What's Going On? May 30th through June 2nd

 Thought for the Week

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will give their presentations on Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Students will present their findings on how AI can be used, how it may affect social, economic, social-emotional, academic, and other cultures.  Students will give their opinion on the use of AI, suggest how they would regulate it, and give their predictions for the future.  After the presentations, students will complete the final exam.  This is a two-day exam created by our curriculum provider, PLTW.   

App Development 1 and App Development 2

This week, students will be working on their final projects.  App Development 2 students will be creating a full app of their choice.  Once finished, they will create a short video highlighting the features of the app.  App Development 1 students can choose to participate in App Dev 2's "Build Your Own App" project, or choose a smaller project and learn how to implement a single feature into an app.  This App 1 project will involve creating a short tutorial-style video explaining how someone else can implement this feature into their own app.

What's Going On? May 22nd to May 26th

Thought for the Week

Friday's Early Release Schedule

Looking Ahead: Final Exam Schedule

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will work on their AI culminating summative project.  Students may work individually or in small groups to continue their research on AI.  The important aspects of the project include:

• Define AI

• How is it currently being used?  Give specific examples.

• Explain (generally) how machines learn over time.

• Potential use (and misuse) of AI by high school students

• Misinformation and AI

• Ethical issues related to AI

• Mental health issues related to AI

• Career Opportunities in AI

• Your personal recommendation about the use and regulation of AI

• Your personal prediction about the future of AI

Students should be ready to present their projects to the class starting on Tuesday, May 30th.

App Development 1

This week, students will wrap up their "Word Play" Mad Lib-style app.  Once this is finished, students will have the remaining time of the semester to work on their final project.  Students have two options for the final.  One is to investigate a new feature or technique that we have not formally learned about in class.  Students will then create a tutorial-style video on how to use the feature in an app.  The other choice is for students to create a fully-functional app of their choosing.  Students who create a full app are encouraged to submit their work to the Uncharted Learning "Build Your Own App" contest.  Students may work alone or in small groups on their projects.  All work is due by the end of the final exam period.

App Development 2

Students will have the remaining time of the semester to work on their final project. Students will create a full app of their choice.  Students must incorporate at least one of the major elements we learned about throughout the course of the semester.  These topics include UIMapKit, TableViews, custom classes, and SpriteKit.  Students are encouraged to submit their work to the Uncharted Learning "Build Your Own App" contest.  Students may work alone or in small groups on their projects.  All work is due by the end of the final exam period.

What's Going On? May 15th through May 19th

 Thought for the Week

 

Countdown to Summer Spirit Days - Join in the Fun!

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue our study of artificial intelligence.  We will examine the purpose of AI as well as some of the implications of AI in society.  

App Development

This week, students will start on their last teacher-directed project.  Our project is titled "Word Play".  In this app, students will create a Mad-Lib-style project that prompts the user to enter some words (like an adjective, noun, and verb) and then places them into a story.  Students will be encouraged to get creative for this project and show off all they have learned about design, creating multiple screens, and passing information between them.

App Development 2

The "Build Your Own App Contest" is on!  Students can choose to work alone or in small groups to create an app of their choice.  Students must include at least one of the major components that we talked about over the course of the semester: maps, table views, a custom class, or SpriteKit.  Students also have the option to enter the Uncharted Learning BYOA contest to win fabulous prizes!  Read all about the contest here.

What's Going On? May 7th through May

Thought for the Week

Countdown to Summer Spirit Days

AP Computer Science Principles

The AP Exam has arrived!  The exam begins at noon.  Be sure to bring pencils, a pen, and your ID.  Be sure to leave your cellphones and smart watches in your locker.  Good luck!!!!

During the rest of the week, we will start our AI investigation where we explore things like Chat GPT and discuss its uses.

App Development 1

This week, we will wrap up our pre-unit hackwich called "Intergalactic Travel".  Through this app, students will learn how to create multiple screens and travel between them.  We will also talk about different ways that we can pass information between the screens.

