SS in MD Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 I'm considering having my son (10th grader in the fall) take Edhesvie's AP Comp Sci A this coming year, and had some questions - 1) Any pros/cons? 2) Did the class prepare your student very well for the class (of course son wants a 5 lol), I'm attracted to it because the cost is only $350 compared to other online providers. 3) They said they don't provide a grade for the class. I want to give him a credit for the class, so on the transcript who did you put down as the teacher? (yourself)? I'm not sure how this works when the actually course materials are online, but no grade is given. 4) Son doesn't have any prior coding experience with Java. Though he did take AP Comp Sci Principles this year (9th grade) and learned JavaScript, but his CSP online teacher said they're completely different programming languages. Would you recommend he take a java course before AP CS A? 5) Son wants to take 3 APs next year (he's already signed up for AP Lang (PAH) , perhaps AP Govt (not signed up yet), and another one (deciding between AP Psyc or AP Comp Sci A) Along with Chem, Precalc, French II - both online. Sooo, if he enrolls in the Edhesive course but cant' manage/keep up, assuming he can stop & not take the exam and re-enroll another year if he wanted? (or can he pick up a java book and just call it java programming course for this year?) hope this makes sense! Thanks so much for the help & insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 4 hours ago, SS in MD said: I'm considering having my son (10th grader in the fall) take Edhesvie's AP Comp Sci A this coming year, and had some questions - 1) Any pros/cons? 2) Did the class prepare your student very well for the class (of course son wants a 5 lol), I'm attracted to it because the cost is only $350 compared to other online providers. 3) They said they don't provide a grade for the class. I want to give him a credit for the class, so on the transcript who did you put down as the teacher? (yourself)? I'm not sure how this works when the actually course materials are online, but no grade is given. 4) Son doesn't have any prior coding experience with Java. Though he did take AP Comp Sci Principles this year (9th grade) and learned JavaScript, but his CSP online teacher said they're completely different programming languages. Would you recommend he take a java course before AP CS A? 5) Son wants to take 3 APs next year (he's already signed up for AP Lang (PAH) , perhaps AP Govt (not signed up yet), and another one (deciding between AP Psyc or AP Comp Sci A) Along with Chem, Precalc, French II - both online. Sooo, if he enrolls in the Edhesive course but cant' manage/keep up, assuming he can stop & not take the exam and re-enroll another year if he wanted? (or can he pick up a java book and just call it java programming course for this year?) hope this makes sense! Thanks so much for the help & insight! 2. Edhesive prepares your student well for the AP CS A exam. My dd's earned 5 x2 using Edhesive. I have another dd who took the AP statistics class and also earned a 5. You're in good hands with Mrs. Dovi. 3. I figure a 4-5 on the AP exam counts as an A, so that's what I gave them on the transcript. The teacher will be Mrs. Dovi. (She's great.) 4. My kids had a solid background in python before taking AP CS A because it's an easier language to wrap your head around. But the course itself does not assume you have any programming experience. If your student has time this summer, he can do a little self-study in either python or Java. 5. Yes, he can stop and you can all pretend like it never happened. 😏 (Ask me how I know.) It won't be very taxing or time-consuming however. My older dd started the class in January and had no trouble keeping up. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 4 hours ago, SS in MD said: I'm considering having my son (10th grader in the fall) take Edhesvie's AP Comp Sci A this coming year, and had some questions - 1) Any pros/cons? Pros: great class esp for mathier kid. Prepares student well for AP exam Cons: price. used to be $150 for homeschoolers, now quite a bit more 2) Did the class prepare your student very well for the class (of course son wants a 5 lol), I'm attracted to it because the cost is only $350 compared to other online providers. Oh! Did they change the price to $350? That's worth it. They shot it up to $500ish last year, glad to know they might be back in the stratosphere. Yes it prepares you well for exam. My ds got a 4, in his freshman year, when he was ill-prepared for any AP exams. He's gone on in 10th/11th to earn 6 5's & 4 4's but back in 9th grade, this was his only one not a 3. 