Syllabus

 

Sure, you know a million apps … do you know any computer science?

Computer Science is the study of computation built on fascinating (and beautiful!) principles. Computer science concepts apply in many fields: graphics, art & design, math, knowledge representation, engineering, biology, markets, and many more. Use the power of computing in your career!

 

SYLLABUS    

Week 0, September 29

• Introduction to course
• Topic: Big Ideas in Computer Science

                               

Week 1, October 2 - 6

• Reading: a bit of computer history in Wikipedia (optional)
• Topic: Big Ideas in Computer Science
• Snap: Introduction (Kaleidoscope)
• HW: Hour of Code 

  

Week 2: October 9 - 13

• Topic: Overview - It's all just bits, good or evil? (ch. 1 BTB)
• Snap: Loops and Building Your Own Blocks (Field of Flowers)
• Reading: Blown to Bits chapter 1
• Discussion of Logic Gates

 

Week 3: October 16 - 20

• Topic: Representing Data (continuation)
• Snap: Conditionals and Variables (Number guessing game)
• Reading: Blown to Bits chapter 2
• Logic gates practice: Basic Gates and Functions

 

Week 4: October 23 - 27

• Topic: AI, HCI, and Robots.
• Snap: Abstraction and Testing (Brick Wall)
• Reading: Why the future doesn't need us, Rise of Concerns about AI
• Reading: Blown to Bits chapter 3

 

Week 5: October 30 - November 3

• Midterm review
• Snap: Multiple Sprites (game or story)
• Midterm on Wednesday November 1 @ 1:20pm

 

Week 6: November 6 - 10 (friday is a holiday)

• Topic: The Internet and the Web, Networks
• Snap: Lists (Sentences or Higher Order Functions)
• Reading: Chapter 4 Blown to Bits
• OSI Model, History of the Internet, Warriors of the Internet 

 

Week 7: November 13 - 17

• Topic: Cryptography
• Discussion of ch. 4 BTB
• Snap: Recursion and Fractals 
• Reading: Chapter 5 Blown to Bits

 

Week 8: November 20 - 24 (thursday and friday are holidays. No class on wednesday.)

• Snap: Start on final project
• Discussion of HTML, CSS, JavaScript

 

Week 9: November 27 - December 1

• Topic: Sorting and Complexity
• Snap: None - homework handout on Data Representation, Logic, Huffman Coding, Binary Numbers
• Snap: Final Project Due Monday Dec. 4

 

Week 10: December 4 - 8

• Topic: P2P (media sharing and cryptocurrency)

 

Final Schedule

• Tuesday December 12, 4pm-7pm