App Development 2

The goal for the first part of this week is to wrap up our "Brick Breaker" apps.  Students have some flexibility in the goal and implementation of the app, but students must include a paddle, a  ball, and at least 8 bricks that will "break" when they come into contact with the ball.

Once we have wrapped up Brick Breaker, students will begin to work on their final "Build Your Own App" projects.  Students will finally have the opportunity to choose their own subject and plan and create an app of their choosing.

What's Going On? May 1st through May 5th

 Thought for the Week

Countdown to Summer!

The countdown to summer officially begins on Monday! Here are the dress-up days for May 1- 5.

AP Computer Science Principles

URGENT: THE CREATE PERFORMANCE TASK MUST BE UPLOADED TO THE DIGITAL
PORTFOLIO SITE BY MONDAY, MAY 1ST AT 10:59PM.  LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  THIS IS WORTH 30% OF THE OVERALL AP SCORE.  BE SURE TO COMPLETE THIS AND DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!!!!

PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS A LIKELY CHANCE THAT THE AP DIGITAL PORTFOLIO SITE MAY BE SLOW DUE TO MANY PEOPLE OVER THE COUNTRY SUBMITTING THEIR AP CREATE TASK AT THE LAST MINUTE.  PLEASE UPLOAD YOUR WORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

During Monday's class, we will spend time reviewing "Big Idea #4". This idea relates to how information is transmitted over the internet.  The rest of the week will be used for completing a practice AP exam and going through additional AP practice questions.

App Development 1

The first part of the week will be used for students to wrap up their summative end-of-unit app challenge called "Tip Calculator".  During class on Wednesday, students will read about how to navigate between different screens within an app.  During class on Friday, we will start a sample app called "Intergalactic Travel" that will allow us to travel between two screens and pass information between them.

App Development 2

This week, students will be working on their "Brick Breaker" summative app.  Students will also have some time to brainstorm their ideas for their final "Build Your Own App" project.

What's Going On? April 24th through April 28th

 Thought for the Week

AP Computer Science Principles

We are nearing our time for the AP Exam and our final deadline to submit the APCSP Create Performance Task.  All projects must be submitted by May 1st at 11:59pm EST.  No late work will be accepted.  

During this week, we will continue our review process for the exam.  Students will be assessed on their knowledge of five major topics.  Based on a diagnostic test that students took a few weeks ago, we will look at common misconceptions for each of the "big ideas", talk about test-taking strategies, and continue to practice answering questions.

App Development 1

This week, students will work on our summative end-of-unit app challenge called "Tip Calculator". This app will be designed to be used when someone goes out to eat at a restaurant and would like to figure out how much of a tip to leave the server.  An additional feature can be added to calculate how a bill can be split equally amongst several people.

App Development 2

This week, we will begin our last official teacher-driven unit of the year before the "Build Your Own App"
contest.  In this unit, students will experiment with animation and physics.  In our pre-unit hackwich, students will make a "Pong-ish" game where we can create a ball and a paddle and have things bounce around.  Students will be exposed to the "GameKit" mode of an app, rather than working in a single view application.  In this new-to-us mode, we will get a new set of files and a slightly new way to create our apps.  We will learn how to create an object, add properties to it, and define what happens during a collision.  

What's Going On? April 17th through April 21st

Thought for the Week

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will spend time reviewing our first AP practice exam and talking about test-taking strategies.  We will also begin our intensive review period leading up to the exam.

App Development 1

This week, our primary focus will be on "Conditionals".  We will spend Monday's class reading about conditionals, recording some notes, and trying out a demo together as a class.  We will spend Tuesday's class period working on a code challenge.  On Thursday we will investigate some gesture recognizers (tap, pan, and swipe).  We will wrap up the week by summarizing what we have learned about conditionals with a technical blog post.

App Development 2

This week, students will work on their summative end-of-unit app challenge called "Za Hunter".  In this challenge, students will use a map to show the user's location and be able to zoom in on that location in the world.  Students will also be able to search the surrounding area for pizza places, which will be identified by a map pin.  When the map pin is tapped, more information about the restaurant can be seen, such as the restaurant's address and phone number.