🙂 3) They said they don't provide a grade for the class. I want to give him a credit for the class, so on the transcript who did you put down as the teacher? (yourself)? I'm not sure how this works when the actually course materials are online, but no grade is given. They used to provide a grade report, so they might still if they haven't changed it. I mean, you take quizzes, tests, activities to give them a numerical grade. You should ask, if they send you a 'grade report' at the end. Report back. AP Computer Science A - we list it as. And all our classes are our own, with various 'online providers.' We notate by * in transcript by a key showing where taken EDH = Edhesive DO = Derek Owens PAH = Pennsylvania AP Homeschoolers etc 4) Son doesn't have any prior coding experience with Java. Though he did take AP Comp Sci Principles this year (9th grade) and learned JavaScript, but his CSP online teacher said they're completely different programming languages. Would you recommend he take a java course before AP CS A? My son had ZERO programming experience - he did fine 5) Son wants to take 3 APs next year (he's already signed up for AP Lang (PAH) , perhaps AP Govt (not signed up yet), and another one (deciding between AP Psyc or AP Comp Sci A) Along with Chem, Precalc, French II - both online. Sooo, if he enrolls in the Edhesive course but cant' manage/keep up, assuming he can stop & not take the exam and re-enroll another year if he wanted? (or can he pick up a java book and just call it java programming course for this year?) hope this makes sense! In 10th/11th, my ds took 4 APs each, and handled them fine. I had to keep him on schedule though. AP Lang he just finished at PAH this year (along with AP Calc/AP Stats/AP Comp Govt/Span III). And he's taking AP Psych next year. Edhesive is a pretty easy one (probably easier than Psych), and like daijobu says, you can just 'drop it' like it never existed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 My son did Edhesive AP Computer Science last year and made a 5. He found it to be an easy course. He did not have any interaction with the teacher except to ask how to unlock the tests. I did nothing to help him, it was all himself. He did not have any computer programming experience except Scratch. Took 4 AP exams last year and though the CS course was by far the easiest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 Thank you all for the responses! Very good to know Edhesive did a good job in preparing your kids for the AP CS A exam. My friend's daughter took the course in 2017-2018 and came across errors/bugs in the code and it wouldn't run. Her husband had to help the daughter get thru' the course. But, I'm hopeful all this has been fixed and updated in the course. I think the biggest hurdle for my son (15, 10th grade next yr) will be time management with all his other classes (6 - 3 APs, Pre Calc, French II, Chem. I know he can do the work, but juggling all the assignments and keeping on track was an issue; this year - realized the hard way. I think he ends up looking at sports scores and likes looking a weather patters or storms coming up; (at least its not something worse! but still sucks time) Not sure how to get him to figure how to keep up with it all, when I try to help he says he's got in under control 😩 No I'm waffling whether to do 2 or 3 APs, but i know in 11th it will be even more of a challenge so maybe he should "bite the bullet" & figure it out next year?! Ugh.... Also, I emailed Edhesive and asked about how to write the course on my son's transcript. She said to write me as the teacher (not Mrs. Dovi) since they don't give out letter grades and she said the course is college board approved so 'AP Computer Science A' on transcript. Then I asked will College Board will be okay with that since I did not send in a AP syllabus for the class but giving the AP designation on the transcript? She told me to contact College Board student services, and they will have to advise me how to appropriately list it on his transcript. How did you all write it on the transcript & course description? Thank you for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Just FYI, it seems your info is more recent than mine. My kids took the class 2 and 3 years ago. Here's my course description. I didn't teach the class because I really only know a tiny bit of Java and certainly not enough to prepare for the AP exam. AP Computer Science A The course covers fundamentals of programming syntax and methodology using the Java programming language and prepares students for the AP Computer Science A exam. At the end of this course, students will be able to design and implement solutions to problems by writing, running, and debugging computer programs, use and implement common algorithms and data structures, code fluently in an object-oriented paradigm using the programming language Java, be familiar with and able to use standard Java library classes from the AP Java subset, read and understand a large program consisting of several classes and interacting objects. Students also learn to read and understand a description of the design and development process leading to such