App – PhotoFrame
Website - HTML
The 2020-2021 school year started with a cloud of uncertainty as no one knew what to expect. The classroom procedures have changed, but one thing hasn’t changed, and that is the excitement to be in the classroom with students again. Another thing that hasn’t changed is the fantastic work that students are producing. This school year marks the third year that I have taught at the high school, and each year the excitement for computer science continues to grow. Lexington High School offers students three computer programming classes and a Robotics class.
One of the three computer programming languages learned at Lexington High School is Swift. Swift is the language used to program iOS applications for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs. Students have been learning the fundamentals of Swift and just completed their first application in Xcode. As the year progresses, students will become more proficient in the Swift language and application design and building. Here is to their first app, a PhotoFrame, and many more apps throughout this school year.
For the first time, Python Language is being offered to students. Python replaces JavaScript, which was taught in the previous two years. Python is a general-purpose programming language, so it can be used for many things. Python is used for web development, AI, machine learning, operating systems, mobile application development, and video games. Students in this call have also started learning the basics of Python. They have been learning how to input data and how to call for that data to be outputted. Another challenging and engaging activity for these students is using Python code to produce music. Students have programmed their first short sound in a program called EarSketch with the Python language. This is an impressive start to learning Python, and I am excited to see the projects these students will create and build during this school year.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). HTML and CSS are the third programming languages offered at Lexington High School. In this class, students are learning how to build a website using HTML language. CSS is used for the design side. CSS is what adds the style to each page. This class also focuses on digital citizenship and protecting their intellectual property with the appropriate copyright. Students have already started building their first website, and many have published their first website. Through the course of this year, students will continue to become proficient in HTML and CSS as they continue to add pages and styles to their websites.
A robotics class is also offered to Lexington High School students. This class combines two elements of robotics. The first element that the students are working on is the engineering side of robotics. The students use VexRobotics to design and build robots to complete challenges. The students’ first robot challenge is Robo-Rally. The students have created a robot that will manipulate a planned course. The SpeedBot they built will need to maneuver through this course by handling tight turns and corners and showcase speed in straight parts of the course. With the build completed, students have now turned their attention to the second element of robotics, robots’ programming. Students are creating programs to help control their robot movement. Students will also begin to learn some basic CAD, computer-aided design, and drafting is a technology for design and technical documentation, which replaces manual drafting with an automated process.
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