Java.
The first written coding language that I claimed to be versed in was Java. Java was the first language that I was able to freely code in without help from a teacher or resources, such as a programming book. This made it a language that I could freely code in to achieve certain goals and problem solve with an understanding of what is going on. I learned all of my current Java through the first intro class offered at Millard West: Intro to Computer Science Programming. This class's curriculum focuses on providing exposure to a widely-used programming language that leverages an object-oriented approach to software design. The main topics it focuses on include: Processing input and output; variables, math operations, and data types; loops, conditionals, and methods; object-oriented basics; collections and data sources; iterative calculations; modeling and simulation; and Android Java programming. Like all the computer science courses offered at West, the class is broken up by a series of projects specifically designed to advance the previously gained skills to the next level. These projects would be divided up by sets of notes that provide both the actual programming and examples. It is these notes that build and develop the necessary skills needed for the next upcoming project. The notes for all of the courses are shown below. Please note the difference between the actual notes and the examples as the examples will have fewer comments all over them.
For the more advanced topics, such as object-oriented programming, mini-class projects were used to develop these new, complex skills. Most of these projects followed some type of theme determined by the class. Each mini-project focused mainly on one aspect of the overall complex topic. The four mini-class projects that were focused on during my semester in Intro to Computer Science Programming include a mad lib, biome simulation, farm song simulation, bank simulation, and a 'final' mini project that used the theme of Vikings. Each of these projects taught specific skills that combined in the 'final' mini-project to create one large set of possible simulations that demonstrated and concreted object-oriented programming skills. To add to the complexity of the 'final' mini-project, each possible simulation had different programs that acted as actors. It was these actors that could be mixed and matched to create infinite new possible simulations in addition to one large one involving every single one of them. These mini projects altogether acted as large examples for notes and provided a time to figure out all the immediate beginner questions about the new ideas. Below are the mini-projects that my class and I created with several themes mostly based around Vikings and pop culture.
In addition to the mini-class projects, there were large projects that acted as checkpoints/tests to check our understanding of the new programming knowledge. Each project focused on demonstrating all of the previous skills developed throughout the notes and mini-class projects. These projects were completed individually, and students were allowed to ask as many questions about their code as they wished. However, they were highly encouraged to try and troubleshoot by themselves. The three following projects that were completed in my Intro to Computer Science Programming class involved a pet project, a blackjack simulation project, and a final project called GridWorld. The pet project allowed students to demonstrate their understanding of the basics of most programming languages as well as some participant inputs. Students had to create a set of programs that followed the basic functions of the popular 90s toy, Tamagotchi. This toy was simply a little pet that had a simple little pet inside that had to be taken care of. With this project, students had to replicate these simple functions and design their own digital versions of the toy. The blackjack project was just like the name. Students had to replicate all the necessary functions and rules of the game of blackjack digitally that could be playable for one player. This project had a few more complicated functions needed compared to the pet project as students had to store values in addition to initializing through them to do certain actions. The final project was called GridWorld. This project used the retired curriculum of the AP Computer Science A course. Students were given the GridWorld basic functions for simple operations. Using this, students had to use the document listed below this to create a combination of critters that added up to 10+ stars. The star count differed by difficulty, and each one used a wide variety of skills developed during the entirety of the course. My class however was running behind with time, so we only had to submit 5+ stars. Below are the projects that I submitted for the class, yet please note that I was usually ahead of the class allowing me to greatly complicate and personalize the projects. Please also note that the retired curriculum case study notes and GridWorld critter index are listed below as well.
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