Computer programming/science programs for homeschoolers?

[Guest]

Hello,

 

My son has decided he wants to be a computer programmer/game designer. That is a far cry from saying he wanted to be a doctor all the rest of his life. So I am doing a little scrambling to find resources for this. What is available for teens with no experience? That and a good typing program. Unfortunately, he has picked up my way of typing two fingered.

 

One more thing, we have a Mac.

 

Thank you!

[Tullia]

My son is leaning in this direction, but he's in college. There are tons of online resources available, but I'd also suggest if you aren't already doing so, include formal and material logic as well as discrete maths in his high school work. You might look a the website for The Art of Problem Solving for math textbook suggestions. Is he willing to tie up loose ends and pay attention to small details when doing his school work? People who aren't inclined that way may have a difficult time in computer science.

 

My son learned a lot by building his own computer. He's also building a library of programming books for C++ and MATLAB. You might consider a CC class if/when your son meets the prerequisites. CS courses are helpful, but he also needs to be willing to self-teach.

 

I'll ask my son for suggestions for online resources, but right now I'm hearing suggestions that it's meal time.

[Lori A. Davis]

My husband and son are working with Autodesk 3ds Max to learn some aspects of game programming. Our son is almost 14 to give you and idea of ability level - he's learning that material well from the books and DVD we bought.

[Pepper Potts]

:bigear:

I also have a DS very interested in CS w/ a Mac. Looking forward to the responses.

[AK_Mom4]

"Learning to Program with Alice" - DS did this for 8th grade, but it's really a high school level course. It's a great book and the software is downloadable for free online. It's a really nice introduction to object-oriented programming.

[angela in ohio]

My dd is working through Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot, which uses Java. It is specifically game-oriented, in order to appeal to students. I have been keeping up with what she is doing, and she is really catching on to Java through it!

 

Another great option is the Head First series of books. I used Head First Java to supplement my Java textbook. They are funny books that really break concepts down well and don't assume a lot of prior knowledge. You can download Java and a Java environment (BlueJ, Eclipse, etc.) and use the book with that.

 

I agree with a pp that logic will be one of the most important courses for a future computer programmer. I used what I learned in teaching my dc formal logic heavily when learning to program. Also, a solid foundation in math is vey important.

[FaithManor]

You might ask around for a computer professional in your area who will give him some tutoring. DH is a database architect for one of the largest computer firms, and said he knows that some of his colleagues just love to teach when given the opportunity. He is teaching Visual Basic to our three ds's now and C, who was promoted to 9th grade work in April, will begin Introduction to Java programming through M.I.T's Opencourseware in August.

 

We highly recommend formal logic and as much math as possible.

 

Other than that, one thing to consider is that the bulk of programming jobs have been off-shored. If your son wants a job in this field, he is going to need to get into project management, have heavy customer service skills because the guys who interact one-to-one with the companies to collect program requirements and who have excellent customer reviews, are the ones whose jobs are protected, and he'll need to be an expert in more than one programming language. Java and Oracle database come to mind. Additionally, it is also helpful if he becomes fluent in Japanese, Chinese, or other Asian language as that is a HUGE boost to the resume.

 

Faith