dereksurfs Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Hi All, I am wondering what others are planning to take or have taken? If your dc took a course, what were some of the pros/cons? I know this is a reoccurring theme. But it is also one which changes quite a bit based on new offerings. I have a somewhat flexible plan for ds13 this Fall as I consider a few different online programming/CS courses. One of the courses on my short list from UC Berkeley is new. I don't think its been offered before as a MOOC. I really like the sounds of the Berkeley course the more I read about it. So i'm leaning slightly in that direction. Here both which I'm strongly considering for Fall: Berkeley's Preparing for the AP* Computer Science A Exam — Level Up! Amplify AP Computer Science - Fall My educational goal for ds13 is focused more on learning good programming skills rather than practicing for the AP test. We may not even take that test. So I'm not sure I want to dedicate that much time on test prep. Though, I'm not opposed to studying CS principles. So I am still open to other suggestions/options. Ds13 is also taking another shorter programming course this Summer which he enjoys so far. The course is: Beginning Programming on Android using Java So far, I like the teaching method in making learning fun while working on an Android game. The only negative I can think of is that the Android development setup instructions are somewhat sparse. So I had to help him more in the beginning to get things up and running. But now that everything is configured, he finds it fairly straightforward to move through the lessons independently. Another great free course we started a few weeks before the Android course began is through Udemy. Its very flexible in that you can start at any time and go at your own pace: Java Tutorial for Complete Beginners We both like this Udemy MOOC a lot. So, between these two beginner courses this Summer, I am now starting to wonder if the AP CS Courses may be too easy or too repetitive for him over the span of two semesters. I actually downloaded the syllabus from the Amplify course and it looks very similar to what he is already doing - basic programming logic stuff (strings, loops, arrays, etc...). The only addition I can see is the AP Exam Prep. Though there may be more 'depth' in the course once started. They are definitely longer than the other ones he is working on now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 My DS took the Amplify course this past year. He had minimal programming experience before. He did fine in the class (I think, I wasn't involved at all), there wasn't much time spent on prepping for the actual exam and so I bought a couple of prep books just to make sure he was prepared. They did get some test work in the last month but it wasn't the focus like other AP classes he has taken. My thought were it's a free class, you really can't go wrong with that. If it works great and if not, you can just bail out without losing any money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 FWIW, I'm compiling a list (not yet complete) of online Java courses here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 FWIW, I'm compiling a list (not yet complete) of online Java courses here. Wow, you have a lot of great information there! Thanks for this contribution to the forum. My son is interested in CS as a profession. So the more resources the better. You know, I was thinking about the need for something like that as well for the broader field of study. It might be nice to have a master thread on Computer Science under which we had sub areas like programming courses in Java, C/C++, Python, etc... I'm not sure if it is one which would warrant 'sticky note' status. However, I do know it is one of great interest for many of the families on this forum. Your thread seems to have some really great initial information and thought about the general topic at large. Then it focuses on Java which I am a big fan of, BTW, as a software engineer myself. I do think it would be good to include other areas as well within the overall discipline. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Since you are not looking at taking the AP test next year - I would recommend doing Python first and possibly along with some Haskell or F# for a functional approach. Then do Java during an AP class in the future. As a SW Engineer Java is just 'OK' to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Since you are not looking at taking the AP test next year - I would recommend doing Python first.... I agree with this, not as a s/w engineer but as someone who has sort of learned a bit of both. Here is what worked for us. Do a bit of self-study using some of the free online tutorials. Also I really liked the book Python Programming for the absolute beginner by Michael Dawson, but really just the first half. Once you have some exposure, then I would sign up for the AoPS beginning Python online course. True to form for an AoPS course, it is fast-paced and hard, which is why a little prep work ahead of time is a good idea. It also isn't free, but the instructors will provide individual feedback on parts of your programming assignments. Actually, the AoPS programming class was split into the beginning and intermediate classes, so it's a bit slower paced than in the past, but I still think an ounce of prep work will take the place of a pound of stress. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 Thanks for the input, guys. Yes, I am considering Python for the Fall as well. Actually, our local CC has Python as their first CS course; then Java follows. ds13 is taking a Summer Jazz class there right now and I plan on him taking more dual enrollment courses for Fall. So eventually I know he will be learning Python. I've heard some that say Python is easiest first programming language to learn. Since he's already learning Java this Summer and seems to understand it just fine, I'm not too concerned about which one he does first this Fall. Either would work. I did find this great looking Python MOOC which is an Intro to Computer Science from University of Virginia. I like that they do some web application work. Its also nice that it is free, like the many other CS MOOCs emerging: https://www.class-central.com/mooc/320/udacity-intro-to-computer-science Regarding AP CS, I'm still not sure we will go that route in terms of the test. I haven't decided how many APs, if any, we will pursue. But that is really a different topic all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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