Computer Science

This hands-on Friday course serves as an introduction to Computer Science. Students explore a survey of topics and activities including programming and working with a robot, understanding binary numbers and their place in computer programming, and debugging programs that students themselves create. The course showcases algorithmic thinking while providing a glimpse of computer science courses to come.

This course exposes students to both the technical and creative aspects of computer science through a sequence of coding projects. Project topics include web development and video game design. As students develop their own original single page websites, they learn how the Internet works. Time permitting, students design and program their own, simple video game in order to learn about event-based programming. Students learn the drag and drop language Scratch as well as HTML and CSS programming.

In this course, students use Tinkercad to design 3D objects. Through a series of original projects, they apply their knowledge to create models suitable for 3D printing. Students also gain exposure to how 3D printers operate and have the opportunity to print one of their own creations. 

This trimester course exposes students to both the technical and creative aspects of computer science through a sequence of hands-on projects. Project topics will include web development, physical computing, video game design, and, time permitting, big data analysis. As students develop their own original websites, they will learn how the Internet and world wide web work, and learn key principles of computer security. Next, students will learn about computer hardware and how to program a device they built themselves. Finally, each student group will design and program their own video game to learn about event-based programming. If time permits, students will investigate the role of big data in our society and learn some techniques for data processing.

In this introductory course, students will use Unity to learn the fundamentals of programming in the context of creating their own projects. During the course, they will create several prototypes along with the instructor, manage a larger personal project more independently, and complete challenges and quizzes along the way to solidify and expand their new knowledge. In addition to these core technical competencies, students will learn how to manage a project from start to finish: coming up with a concept, creating a project plan, prioritizing tasks, and hitting milestones. By the end of the course, students will have the confidence in using Unity and programming in C#.