a program, and recognize the ethical and social implications of computer use. Partner: Edhesive Instructor: Rebecca Dovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 3 hours ago, daijobu said: Just FYI, it seems your info is more recent than mine. My kids took the class 2 and 3 years ago. Here's my course description. I didn't teach the class because I really only know a tiny bit of Java and certainly not enough to prepare for the AP exam. AP Computer Science A The course covers fundamentals of programming syntax and methodology using the Java programming language and prepares students for the AP Computer Science A exam. At the end of this course, students will be able to design and implement solutions to problems by writing, running, and debugging computer programs, use and implement common algorithms and data structures, code fluently in an object-oriented paradigm using the programming language Java, be familiar with and able to use standard Java library classes from the AP Java subset, read and understand a large program consisting of several classes and interacting objects. Students also learn to read and understand a description of the design and development process leading to such a program, and recognize the ethical and social implications of computer use. Partner: Edhesive Instructor: Rebecca Dovi Thanks so much for the course description. Yes, I agree, I don't feel like I can put myself as the instructor because I'm not "teaching" son the class. But, the lady from Edhesive clearly wrote saying, "You will be the teacher associated with your son's course, so you should list yourself as such on his transcript. Rebecca Dovi is not an active instructor for the course - she designed the course and "teaches" through the videos, but she does not interact with the students." So... I'm a little confused and hesitant to write myself as the instructor because I'm doing none of the "instructing" only providing the letter grade based on the quizzes and tests and because I have not provided college board with approved AP syllabus. Though, I will include in the course description (like you did) Edhesive being the "partner". I guess I need to call college board and confirm. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 On 7/10/2019 at 3:24 PM, Julie of KY said: My son did Edhesive AP Computer Science last year and made a 5. He found it to be an easy course. He did not have any interaction with the teacher except to ask how to unlock the tests. I did nothing to help him, it was all himself. He did not have any computer programming experience except Scratch. Took 4 AP exams last year and though the CS course was by far the easiest. Thanks Julie! 1) Since you took it last year ... who did you write as the instructor in the course description? (see my recent previous post to daijobu); Did you write "AP Computer Science A"? 2) Also just curious, what grade was your son last year? And what APs & reg classes did he take? 3) I'm trying to decide if my son (10th grade next yr) should do take AP Lang (PAH already signed up) , AP Psyc (PAH - not signed up) & AP CS (Edhesive) OR instead of AP Psyc do AP Govt (PAH or some other provider... not sure)... along with Precalc (need to find online provider that also prepares him for sat subject test math 2), french II (Potters School) and Chem (local teacher but online). So, any advice you can give for what AP he should take - psyc or govt? Also any AP providers you like (other then PAH - they're the only ones we've used) and if you have any recommendations for good/strong precalc (son used Derek Owens this year for Alg 2 honor - did really well, but he got super behind bc of self-pacing, and wants online component. Also I want class to prepare his for Subject test. I emailed Derek and they told me his precalc would have some gaps in prob/statistics for Sat 2.... so looking elsewhere ... ugh hard to make these decisions... Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 5:48 AM, SS in MD said: Thanks Julie! 1) Since you took it last year ... who did you write as the instructor in the course description? (see my recent previous post to daijobu); Did you write "AP Computer Science A"? I did not give any instructor names except some of the online AP courses. I did not name me or anyone else for most of the courses. In my course description it says AP Computer Science A taken through online course of ____ and then a description of the course. 