Unit 1: Day 1

START DATE:DUE DATE:STATUS:Open

1.1 Welcome and Introductions

Description of the course:

Why learn computing science?

Problem solving stretches the mind
- Really useful, you get to help people (AI diagnosing schizophrenia, bioinformatics, robotics, etc.)
- Embedded processors are everywhere!!!!
- A.I. is growing (and Edmonton is a world leader in A.I. research)
- Computers are a useful tool and we are still discovering new ways to use it. (google maps to plot landmines in Asia)
- You get to make stuff
Advances in computing have generated and increased creativity in other fields, such as medicine, engineering, communications, and the arts
Watch Code.org video Computer Science is Changing Everything [5:23].

1.2 Introduction to Computing Science

Discuss the many disciplines of Computing Science (writing programs, writing games, web development, database administration, robotics, computer and systems engineering, machine learning, visual and auditory learning, Mechatronics etc.
- A computing device is a physical artifact that can run a program. Some examples include computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors.
- A computing system is a group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose.
Discuss types of programming languages – Brainstorm any you have heard of and categorize as markup, script or a language level (from binary code to assembly to C to Java)
Educational languages are another category. These often use simplified Drag and Drop coding blocks to get you started more quickly.

1.3 Intro to SNAP with Hour of Code (or other Block Based Language) (Last 45 minutes of class)

Show something easy and corny to start the year off
Snap Hour of Code Link
Here is the SNAP Hour of Code finished project
SNAP is a more advanced version of Scratch. It is used today to get the students thinking like a computer scientist.
Scratch and SNAP are known as Educational Languages that are designed specifically to teach coding without the need for a new vocabulary, punctuation and other language syntax. However, some very complex code can none the less be written in these languages.
Show the high end example project - Smiley Recognizer [9:47]:

Continue to Unit 1: Day 2 »