irizarry4 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Hi, I want to use computer science as my science for 9th grade and I am looking for a curriculum for my son to use. I am thinking there should be online courses. I would like to count this as a high school credit, so it has to have enough to meet that requirement. Would love to hear from those who have pursued this path before. Thanks!! Ivette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 The online Code Academy is a good place to start. You might want to add in some other resources to make it a full credit, maybe a book on computer hardware, systems, history of computing, etc. DD did 2 "semesters" of KidCoder (a purchased curriculum) and several units from Code Academy. Others may disagree, but generally computer science/computer programming is an elective in high school, and doesn't count as a science credit. I would still do a more traditional science course. There are lots of choices if you don't want to do one of the big three: chemistry, biology, or physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Hi, I want to use computer science as my science for 9th grade and I am looking for a curriculum for my son to use. I am thinking there should be online courses. I would like to count this as a high school credit, so it has to have enough to meet that requirement. Would love to hear from those who have pursued this path before. Thanks!! Ivette I have not investigated the requirements at every college, but the ones I have investigated would not accept a computer science course for a science credit. My kids are studying computer science with eIMACS. I have been very happy with the quality of the classes. Good luck. ETA: I was typing at the same time as Pegasus. I would also try to add in a science course in addition to the computer science class you choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Code Academy as well as Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) and lots of math. My ds is very involved with Scratch and has a Computer Science Professor from Berkeley as a mentor who says to focus on math, Discrete Math if possible, and then learn the structure and logic of programming. We have also used Computer Science for Kids. Computer Science should be an elective not a science class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 This has been working well for my daughter: https://www.udacity.com/course/cs101 It's still free. There's no personal interaction, but the videos and exercises might be enough if the student was motivated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Not an on-line course, but my son has been using teen coder Java from them and he loves it. He is learning a lot. It says this course, along with Android, is comprehensive enough to prepare one to take the AP Computer Science A exam. Who is them? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Code Academy as well as Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) and lots of math. My ds is very involved with Scratch and has a Computer Science Professor from Berkeley as a mentor who says to focus on math, Discrete Math if possible, and then learn the structure and logic of programming. We have also used Computer Science for Kids. Computer Science should be an elective not a science class. CS was my first major, and I completely agree with the bolded. The greatest benefit of learning any programming language is in learning how to ''talk'' to the computer, and what various data types and control structures are/how they work, because those concepts are pretty much universal across languages. The syntax can vary quite a bit so knowing one language doesn't mean you know CS, but learning subsequent languages is much easier because mostly it's just learning new names for concepts you already know. But the way the computer itself thinks all boils down to true/false, discrete math-type logic. You can't program effectively without being able to analyse your algorithms, and that's all discrete math. DIscrete math isn't difficult, though, and it's fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Check out Coursera also. Several courses being offered this fall. FWIW Ds loves codeacademy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Who is them? Thanks. She was referring to the Teen Coder series from www.homeschoolprogramming.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irizarry4 Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 Thanks. The reason we are not doing "another science" is that ds already took HS Biology in 8th grade, but doesn't have the Algebra to take Chemistry yet, and although he could power through it, I want him to actually enjoy Chem. My tendency is to farm out science. I LOVE the subject, but don't love to teach it. Any suggestions on alternate sciences that "can be counted as science" would be appreciated. Especially if there is a curriculum I don't have to teach. I own D.I.V.E. Integrated Physics and Chem. Anybody used this out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 John Suchocki's Conceptual Chemistry and his uncle Paul Hewitt's Conceptual Physics would both be options you can find relatively inexpensively and do without the math background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I'll be teaching Bootstrap at a co-op this year. It's free at BootstrapWorld.org It uses Racket, a little known computer language that is used professionally by some games companies. The whole of Bootstrap is to engage the student to think algebraically. It re-inforces algebra concepts throughout the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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