Gwen in VA Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 We had been considering having ds2 take AP Computer Programming through PA Homeschoolers next year. I just found out that they will not be offering it! What other online options for AP Computer Science are there? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in MO Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 I wish I could help. The number of students that take that exam is very small so the number that could possibly post information here would be truly miniscule. We did the AB exam in 2008 so we could help with particulars there but not with a course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in FL Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 those outside of Florida - about $800, I think. The person who taught the PA Homeschooler AP Computer Science class also teaches at http://www.acit.us.com/l00l/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=5 I got his website (where he also teaches non-AP programming classes) from the old PA page http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/courses/compprog.htm HTH, Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyL Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Gwen- we have been looking into this also. My dd took the Intro to Com. Programming at the Palm Tree Academy and she loved it! Mrs. Kaminski had developed the units and then you downloaded the instructions from a free JAVA tutorial. You go at your own pace and then you email the teacher when you get stuck. It was perfect for her since she's not wild about "live on line classes". Anyway, the teacher decided not to offer the AP for this coming year. So-- looking at other options-- I have found-- Keystone High School has one, the teacher from the PA homeschoolers is offering one. (it's interesting since I emailed him about the difference between going through him or through PA and he said "no difference at all--it's the same class". (odd, he didn 't mention that it would not be offered through PA) I should mention that I talked with him last year--he wanted my dd to try the AP for this year (test of May 09), but I wasn't so keen on that. (she's a young 9th grader this year) He did give me references and the people did vouch for him, if that helps at all. The other thing is that he offers the option of starting NOW if you'd like for the same price (giving you more time) So I think that's what we're doing. Also Pottersschool has a good teacher (I think) We listened to his open house and he said that the Intro to Object Programming Class would be very similar to an AP, if that helps. However, each of his classes are only offered in one section (he teaches after work) and the times aren't the best for the West Coast. If you can access Potterschool I believe the Open House was taped and he explained a lot about the difference in classes, and offered some books you could get over the summer, etc. If you want another option the University of Washington Extension has some online programming courses that are comparable to college level courses, but non credit. Hope this helps! (We are going with the www. acit.com) and will be starting in May so I can let you know if you want information say in June or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 eiMacs AP computer science but it looks quite expensive. No experience with it here; my son took the PA Homeschooler course a few years ago, and my daughter is self-studying the AB curriculum this year. For what it's worth, she's a newbie to object-oriented programming and finds it straightforward to learn on her own. She uses the Litvin textbook and the Barron's review guide. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Virtual High School offers an AP Computer Programming course (http://www.govhs.org) We've used them this year for another course and they are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 The CC I work for used to orient the CSC 201 and 202 courses toward that end to cover both dual enrollment students going for the AP and traditional students with that major. We were very careful to match things up and had a number of students who did very well on it. Unfortunately that's not the case now because the CSC department no longer exists where I work, but that's another story... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyL Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I was wondering why students who were enrolled at CC need to be concerned with the AP exam? I was thinking if you got the CC credits wouldn't that be good enough? So you think that you need to take the CC class + the AP exam? Interesting! Thanks for that information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 Thankyou for all that information! I really appreciate the tips on some places to look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I wonder whether they're dropping it because of this though it does seem they could offer it one last year :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I was wondering why students who were enrolled at CC need to be concerned with the AP exam? I was thinking if you got the CC credits wouldn't that be good enough? So you think that you need to take the CC class + the AP exam? Interesting! Thanks for that information. From my experience several years ago, competitive colleges prefer the computer science AP over a community class, so it's was just a ways to a means. Obviouly it pays to check the colleges you're targetting. This has probably changed, but at least one of the expensive private schools was actually paying the tuition for a few students because it was cheaper than hiring someone to teach it to just a handful of kids. I know that those who took it that way did very well because my program head was friends with the headmaster at the main private school that sent us students. We had a few public school students doing the same thing, and then a handful of traditional CC students. Anyway, that's all gone and won't be done again anytime soon with the death of the CSC degree where I teach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 GVA, I'm also in Virginia (near Thomas Nelson CC), so I assume the community college class numbers are about the same. Our cc offers 201 and 202, but 200 is a prerequisite to 201. Do you have any experience with kids either taking 200 or somehow getting exempt? Taking the class through the CC might be convenient, but not if he has to take an intro level first -- he's already had a year of Visual Basic and a year of C++. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 GVA, I'm also in Virginia (near Thomas Nelson CC), so I assume the community college class numbers are about the same. Our cc offers 201 and 202, but 200 is a prerequisite to 201. Do you have any experience with kids either taking 200 or somehow getting exempt? Taking the class through the CC might be convenient, but not if he has to take an intro level first -- he's already had a year of Visual Basic and a year of C++. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Gwen, I'm not familiar with the specific computer courses at your cc, but if you think your son already knows the basics from the 200 course, I'd suggest you work to get him out of that prerequisite. When my son registered for this semester at the cc, the people at the advising center told him that he needed to take the intro to computer class before taking any higher-level courses. I think that's just their standard answer. After all, they have no way of assessing his background and ability with computers. I advised my son to go and find the office of the instructor of the upper level course (in Computer Forensics) and speak with him directly about what is required. He did that and the instructor signed-off on his registration form allowing him to take the course. He is having no trouble with the course at all and is really enjoying it. This whole experience was good for my son, too. He learned to advocate for himself in order to get the class that was best for him. He would have been bored silly in an intro class, not to mention that I wasn't paying for it because I knew it would have been a waste of time. Good Luck! Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 GVA, I'm also in Virginia (near Thomas Nelson CC), so I assume the community college class numbers are about the same. Our cc offers 201 and 202, but 200 is a prerequisite to 201. Do you have any experience with kids either taking 200 or somehow getting exempt? Taking the class through the CC might be convenient, but not if he has to take an intro level first -- he's already had a year of Visual Basic and a year of C++. Any thoughts would be appreciated! All the colleges in the VCCS use the same basic course descriptions, and I can't find a description of CSC 200 in my college's documents. The prerequisite at our college was the basic computer literacy course, which is now ITE 115, or equivalent. We were pretty lenient on that if they provided programming experience, particularly an object-oriented language like Visual Basic or C++. Last we taught it, we used Java, which is the language used for the AP exam. So he might be OK, but I'd check with the professor and be sure you're clear that you're looking for AP prep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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