Exploring Programming | Academics | Middle School | The American School in Japan

Exploring Programming Course Overview

 

Teacher: Derrel Fincher Spring Semester, 2001

Course Goals:

Exploring Programming is a new one-semester course for students who feel comfortable with the basics of technology, such as taught in the MS Tech Skills course, and want to go further in understanding how to program a computer. The primary focus of the course is problem solving. That is, programming concepts will be introduced because they help solve a particular problem. The ethics of programming will run through the course.

Major topics:

Spreadsheets: This course presumes that students know basic spreadsheet skills. Students will explore the more advanced concepts of logic, string manipulation, look-up functions and user-defined functions.

Logo: Students will use Logo programming to explore looping and input driven programs. They will create a simple game using Logo.

Visual Basic: Students will use Visual Basic to explore event driven programs as well as to understand the basics of structured programming and object oriented programming.

Major Projects

Students will have a couple of major projects. One will require that they create a simple game using Visual Basic that others will play. Another will require that they work in a group to each write part of a program to solve a problem. The scope and type of the projects may change depending on the abilities of the students.

Resources

The class is held in the Technical Resource Center, and students will be expected to use those resources, as well as program manuals, help files, Internet sites, peer helpers, and others. The Exploring Programming course web site is http://www.asij.ac.jp/middle/ep. 

Assessment

Evaluation will be based on projects, quizzes, the ability to work independently, out-of-class work, and class participation. Projects will be evaluated on the processes the student uses to create them, the thought put into the project, and the final product. When a project is a group effort, students will also be assessed on how well they work with the other members of the group.

Procedures and Policies

Class time occasionally may not be sufficient for completing the work in the class and it will be assigned for completion by the next class. Students will be expected to come to the TRC on their own time to finish, but the time required should not ordinarily exceed 30 minutes between two class sessions. (Students may take the work home if they happen to have appropriate resources.) Students will be expected to make up any missed work unless they have an extended absence, in which case I will work with the student to appropriately modify the assignments. Students are free to contact me at school or at home.

Specific Expectations of Accountability

Students are expected to behave ethically at all times. Specific issues include knowingly infringing on others intellectual property or using their knowledge of computers or programming to disrupt the work of others. Students will treat others in the class with respect.

 

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         Student’s Name:           

                Date:                     

Exploring Programming

 

The Exploring Programming Course overview is posted on the link from the Exploring Programming page at http://www.asij.ac.jp/middle/ep.  Please sign below indicating that you have read and understood the information contained in the course overview and return it to Mr. Fincher.

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