AP Computer Science options? (Besides edhesive)

[madteaparty]

Looking for a chill senior year class. Edhesive is no longer accommodating homeschoolers, apparently. 

[UmmIbrahim]

I am also looking for an "Edhesive-style" AP CSA class. My youngest is our biggest fan of asynchronous classes (He likes his Derek Owens and will pull up Khan Academy on his own to learn random subjects. He's very independent and likes setting his own schedule). PA Homeschoolers with the live component won't be a good fit for this kid (though his older brother did love it). Listening in here for options as well.

[madteaparty]

48 minutes ago, UmmIbrahim said:

I am also looking for an "Edhesive-style" AP CSA class. My youngest is our biggest fan of asynchronous classes (He likes his Derek Owens and will pull up Khan Academy on his own to learn random subjects. He's very independent and likes setting his own schedule). PA Homeschoolers with the live component won't be a good fit for this kid (though his older brother did love it). Listening in here for options as well.

Do you recommend the PA homeschoolers class? 

[UmmIbrahim]

2 hours ago, madteaparty said:

Do you recommend the PA homeschoolers class? 

My middle son liked it. He's a fan of classes with a live component, and there was a weekly live session. I think Mrs. Lang did a good job managing the class and the work and projects were manageable and provided good coverage of the material. The standard UWashington Practice-It! problems and Coding Bat problems were a part of the material to work through, but the actual homework problems were designed specifically for the class. There was a good amount of challenge in the homework assignments, and overall my kid liked the class. In addition to Mrs. Lang, the students are each assigned a TA and can work through concepts in smaller groups outside of class time as well. It felt like there was a lot of support.

I have seen reviews from another parent whose kid (kids?) really didn't like the PA Homeschoolers class, but I'm not sure what concerns they had with it. Too bad my youngest doesn't want a live class, or we'd definitely do that again.

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, UmmIbrahim said:

My middle son liked it. He's a fan of classes with a live component, and there was a weekly live session. I think Mrs. Lang did a good job managing the class and the work and projects were manageable and provided good coverage of the material. The standard UWashington Practice-It! problems and Coding Bat problems were a part of the material to work through, but the actual homework problems were designed specifically for the class. There was a good amount of challenge in the homework assignments, and overall my kid liked the class. In addition to Mrs. Lang, the students are each assigned a TA and can work through concepts in smaller groups outside of class time as well. It felt like there was a lot of support.

I have seen reviews from another parent whose kid (kids?) really didn't like the PA Homeschoolers class, but I'm not sure what concerns they had with it. Too bad my youngest doesn't want a live class, or we'd definitely do that again.

This is the first time I read a positive review of PAH Comp Sci course. 

[UmmIbrahim]

33 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

This is the first time I read a positive review of PAH Comp Sci course. 

I know... I hadn't seen many reviews, but the one I saw wasn't good! I jumped in before reading any reviews, and thankfully it was a good fit for us. YMMV as always.

[Momto6inIN]

My oldest did CompuScholar back when it was called Homeschool Programming along with a test prep book and did well on the exam.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Momto6inIN
ETA He's also currently getting his master's in CS, so it definitely set him up for learning CS well

[AEC]

youngest took AP CompSciA (the programming one, not the 'appreciation of computers one') from Mrs Lang 3 years ago, and then TA'd for it the past two years. They'd tell you the liked the course, and they did get a 5, but having helped them review for the test IMO they pretty much learned java programming from scratch in a month. From watching them TA the class there seem to be two categories of students - those who are engaged and active and leverage the TAs and do great, and those who are both totally lost and also totally disengaged.

 

TBH, learning to do basic programming in a language like Java is just not that hard. So it's not so surprising that the engaged students do fine. IMO, learning to program requires feedback from a human. You can learn the syntax by yourself but learning how to think about the problems and express ideas clearly is a bit like learning to write an essay - feedback from a human is just super useful. But I don't see why it needs to be a full-year, full-time course. The PAH class is sufficient, but if you've got access to anyone who can program in an object-oriented language then the barron's review book and a periodic review by that person is probably also good enough.

[daijobu]

@AEC:  Do you think prior knowledge of python is helpful before learning Java?  Or is better to study Java first?  

[UmmIbrahim]

26 minutes ago, daijobu said:

@AEC:  Do you think prior knowledge of python is helpful before learning Java?  Or is better to study Java first?  

Python is syntactically much easier to learn for beginning programmers, so some students might find it to be a less intimidating entry to coding in general. It is, however,  in no way necessary to learn Python first, and some kids might not enjoy switching from one language to another and having to learn a whole new set of syntax and methodologies. 

I've done it two different ways with my older two kids (one had some Python exposure first, the other did not), but that was more a matter of circumstance and opportunities that we found along the way. 

My youngest son really wants to do AP CSA next year and just wants to jump straight in with Java. He's started messing around with the free, online Runestone (AP CSAwesome) materials on his own, and isn't finding the Java syntax to be overwhelming.

I'd say just go with what the particular child wants to do. If you do Java first and find it overwhelming, you could always switch gears, do some Python first to build confidence, then retry with Java again later. There are many roads to coding!

[AEC]

the first programming language is by far the hardest. That's partially because the syntax of most common procedural and/or object-oriented, imperative programming languages is fairly similar, and partially because learning the concepts of doing programming and the basic tools for doing so (editor, compiler or interpreter, debugger, etc) is a bigger hurdle than the syntax for doing so in any (ok, most) particular language.

If you're a good Python programmer, you can read most Java as long as you can google some syntax and library things. You could become a passable Java programmer in two weeks and a good one in a month. And, as @Ummlbrahim said, Python's syntax is somewhat simpler. 

That said, if your goal is 'learn to program in Java' and you're starting from scratch I wouldn't learn Python first. I'd just learn Java.

Edited June 7, 2021 by AEC

[stripe]

I found this list of providers from the College Board for AP CS P

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles/online-course-providers

Unfortunately, most of them look state-specific or don't actually seem to easily accommodate homeschoolers. I assumed some of these would teach CS A

Edited June 7, 2021 by stripe

[UHP]

@Kyle TowerMy kid is too young and too inexperienced with computers, to offer up as a field-tester. But I'm interested in looking.

I'm also very interested in hearing more about all of these experiences, if you'd like to tell us something:

19 minutes ago, Kyle Tower said:

I have taught each of these courses since 2011 public school setting, in a virtual setting, and in a homeschool setting.

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by UHP