This course is an introduction to programming and is designed for students with little or no programming experience. Students are exposed to the basic concepts and elements of programming through the Alice and Java programming languages which are object-oriented programs. Alice is a highly-visual and friendly environment that is used to introduce students to programming and Java is an industry standard program. Students will strengthen their computational thinking skills as they gain experience breaking down assignments using problem solving skills and writing programs that comply with industry standards. Additionally, the students will develop effective communication and collaboration skills as they work both independently and collaboratively to solve practical problems that illustrate application-building techniques. Elements covered include career applications, computer processes, primitive data types, string manipulation, methods, arrays, lists, algorithms, loops, stacks, and queues.
This course is intended to teach and reinforce crucial academic skills to help students strengthen their background in Computer Science prior to taking an Advanced Placement Course. This course is not intended for students who have completed Advanced Placement Computer Science A.
Successful completion of Algebra 1.
Please note: This course contains an end-of-course proctored exam. Instructions for students to identify an appropriate adult proctor are included in the course lessons.
Technical Requirements:
In addition to VHS Learning system requirements, schools must install and allow student access to the resources listed here to participate in the course. Please see software manufacturers’ websites for further information and system requirements. Students will need a PC or Mac Computer for software to properly run.
Software used: Alice 3, Dr. Java and Java JDK 8 (make sure you have the full JDK and not just the JRE)
Please note: This course requires regular access to a computer with a Windows[/Mac] operating system in order to install the software required for the course. This part of the course cannot be completed on a Chromebook or mobile device.