What's Going On? September 30th through October 4th

Happy Homecoming Week!

If you are interested in participating in our spirit week, here is a list of the themes:

App Development 1

Now that we have wrapped up our first summative app, Hello World, it is time to move on to our next unit.  During this week, we will focus on Apple Documentation and the Apple Human Interface Guidelines (HIGS) as they apply to best practices for writing code and designing the look of our apps.  We will also talk about operators and how we can perform mathematical operations within the context of our app.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will begin to explore a new programming language, MIT App Inventor.  It is similar to

Scratch in that it is a "drag and drop" block-based programming language.   In our study, we will learn how to create apps for Android devices.  Since this course is considered to be "language-neutral", we will look at the basic building blocks that go into programming.  We will be able to compare and contrast the two different programming platforms that we have worked with so far this year.  Even though the two languages are different and come with their own specific rules, we will start to recognize the similarities that exist between all programming languages: including variables, conditional statements, and looping structures. 



Programming the Web 1


This week, we will dive into our fifth lesson of the year where we will focus on images.  Students
will be responsible for reading chapters 7 and 10 in our textbook while completing the accompanying reading guide to help us pick our the most important concepts.  Students will have two web assignments to work on throughout the week and will complete our ten review questions during class on Friday.  Additionally, this week, students will be introduced to the web design software "DreamWeaver".  This is an industry-standard program that will help students create pages. This software is quite powerful and will aid in our web-design creation.  This program is not likely to be available outside of our classroom so it is very important that students use all class time wisely in order to complete our web assignments.  Students who need additional time to complete their work will need to make arrangements with me to come in before school to work in the lab.

What's Going On? September 23rd through September 27th

App Development 1

This week, students will complete our first summative end-of-unit app challenge, Hello World.  For
this project, students will demonstrate their knowledge of adding objects to the storyboard and modifying their properties through the attribute inspector.  Students will also demonstrate how to make modifications to objects through the code with IBOutlets and variables.  Students will be assessed on their ability to design storyboard as well as their ability to work with objects in the code.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will work on their summative Scratch story/game.  Students will create the game on their own or in partners.  Once this is complete, students will use this as an opportunity to practice for the "Create" performance task that will be submitted to the AP Board in May.  Students will create a 1-minute video highlighting the features of the app. Students will also write a few short reflections on the purpose of the app, the development process, as well as explaining a few elements of the code.





Programming the Web 1

This week, students will learn how to create links on a web page.  We will learn how to link to an external page, to a page within our website, as well a link within a website (this is called linking to a fragment).  Along with this week, students will read chapter 6 in our textbook, complete the accompanying reading guide, as well as take our multiple-choice 10-question assessment.  Additionally, students will have two web assignments to complete to practice these skills.

What's Going On? September 16th through September 20th

App Development 1


This week, we will take a look at how to create variables and constants within an app.  These tools
allow us to keep track of different information to be used and referenced within the context of our app.  Students will read through and try out variable creation within our "Playground" environment.  We will also create a demo app to try out our skills together.  We will end the week with a "Variables Code Challenge" formative assessment as well as a brief quiz.

AP Computer Science Principles

Students will start off the week by wrapping up their formative assignments on variable roles.  We will start class on Tuesday by taking a brief formative assessment checking in on our level of understanding of these roles.  Once this is complete, students will start their first summative assessment.  Students will create an app in Scratch and analyze its components.  This assessment will also serve as a practice performance task, getting students prepared for when we submit our final portfolio pieces to the AP board in April.



Programming the Web 1

This week, we will dive into our third lesson of the year.  Students will learn how to mark up our
content using different HTML tags.  We will focus on how to create lists, mark up quotes, and dates.  Students will also learn how use tags to structure a page using tags such as <div>, <span>, <section>, and <article>.  Along with this week, students will need to read chapter 5 in our textbook and complete the reading guide.  We will also have 3 web page assignments to create.  We will finish the week with our 10 multiple choice questions about our markup structure.

What's Going On? September 9th through September 13th

App Development 1

We will start off our second week with a "Buttons and Labels Code Challenge".   This formative assignment will help students review the steps we need to take to create buttons and labels and how to appropriately connect them to the code.  Later in the week, students will learn how to add an image to their app.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, our main focus will be on different variable types and their potential roles within a program.  Students will work with these concepts while modifying two different projects within the Scratch programming environment. 

Programming the Web 1

This week, we will move on to lesson 2.  Students will learn the skills to set up and add content to a basic web page.  Students will learn how to markup a headline for a page, add a paragraph, an image, and a few other concepts.  Along with this week, students will read chapter 4 in our textbook ad complete the accompanying reading guide.  In class, students will have three web pages to create and submit by the end of the week.  We will end the week with 10 multiple choice questions that highlight our work done for the week.

Welcome Back, Computer Science Students!

Welcome back to school!  My name is Mrs. Kamenar and I will be working with you in your
computer science class this year.  This will be my fourteenth year teaching at Waukesha North.  This year I will be teaching Honors Geometry, App Development 1 & 2, AP Computer Science A, Programming the Web 1 & 2and Yearbook.  In addition to teaching at North, I am also the women's cross country coach and the school's yearbook advisor.

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, going to the library and swimming.  I also had an amazing vacation with my mom and sister to the Galapagos Islands where I got to swim with sharks, turtles and sea lions, hike some volcanoes and learned to surf.

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.

App Development 1

In this class, students will learn how to program for Apple devices using the Swift programming language.  This week, we will take a look at the Storyboard of app creation and create a simple flashlight app.


Web 1

In this class, students will learn the basics of web page design using HTML and CSS.  This week, we will talk about the basics of web design.

AP Computer Science Principles

This is the second time that this course will be offered at North, and the fourth year that the course is offered nationwide.  Students who enroll in this course will have the opportunity to complete the AP Computer Science Principles exam and have the potential to earn college credit.  

To start off the semester, we will begin by tinkering with some programming concepts using a website called "lightbot".  Later on in the week, we will take a look at the book "Blown to Bits".  We will take a look at chapter one, which explores the explosion of the computer science field and the impact on day-to-day life.  As the course progresses, students will have the opportunity to work with several different programming environments, including Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Python.

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.  If you have questions, feel free to e-mail me at kkamenar@waukesha.k12.wi.us.  You can also follow me on Twitter: @MrsKamenar.