Computer Science and Engineering
Engineering & Design Thinking
Do you like to build and invent things? Have you ever had an idea of how to make something better? Ever wonder why an appliance, computer or car looks or works the way it does? If so, let’s do some engineering!
DESCRIPTION: This elective is appropriate for 7th and 8th grade students who are curious about the world of design and engineering. The major focus of the course is to expose students to design process, engineering skills and tools, research and analysis, technical documentation, global and human impacts of technology, communication methods, and teamwork. The class provides students the opportunity to exercise the knowledge learned in core classes while developing skills and understanding of the course concepts through group activity-, project-, and problem-based learning. As members of an engineering design team, students are challenged to continually hone their interpersonal skills, creative abilities and understanding of the design process.
PAST PROJECTS: Computer Programming, Building and Soldering Circuits, 3D Printing, Building a Submarine, a Wooden Bridge and a Hover Craft.
Intro to Computer Science
and Video Game Design
and Video Game Design
DESCRIPTION: This elective is appropriate for 7th and 8th grade students who are curious about coding and video game development. The major focus of this course is to expose students to algorithms, the fundamentals of coding, block-based coding, beta testing, video game development, and video game review. Students get to express their creativity and create a cache of video games that their peers can play and review.
Do you enjoy gaming with your friends? Have you ever wanted to learn how to create your own video game? If so, make sure to sign up for this class where we will be learning the basics of computer programming, coding our own games, and playing each others’ games! Join in on the fun!
PAST PROJECTS: Creating RPG (role playing games), platform games, escape games, and racing games in Scratch, Beta testing Minecraft Education Edition, and Publishing a video game for the final project.