This page is being redesigned for the 2022-2023 school year and may be further updated while you are working on the project.
Be sure to REFRESH this page daily so that you are seeing the latest updates AND check the DCA each day for any last minute changes/updates.
Follow the directions on this page. However, if you get stuck and/or something doesn't make sense, contact your teacher immediately.
Also, don’t forget to refer back to the lessons in Unit 3 (from Code.org) if you need help incorporating some UI Elements into your project.
You are going to make a simple 4-6 screen app that meets the following requirements:
Theme: AP Survival Guide (i.e., how to best be successful in the AP CSP class and score well on your AP Exam)
Target Audience: Next year’s AP CSP students.
Screens: 4-6 screens. There must be a clearing landing/starting/home screen. The remaining screens should fit your project.
Navigation: Full navigation to get around your app. There are no dead-ends where a user will get stuck.
UI: A simple, clean UI. Don't over-think it.
Elements: Whatever you need to meet your objective (buttons, text boxes, etc.). Also, you must incorporate at least one UI element that you did not use in any of the Unit 3 lessons (from Code.org). Show me that you can incorporate new materials into a project.
NOTE: I'm less worried about your content than I am about how you put your project together (I want to see a technically strong project from a coding perspective).
The general criteria for grading will be based on the following:
How well you properly PREPARE and PLAN OUT the entire project before attempting the first build.
How well you accurately and honestly REFLECT, ASSESS, and makes appropriate ADJUSTMENTS (as necessary) to the project build.
The quality of final ARTIFACT. This will be assessed in the following ways:
The UX (User Experience) of the finished product (does the program actually work, etc.)
How well the student follows good programming conventions when writing the code:
make great use of whitespace and indentation
use strong naming conventions
strong general organization of code
use well placed and well constructed comments that show you understand the purpose and function of your code.(whitespace, indentation, comments, naming conventions, user-created functions, organization/structure, etc.).
How well you incorporate any NEW coding structures into your project that demonstrate your personal learning and growth as a programmer. (i.e., don't show me what you already know how to do. Show me that you can learn and incorporate new ideas).
All our projects can loosely be broken up into FOUR main chunks:
Project Planning
Iterative Project Development (building, testing, and continually making small improvements/adjustments)
Final Project Submission
Evaluation, Feedback, and Reflection
While we generally do these in order, there is some overlap between the chunks as get into our iterative builds. For example, we are constantly reflecting on the project from the very first day (via our programming journal) and there are Reflection elements built in to the Iterative Project Development . . . that, in turn, can cause us to go back and refine our original plan.
All projects are a very interactive and flexible process.
To get your project started off on the right footing, you need a solid plan.
If you plan well, the rest of your project usually runs smoothly. If you plan poorly, you will likely encounter a lot of frustration while trying to build and complete your project.
The Project Planning can be chunked into FOUR main steps:
Establish and set up your Programming Journal
Complete the Daily Entry section of Your Programming Journal (one entry completed for each day of the project).
Complete the Version Schedule in your Programming Journal (this should be completed prior to starting your first build).
Complete the "Prep" section of your Programming Journal (this should be done prior to starting your first build).
Note: be aware that you cannot make up any of your planning work after you begin your build. Once you've started your build, you have moved beyond the PLANNING phase (and beyond the ability to earn any more points for this portion of your project). Therefore, be sure you have completed all your planning steps before you begin working on any portion of your digital build.
Your programming journal is where you will document your project scope, your project planning and prep work, AND where you will keep a record of your daily reflections about your work/progress throughout the project cycle.
As soon as you get access to your PJ, your should complete your COVER PAGE.
Make a copy of the AP CSP Survival Guide: Programming Journal.
The directions for completing each section of the PJ are embedded throughout the programming journal document.
Use the AP Class Projects Submission Forms page to submit your PJ.
Follow the embedded instructions in your PJ to complete everything from the COVER PAGE through the VERSION SCHEDULE.
Building a programming project is a series of small, incremental steps. Because most programming languages are so exact, it is important that you constantly test your work to catch, and fix, all bugs as they happen.
Using your Version Schedule (VS) as your guide, you should attempt to tackle your first build (or whatever the next build is in your list).
Once you have completed your task (from your Version Schedule (VS)), you need to test and make sure that your build is bug free and stable/working. If you find bugs, you must fix them before you move on.
If your build/task is stable and bug free, you need to make an archive of that build so that you will have it for future reference. It should be a snapshot of that moment in your project.
Do NOT continue to iterate an archived build.
Once you have archived your build, create a link to that archived build in your Version Schedule so that you can have quick access to it when needed.
At this point, you should review your Version Schedule (VS). Are you on track? Do you need to modify anything regarding your project? If you do, make those changes to your VS. If not, select the next task in your VS and repeat the steps above.
Continue this process every day until the project is over.
Formal Peer Evaluations are a whole-class project. When we complete these, you will follow the directions in the Peer Evaluations section of the AP CSP: Class Projects: Submission Forms Page.
Make a copy of the AP CSP: Class Projects: Final Reflection and Self Evaluation document and follow the embedded instructions.
Navigate to the Final Reflection section of the TWP Submission Forms Page to submit your work.