2) Also just curious, what grade was your son last year? And what APs & reg classes did he take? I think AP Computer Science was one of the easier AP courses for anyone that is technical. He could have easily done it much younger, but he was 12th grade taking AP Computer Scinece A; AP Physics C; AP Calculus BC, and AP Psychology alongside some other non-AP courses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 5:48 AM, SS in MD said: Also any AP providers you like (other then PAH - they're the only ones we've used) and if you have any recommendations for good/strong precalc (son used Derek Owens this year for Alg 2 honor - did really well, but he got super behind bc of self-pacing, and wants online component. Also I want class to prepare his for Subject test. I emailed Derek and they told me his precalc would have some gaps in prob/statistics for Sat 2.... so looking elsewhere ... ugh hard to make these decisions... Thank you!! I'm glad you mentioned this. My dd is finishing DO Algebra 2 right now, and DO is clearly the best option for her this fall. We also plan to take the Math SAT 2 next year. We will actually be doing the DO self-grading with a once-a-week tutor who can answer questions, keep her on schedule, etc. I think we're okay with probability from some of her other math, but it looks like we might need to dig up some statistics and just have her learn that separately. From what I've read, some of those questions are kind of specific to the SAT subject test, so we would need to prep especially for them, anyhow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 I want to revive this thread because I am also wondering about Edhesive AP Comp Science course. If we go this route, do we need to prep for the exam in addition (FRQs and MCQs) or does the course pepper the exam prep throughout? Our other option is eMAICS. I can’t find any reviews of that either. I don’t mind paying more if exam prep is built in. CTY is super expensive. I can’t justify $2k for a course. We have a fourth option - free CC course in Java and then prep ourselves, but I am always worried about self prep since I have no expertise in the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 ^ Same question as Roadrunner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 7 hours ago, Roadrunner said: I want to revive this thread because I am also wondering about Edhesive AP Comp Science course. If we go this route, do we need to prep for the exam in addition (FRQs and MCQs) or does the course pepper the exam prep throughout? Our other option is eMAICS. I can’t find any reviews of that either. I don’t mind paying more if exam prep is built in. CTY is super expensive. I can’t justify $2k for a course. We have a fourth option - free CC course in Java and then prep ourselves, but I am always worried about self prep since I have no expertise in the subject. Don't spend $2000. It's been a few years, so I don't recall exactly, but I don't think you need to do much additional study to prep for AP CS A after taking the Edhesive course. However, if you want more practice materials, it's a simple thing to sign up with the College Board and get access to all their old practice exams and Question Bank. If you decide to do self-prep, then definitely get CB approval so you can have access to these materials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 2 hours ago, daijobu said: Don't spend $2000. It's been a few years, so I don't recall exactly, but I don't think you need to do much additional study to prep for AP CS A after taking the Edhesive course. However, if you want more practice materials, it's a simple thing to sign up with the College Board and get access to all their old practice exams and Question Bank. If you decide to do self-prep, then definitely get CB approval so you can have access to these materials. Have you heard anything about eimacs AP class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 52 minutes ago, Roadrunner said: Have you heard anything about eimacs AP class? No sorry, we didn't use eimacs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 (edited) We haven't used the eimacs AP class, but I do know it goes well-beyond the basic syllabus for AP Computer Science (it's $985 for a 40 week course), so still spendy unless you need a JAVA course. They also have a $24 stand alone "be prepared" book they suggest that has a companion website here: http://www.skylit.com/beprepared/ Terry Kaufman is very responsive to questions about eimacs: tkaufman at imacs.org Edited November 13, 2020 by MamaSprout 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 On 11/12/2020 at 5:40 PM, daijobu said: Don't spend $2000. It's been a few years, so I don't recall exactly, but I don't think you need to do much additional study to prep for AP CS A after taking the Edhesive course. However, if you want more practice materials, it's a simple thing to sign up with the College Board and get access to all their old practice exams and Question Bank. If you decide to do self-prep, then definitely get CB approval so you can have access to these materials. Do you know if a one semester CC course in Java would be a good preparation for this exam? Apparently our CC has a good teacher in Java. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 I only have experience with Edhesive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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