What's Going On? December 2nd through December 6th

App Development

This week, we will focus on two important programming concepts: classes and inheritance.  A class is a program-code template used for creating objects.  Essentially, a class sets up a blueprint for how to create something new.  For example, a simple BankAccount class would have some basic information about each client in the bank, including the person's name, account number, and balance.  When we create a new BankAccount object, we would fill it with specific details about a specific client.  The BankAccount class provides the template for how we can create users and work with their data.  Along with this week, students will have a "Classes Playground Reading", a coding challenge, as well as a formative quiz.  Once we wrap up our work with classes, we will work with "Inheritance".  This allows for specific details from one class to be passed down to other classes.  For example, a CheckingAccount class might use, or inherit, all of the information provided in the BankAccount class, plus add its own features such as keeping track of check numbers.



AP Computer Science Principles

We will start off this week by talking about abstraction and its role in programming.  With abstraction, we are able to use things without knowing exactly what makes them work.  For example, a person can drive a car without knowing the specifics of how an engine works.  This is an important concept to understand as students will need to know how to apply it for our AP Create Performance task.  We will spend the rest of the week applying this concept by manipulating images in Python. 

Programming the Web 1

This week, students will work on their web assignment 13A.  Students will be creating the "Clear Reflections Photography" homepage.  This assignment allows students to practice the skill of formatting images for the web in Photoshop as well as practice the skill of creating layouts using CSS.  Along with this week, students will turn in the reading guide for our textbook reading on Tuesday and complete 10 multiple choice questions on Friday.