What's Going On? September 29th through October 3rd

Variables and Objects

Last week we finished up our unit on the basics of Java programming.  Students were introduced to some of the basic principles of Java programming.  We talked about the different types of errors we may encounter as we learn to program and we learned about the basic structure of a Java application.

So far we've only been able to write very simple programs that print out a couple of lines of text.  In this next unit we'll start to use different variables and objects in order to make our programs more interactive.  This week we'll start working with four different primitive data types:

• int: a variable to hold a whole number
• double: a variable to hold a decimal number
• char: a variable to hold a single character
• boolean: a variable to hold a true/false value

We will become familiar with some basic arithmetic operations and practice the order of operations that our Java applications will follow.  In addition to creating our own variables, we'll also be able to get input from our program's user by using the "Scanner" object.  

What's Going On? September 22nd through September 26th

Intro to Java


This week will will continue our introduction to the Java computer programming language.  Since we are still having technical issues with our JGrasp software, students will be using an online Java compiler.  We will continue looking at basic Java programming syntax and the basic structure for the main method of a Java application.  

This week, students will apply their knowledge learned so far to create some text output.  By the end of the week, students should complete Programming Projects 1.1 and 1.2 as well as Programming Projects 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5.  Students should keep up to date with their Google Site Portfolio page and have these programming assignments added to their portfolios by the end of the week.

Students are reminded that class will meet in lab 300 this week and next week due to MAP testing!

On Thursday students will complete their test review assignment and on Friday student will complete their first summative assessment on the "Basics of Java".  Students are reminded that summative assessments now make up 100% of their grade.

If students have questions, they can come see me for extra help.  I am currently available starting at 7am each morning until I go on maternity leave.  Once I am on maternity leave, students can make arrangements with our long-term substitute, Mrs. Rahn, for extra help.

What's Going On? September 15th-September 19th

Name Animation Tutorial


This week in Fundamentals of Programming students will start off the week by finishing up their Scratch Name Animation Tutorial.  Students will add a new page to their electronic portfolio in order to showcase the knowledge gained while completing the tutorial.

Hopefully our technological difficulties will be resolved this week and we will be able to start making our transition into the Java programming language.  The plan is to compare what we've learned with the block-based coding with the Java.  We'll start by creating a basic program that will print a message.  By the end of the week students should have an understanding of the basic structure of a Java application file as well as an understanding of how to make text appear on the screen.

What's Going On? September 7 - September 11

Intro to Computer Programming: Scratch
This week we'll continue our look at our first programming assignment using MIT's Scratch program.  Last week we set up our free Scratch accounts and started our first "dancing" tutorial.  This week we'll finish up our tutorial and add our program to our portfolio website.  We will also answer some reflection questions related to our program on our portfolio site.

Later this week we'll start connecting what we have learned so far with Scratch to the Java programming language.  We will explore the JGrasp programming environment and create our first basic Java program.