I hope that everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. This summer went by too fast, but I guess it always seems that way. This summer I got to spend a lot of time with my husband and my two kids, Jack and Laura. We spent our time going to the zoo, the children's museum, going to the library and swimming. My husband and I took a few days to visit Hawaii where we were able to visit Pearl Harbor and have a lot of fun in the ocean snorkeling, kayaking, and cliff jumping. My goal is to keep you up to date with what's going on in the classroom through this blog. Between the blog and our class schedule of events that will be posted on our BlackBoard class website, it is my hope that all students and parents will be informed about what's going on in the classroom.
Fundamentals of Programming
In this course, students will be introduced to computer programming through MIT's App Inventor. We will learn how to program some basic apps that are compatible with Android devices. This week students will set up their free MIT App Inventor accounts, design our online learning portfolios, and program the "Hello Purr" app. Through this "drag and drop" based programming environment, students will be introduced to the building blocks of computer programming.
Programming the Web 1
In this course, students will learn how to create and design web pages using HTML5 and CSS. This course, which is offered as a transcripted course through WCTC, allows students to simultaneously earn high school credit through Waukesha North and college credit through WCTC. The course is broken down into weekly lessons. Each week students will be introduced to a new web design technique. We will talk about the new concept in class and try out a sample together. Students will receive a programming assignment which consists of between 1 and 4 web sites for the week. Early in the semester, many of the assignments are presented as step-by-step tutorials from our class textbook. Students will also need to read an assigned portion of the textbook and take a weekly assessment.
In this first week of class, we will talk about different methods of web design. Students will look at existing web pages online and analyze the design. Along with this week, we will see our largest reading assignment for the semester. Students must read the first three chapters of the textbook in order to prepare for our first assessment. Students will be provided a "reading guide" to accompany the text so that they can pick out the most important information.
Programming the Web 2
In this course, students will continue to learn about the principles of web design. This course will include concepts such as advanced HTML5/CSS techniques, JavaScript and animation. We will start the year with a review of some of the concepts learning in the Programming the Web 1 course. Students will also start to build their web portfolios that will serve as the foundation for the entire course.
I am really excited to get to work with you this year. I hope we are all able to learn a lot and have some fun along the way! If you have any questions as we move through the year, please don't hesitate to contact me.
