Computer Science Discoveries

Course Description:

Computer Science Discoveries is a year-long, hands-on introductory course for 9-11 grade students. The first semester introduces students to computer science as a vehicle for problem solving, communication, and personal expression. As a whole, this semester focuses on the visible aspects of computing and computer science, and encourages students to see where computer science exists around them and how they can engage with it as a tool for exploration and expression. The second semester asks students to look outward and explore the impact of computer science on society. Students will see how a thorough user-centered design process produces a better application, how data is used to address problems that affect large numbers of people, and how physical computing with circuit boards allows computers to collect input and return output in a variety of ways.

Teachers for this course are

Timothy Brinkley (website, LinkedIn)

If you do not know what jobs computer science affects, watch this video.

The reality is that technology affects every field of commerce:

In healthcare – computing is part of operating rooms every day and it is enabling breakthroughs like these contact lenses that detect levels of insulin for people with diabetes
In space – we are depending on a generation of robots to explore where humans cannot now
In our homes -- we are automating everyday things like our heating systems
On our roads – we depend on navigation systems to get us home and now we are experimenting with bringing self-driving cars into our everyday lives
In entertainment – blockbuster movies depend on computer science to bring new characters to life and provide us new completely animated worlds
And every single day this trend is growing across every single industry