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Computer ScienceThe Computer Science Department is implementing a three-year computer science curriculum for students who are interested and capable in the field. This program is based on typical college curricula that is beginning to percolate down to the high school level. By establishing a CS curriculum that focuses on liberal and intellectual arts more than tool usage, utilizing and augmenting the deep thinking skills that we wish all of our students to develop, we provide students with a good foundation to enter, participate in, and change the technological world in which they live. University High School has a Computer Resource Center which is available to all students throughout the school day and after school. All 32 computers (Macs and PCs) have access to word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, desktop publishing, programming, and many other specialized applications. Scanners and printers, both black and white and color, are also available for student use. Students may work independently in the Center on school-related projects, or may obtain assistance from computer science teachers in selecting appropriate software for a project, and learning how to use a piece of software or equipment. They may use selected computers to access their e-mail accounts and explore the Internet.
Introduction to Computer Science If you are like most Americans you realize that Information Technology (IT) has entered our lives over a relatively brief period of time with little warning and essentially no formal educational preparation. There are impressive claims for the potential benefits of IT. If you would like to know more about what’s inside the box, and to more deeply understand what computers are, and how they work, Introduction to Computer Science will address these concerns and give you a foundation to live and lead in the technological world. The course introduces students to an array of topics that make up the field of computer science today with a particular focus on IT. It focuses on three essential areas of IT knowledge:
Students will combine core computer science concepts with hands-on experience as they complete projects such as designing web pages, using high-end multimedia tools, building logic circuits, programming in Java, designing database software, writing programs in Flash and enhancing web pages with JavaScript. This course is open to any level of student but is highly recommended for ninth and tenth graders. It serves as a prerequisite for AP Computer Science.
AP Computer Science This year-long course will build on the work done in Introduction to Computer Science for those interested in studying object-oriented programming, program design, data structures, program analysis, and traditional algorithms in depth. The course will follow the AP Computer Science syllabus as it prepares students to take the AB Advanced Placement exam.
Independent Project in Computer Science The motivated student is provided the opportunity to build on the skills and concepts learned in the AP Computer Science course by creating a project on an advanced topic in Computer Science. A non-exhaustive list of potential topics includes game programming, cryptology, algorithms, “hard” problems in CS, operating systems, networking and distributed computing, parallel computing, graphics, artificial intelligence, and databases. Interested students should obtain further information and assistance in developing a plan of study by consulting members of the computer science department. In addition, it will be necessary to have a computer science department faculty member sign the course registration, agreeing to sponsor this independent project. | |
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