Suzannah Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 What kind of options are out there for computer programming courses? My son is a rising 9th grader. He has no significant prior experience in programming. I saw mention of something offered by The Potter's School and we may go with that. But does anyone know of any other worthwhile resources? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 My son used this: http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html and found it thorough and easy to use. He was since veered off into much scripting and still hasn't forgiven me for not registering him for the AP Comp Sci exam this year. I have promised next year, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 My son used this: http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html and found it thorough and easy to use. He was since veered off into much scripting and still hasn't forgiven me for not registering him for the AP Comp Sci exam this year. I have promised next year, lol. very cool, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Thanks for the reply. I'll add that to my list of things to check out. Is there anything else out there? I came across a list of free, online computer programming classes in a Google search but I'd prefer something that comes with a recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I can definitely recommend Alice 2.0. Ds used a text called "Learning To Program With Alice" that was really good (the software is free). It was a good introduction to programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 My son is taking The Potter's School Intro to Computer Programming in Python in the fall. I don't have any prior experience with the class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 I saw a post about that class on here yesterday when I was searching...I think it's only a week or two old. That may be the route we go, but I wanted to look around a bit first. I don't know enough about the different programming languages to know where to start. Java? Python? Basic? I wan't something very rudimentary to test the waters and lay a good foundation. I have no idea whether this will be a life-long interest or just curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/ Kodu!! Very fun :) It is a free computer programming learning game that my bro (a computer programming professor at a good university) recommended for my kids. My kids are younger (7&5), but really enjoy it - and I personally played with it for awhile at first (so I could help!) and enjoyed it also! I think that an older child would still get a lot out of it, and be able to learn quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I saw a post about that class on here yesterday when I was searching...I think it's only a week or two old. That may be the route we go, but I wanted to look around a bit first. I don't know enough about the different programming languages to know where to start. Java? Python? Basic? I wan't something very rudimentary to test the waters and lay a good foundation. I have no idea whether this will be a life-long interest or just curiosity. We are taking Python just because it is the one that fits into our schedule. A couple people also recommended taking it. It can be confusing with all the different languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I saw a post about that class on here yesterday when I was searching...I think it's only a week or two old. That may be the route we go, but I wanted to look around a bit first. I don't know enough about the different programming languages to know where to start. Java? Python? Basic? I wan't something very rudimentary to test the waters and lay a good foundation. I have no idea whether this will be a life-long interest or just curiosity. You can start with just about any language, as long as they are being taught the underlying fundamentals of programming as well. It's similar to learning a foreign language. The process and concepts of learning one help you to learn any subsequent language more quickly. My computer programming sequence in college startes with Java. A lot of high schools use Java or C++ (both in the C family) for their programming courses (the AP Computer Science test uses Java.) There are lower level versions for younger kiddos (Greenfoot, Alice, etc.,) but high school students should be able to handle a regular introductory high school or college level Java textbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 You can start with just about any language, as long as they are being taught the underlying fundamentals of programming as well. It's similar to learning a foreign language. The process and concepts of learning one help you to learn any subsequent language more quickly. My computer programming sequence in college startes with Java. A lot of high schools use Java or C++ (both in the C family) for their programming courses (the AP Computer Science test uses Java.) There are lower level versions for younger kiddos (Greenfoot, Alice, etc.,) but high school students should be able to handle a regular introductory high school or college level Java textbook. Thank you! This is helpful. I had a bit of programming in high school, first as the last 6 weeks of my Typing class in 10th grade (on TRS 80s if anyone remembers what they are) and then a semester my senior year. Oh, and tiny bit of HTML at one job where I was supposed to update the website occasionally. Ever since then, I'm strictly a user. My DH handles all the computer IT around our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Free is always a plus. Thanks. I'll look into it. Suz http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/ Kodu!! Very fun :) It is a free computer programming learning game that my bro (a computer programming professor at a good university) recommended for my kids. My kids are younger (7&5), but really enjoy it - and I personally played with it for awhile at first (so I could help!) and enjoyed it also! I think that an older child would still get a lot out of it, and be able to learn quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I would love input on Florida Virtual School's Computer Programming class. It covers Python the first semester and Java the second semester. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camarell Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 My dh is a programmer and went through the book "Hello World" with the 8& 10yr last year. The language it uses is not a common language but it taught them how to think through the steps of creating a program. By the end of it they created a very simple game and were incredibly pleased with themselves (of course now they have disillusions of grandeur, becoming rich game makers lol) He thought it was an excellent first resource to teach the logic of programming and judge a child's interest without investing a ton of money. I don't know how well it would have gone without him acting as the teacher though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten in MO Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 My son used this: http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html and found it thorough and easy to use. He was since veered off into much scripting and still hasn't forgiven me for not registering him for the AP Comp Sci exam this year. I have promised next year, lol. Is this course free? I looked at it, but am not sure if you can just start using it and do the quizzes and all? thanks! Kirsten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Is this course free? I looked at it, but am not sure if you can just start using it and do the quizzes and all? thanks! Kirsten Yes! Completely free. :) Last I knew PA Homeschoolers used this as their main text for AP Computer Science. My son used it with DrJava, which is a free integrated development environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Q Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 K12 international academy has an introductory C++ programming course. It's definitely not free, but it does look interesting. Here is a link to the scope and sequence page: http://www.k12.com/courses/scope-sequence/tch-060/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 My dh is a programmer and went through the book "Hello World" with the 8& 10yr last year. ...I don't know how well it would have gone without him acting as the teacher though... Would your DH say that a motivated 14yo could benefit from it working independently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Would your DH say that a motivated 14yo could benefit from it working independently? I have the same book and I think a 14 yo could definitely do it independently. If you read the reviews on Amazon, many kids have used it (it's actually written for kids). However, it does use an older version of Python (2.5), and some of the reviews mentioned that students need to make sure they download the older version, not the current 3.0. There were also warnings about some of the other components not working very well on a Mac (posted a few weeks after I bought the book, sigh.) Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks so much for all the great responses. I'm hoping to look through some of the options with DS this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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