Computer Courses Available

COMPUTER/INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COURSES

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY

WEB DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN I

WEB DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN II

3D MODELING & ANIMATION

INTRO TO COMPUTER SCIENCE

AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES

AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A

613       INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY (Semester-Daily)                                             Credit 0.5                                        (Meets Grad Requirement)

Integrated Technology will provide opportunities for continued advancement in the Upper Merion Area School District one-to-one computer initiative. The course will introduce students to techniques that will allow them to integrate different forms of technology into their learning throughout their lives. Students will develop their computing skills and reflect on their role in a digital world. The district-provided MacBook is the tool that drives student learning in this course. Students will utilize various applications and web-based tools to meet learning objectives across their curriculum. Students will engage with topics such as digital citizenship, the impacts of art and technology, computer science, and overall responsible use of technology as they consider their own identity and future in a digital age. No experience needed to succeed in this course.

Prerequisite: None

607      WEB DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN I (Semester-Daily)                                 Credit 0.5                                       (Meets Grad Requirement)

This is a project-based course that will introduce students to the coding languages HTML and CSS. The course starts off exploring how the internet works and how websites are developed and designed. Students will understand what a web host is, how to register a domain name, and how to get your website online. Students will then take a deep dive into how to create websites by coding from scratch using HTML and CSS. Students will come away knowing ways to enhance web pages with the use of page layout techniques, text formatting, graphics, and images. Towards the end of this course students will explore web design standards and why they are important. The course progresses from introductory work to a culminating project in which students create a website. No experience needed to succeed in this fun and project based course, but a desire to learn coding is encouraged.

Prerequisite: None

609      WEB DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN II (Semester-Daily)                                                          Credit 0.5

This course is for students who have successfully completed Web Development & Design I and want to learn tools and techniques in the Web Design world to make their sites more functional, interactive, and visually appealing. The course will delve further into HTML5 CSS/Bootstrap and JavaScript, as well as other tools. Projects will include real world/community projects including creating website proposals for clients. This class is ideal for students who are both artistic and technical and are interested in learning skills that will focus on advanced web development and design techniques. This course is designed to be a rewarding and fun learning experience for students that have successfully completed Web Development & Design I. Upon completion of this course, you will have the skills needed to build a website for a client.

Prerequisite: A passing grade in Web Development & Design I or teacher recommendation

617       3D MODELING & ANIMATION (Semester)                                         Credit 0.5                                                  (Meets Grad Requirement)

In this class you will learn how to make animated cartoons as well as create 3D objects including printing some of your designs on 3D printers. This class is ideal for students who may be interested in art, graphic design, engineering and/or animation. This class requires NO experience or knowledge of animation and 3D models and will teach you how to do it in a fun and project based environment. The class will utilize animation tools and 3D modeling software as well as a full review of the history of animation and CGI graphics in everyday use. Upon completion, students will be able to create 3D models and actual animations using 2D and 3D modeling tools such as, but not limited to Animate and Blender. No experience needed to succeed in this course.

Prerequisite: None

634       INTRO TO COMPUTER SCIENCE (Semester-Daily)                          Credit 0.5                                                  (Meets Grad Requirement)

Designed as an introductory computer science and programming course, this course provides students with a solid foundation of what computer science is and prepares them for other computer science courses at the high school. Topics include the history and influencers that shaped computer science, abstraction, hardware and software, operating systems, algorithms, programming, Artificial Intelligence and robotics. A natural progression from this course is for students to take AP Computer Science Principles and/or AP Computer Science A. Languages used include but are not limited to Java and Python. No experience needed to succeed in this course but an interest in coding and Computer Science is helpful.

Prerequisite: None

 634       AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES (Year-Daily)                          Credit 1.0

Curious about all of the areas of computer science but not into coding 100% of the time? AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory, college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They will also incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical. While this course has no designated programming language, students will leave the class with the knowledge and ability to create an actual working App. Class activities and assignments are designed to prepare students for the AP Computer Science Principles MC exam and Create project. This course is great for those who want to explore CS at a higher level or will be considering a liberal arts major in college.

Prerequisite: Passing grade in Intro to Computer Science, Web Development I, Instructional Technology, 3D Modeling or teacher recommendation

636       AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A (Year-Daily) HONORS                              Credit 1.0

AP Computer Science A is equivalent to a first-semester, college-level course in computer science. AP Computer Science A introduces students to computer science through programming. Fundamental topics in this course include the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, the development and implementation of algorithms to process data and discover new information, the analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing systems. The course emphasizes object-oriented programming and design using the Java programming language. Class activities and assignments are designed to prepare students for the AP Computer Science A exam.

Prerequisite: Passing grade in Intro to Computer Science or teacher recommendation