CompUTERS 9-12

There are several courses across the BC curriculum (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca) involving computers, from Applied Design, Skills and Technologies to Computer Science. This class will combine elements of these into a one semester course. The purpose of the course material is to build useful skills and to promote critical thinking and problem solving.

Students will have the option to complete the material for one of the Ministry computer courses such as Computer Science, and change the course code that will appear on their transcript.

There are three different grades taking the class at the same time, and there will be some overlap in the material. There is also much variation in prior knowledge and experience. As students can enter the computer courses without prerequisites, the assigned tasks and their assessment will be partially tailored to the individual student,

The major focus will be on computer programming:

• Javascript, HTML, CSS for web design
• Excel spreadsheets and macros
• SQL for databases
• Embedding programming for robots, microbits, etc.
• Python scripting

We can add topics of interest to students, time permitting.

Students are expected to apply themselves to learning useful skills and have fun with the material, and to do their best and to achieve success in the course.

Much of the students' class time will be spent using the computers in our lab. Students must resist the temptation to waste their class time with video games and "surfing the web". If a student cannot refrain from these activities, then the student may be banned from computer use and be required to complete the projects with pencil and paper.

All of the software used in the course will be open-source, so students can download and use the software at home at no cost.

Assessment will be based on projects (50%) and tests and quizzes (50%).