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Computer Science and Flight


Instructor:

Joey Buyske
 
 

 

Computer Science 1

(7th Grade)

​Computer Science 1 is called Exploration and Expression because it focuses on the problem solving process, career opportunities in computer science, and basic computer coding including debugging. In 2017 there were 530,472 open jobs in computer science and this course can lead you on a path to fill one of these positions. The computer languages learned are HTML and CSS and students use the Game Lab to create a game using JavaScript blocks or text.
Games and websites are things students use everyday but in Computer Science they create them: creating their own website using HTML and CSS and then create a game in game lab using JavaScript. This course is a requirement to Computer Science 2 which focuses on Innovation and Impact.

Modules:

  • Problem Solving
  • Web Development
  • An introduction to game design


Essential Components Explored:

  • Problem Solving Process
  • Input-Output-Storage-Process
  • Field of Computer Science
  • HTML & CSS with Web Design
  • Debugging
  • Pair Programming
  • Game Lab
  • Sprites & Animations
  • ​Internet Safety

Introduction to Computer Science 2

(7th Grade)

Computer Science 2 is called Innovation and Impact as students extend their creations with code. Students will complete GameLab or Unit 3 and have a creation of their own through collaboration, communication, creativity, problem solving, and persistence. They look at what consumers (friends) want in technology prototypes and then use choice to create those technologies.  
Have you wanted to create a game, your own programmed “Alexa” or an App?  If so, this course is for you as all of those are options. Students continue to use computer science practices of pair programming and debugging to create a game as an app as well as using circuit boards to create programs that are responsive to light, sound, and temperature using coding and debugging.

Modules:

  • Animations and Games
  • The Design Process
  • Data and Society
  • Physical Computing


Essential Components Explored:

  • Problem Solving Process
  • Input-Output-Storage-Process
  • Field of Computer Science
  • Design Lab
  • Creating a Game as an App
  • Data Programming
  • Physical Computing
  • Circuit Boards with Maker Toolkits
  • ​Internet Safety

Flight

(8th grade) ​

The exciting world of aerospace comes alive through Flight and Space. Students will learn the Engineering Design Process and see how engineers apply it to solving real-world problems.  A brief history of flight is followed by the design and construction of various flying machines. Then, students explore the science behind aeronautics and use their knowledge to design, build, and test a glider, applying the engineering design process throughout the entire project.  The first semester wraps up with an introduction to space travel and some of the limitations of living in space.


Essential Components Explored:

  • Engineering Design Process
  • What Is An Engineer?
  • History of Flight and Space
  • Newton’s Laws of Motion
  • Bernoulli’s Principle