CODEie - Computer Science for Kids

ICS is the first course in the study of computer science for the students ages 10-14. This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science in a structured manner. Students learn fundamentals of logic and problem solving by creating engaging animations and games. This course aspires to marry creativity and problem solving capabilities of students to produce future computational thinkers and creators of technology. Course is taught using project based learning methodology. In this method students develop skills and gain knowledge by experimenting, by doing, by observing patterns and by collaborating with peers. Students also get opportunity to work on authentic, engaging, complex and challenging problems. Each lesson builds conceptual understanding in a concrete manner using in-class activities and discussions. Students gain further understanding of the concepts by experimenting and by applying these concepts to solve challenging problems. Some of the concepts taught in this course are: problem solving, algorithmic thinking, various logical structures and abstraction.

Creative Computing introduces students to the formal structure and syntax of the programming language.Here students learn syntax for the computational and logical concepts they have developed while working with blocks.This course is broken down in a stair case manner into 3 quarters, where each quarter builds on the work of the previous quarter. All the concepts and applications in this course are taught using the concrete-visual-abstract approach guided by psychologist Jerome Bruner’s theory of intellectual development.Course starts with students working on smaller projects at the start of the quarter and culminates each quarter with a complex and challenging project. In this course students use logic, problem solving and abstraction to create various computational artifacts like: logos, animations,games, applications and visualizations. This is a cross-curricular course where in addition to computer science, students are also taught fundamental concepts of mathematics and physics.Students learn how information around them is digitized, stored and used. By the end of this course students will be able to create simple application, animations and games using JavaScript and Java. Additionally, students will be able to simulate basic principles of motion physics.

Introduction to object oriented programming using Java is the first course in computer science for the students who have no previous experience in computer science. Course is taught using project based learning approach. In this approach students develop incremental understanding of the process of problem solving and logic by experimenting, by creating engaging games and animations and by articulating patterns they observe. Introduction to OOP is taught in two phases; during the first phase students do not use syntax, focus is on developing conceptual understanding and problem solving. This is taught using the tool called Alice.Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, or creating an interactive game, or a video to share on the web.Using this interface students drag and drop graphic tiles to create programs to solve simple problems. Instructions in these programs correspond to the statements in Object Oriented Programming like Java, C++ and C#. Second phase of this course focuses on applying concepts learnt in the previous phase and learning syntax of the Java language. This part of the course is taught using Eclipse IDE. By the end of this course students will be able to write algorithms, understand basics of computer science, use flow control in conjunctions with relational, logical and arithmetic operators to solve problems. Students will also be able to write modular programs using Java.