Incoming CS Classes
In this article, Landon will talk to readers about incoming Computer Science classes at our school.
Incoming Computer Science Classes at GPhs
By Landon Heyden
Coming to GPHS within the next few years, Mr. Linderman, our school’s Computer Science (CS) teacher, will be introducing several new classes to our school’s CS pathway. Within the near future, there will be a change in the structure of the classes, with split pathways. One pathway will be focused more on the software aspect; think programming or creating games, for example. The other pathway will be more focused on hardware, for the people that are more interested in how computers are made.
Although, in Oregon, there are plenty of colleges that support computer science programs, they are very rare in high schools. This is detrimental as, according to Code.org, a popular educational coding website, students who learn CS in high school are six times more likely to major in Computer Science. Furthermore, they also stated that only 53 schools in Oregon offer CS programs, with only 26% having AP classes such as AP CSP and AP CS A. Even fewer of these schools offer Cyber Security programs, which is one of the most demanded and rapidly growing industries at this time. Unfortunately, there are none in high schools in Southern Oregon. Linderman even had the privilege of visiting some of these few schools up in Portland to get some inspiration and ideas on how these programs work, to implement one into our school. GPHS students are very fortunate to have a dedicated CS teacher at our school, as it opens up many opportunities for several students that are interested in the CS pathway.
However, new classes are not the only changes coming to our school. App Inventor has plans to get new improvements, and Linderman is actively working on improving the tutorials, potentially introducing Swift, which is the most popular coding language for IOS, and general improvements to the class. Intro to Game Programming was renamed to Intro to Computers and was changed to feature a wider variety of information.
Potential changes coming in the far future include probable expansions, such as collaborations with local colleges, such as Oregon Tech and RCC, and guest speakers to show real-life applications of CS in our daily and future lives. Eventually, Linderman would like to help those at other high schools in our area as, fortunately, our program is more advanced than those at the majority of high schools. Our society continuously goes more digital as the years go by, and the school’s goal is to stay updated and be ahead of the time as new developments happen.
About Linderman
Linderman is the CS teacher at our school and started working here in the fall of 2018. He teaches because he has a lot of knowledge and experience in computers and education, loves teaching, and enjoys seeing others learn. He is a very happy person, and students will almost never see him having a bad day. His favorite part of teaching is those lightbulb moments. He enjoys watching people figure concepts out themselves, and the expression of excitement and pride when those moments happen. The only bad part about teaching, according to him, is that there is never enough time for all the content he would like to teach. To freshmen, soon-to-be freshmen, and those that have not tried a computer class, Linderman encourages you to try it, as you never know what you might like!
Sources:
Interview with Mr. Linderman
