years before becoming a full-time professor at Seminole State in 2017. 

Shaban teaches courses in Seminole State’s two-year associate degree in computer programing and analysis, and four-year bachelor’s in information systems technology. Since he came to the College, he has used his experience to develop six courses, including courses for the bachelor’s degree. “I think the many years of experience making software help me to be more effective when teaching the material,” he says.  

While IT programs abound, Shaban says the emphasis on the basics is what makes his programs at Seminole State stand out. “I help students focus on what’s important and what’s not,” he says. “What they have in their minds is a cool app they saw or a game they like to play, and then they would like to program games. Game programming is more a specialization. You can’t do that without the basics.”

Shaban says programming basics, along with employable skills like logical thinking and problem solving, are needed for success in careers such as web and mobile app development, database coding, enterprise applications, cloud development and more. “The languages are similar. You learn the programming and then you can specialize,” he says. “The specialization is the easy part. Learning the basics is the hard part.”

But seeing students catch on has its own reward. “The best part is when a student masters a skill, and I see how proud the student is of his or her work product,” Shaban says. 

Making an Impact for Student Success

In more than a decade of teaching, Shaban has undoubtedly witnessed many students learn and master the basics – students like Skyler Swiderski, who earned his Associate in Science degree in Computer Programming and Analysis and his Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Technology at Seminole State with guidance from Shaban. Having now earned his master’s degree, Swiderski is following in his professor’s footsteps returning to Seminole State as an adjunct professor in the associate degree program he graduated from and as a Dual Enrollment instructor at Crooms Academy of Information Technology.  

Swiderski is just one of the success stories. As a professor and program manager, Shaban stays focused on student success. His department hosts three developer events each year - Code Camp, SQL Saturday and DevFest, which attract on average 250 working professionals for a whole day of sessions on software development. 

Access to these events offers a benefit for students, Shaban says. “They can see what it’s like to be in the workplace. These events put them side by side with professionals in the field. They can ask questions and understand what it’s like.”

Shaban also manages Seminole State’s participation in a yearly intercollegiate programming competition, which features teams throughout the Florida College System. Seminole State’s computer programming team won this year’s competition, retaining their trophy from the previous year. “The credit goes entirely to the students,” he says. “These are very smart students who work very hard.”

Keeping up with the latest technology, Shaban also helped to establish a virtual reality lab at Seminole State’s Sanford/Lake Mary Campus with resources available to all programming courses. The VR is meant to be an enrichment activity alongside the basics, giving students a chance to practice their skills.

As for what it takes to make it in programming, for Shaban, it all comes back to practice. 

“Avoid distractions. That allows you to spend more time developing your basic skills,” he says. “Instead, pick up your book and read more about programming. Practice as much as you can. That’s the difference between a professional versus an amateur.”