Programming 2B: Creative Programming
Programmeur informatique / Développeur de logiciels Career Pathway Unités de cours
Unit 1: Spotlight: Web Programming
The web is pretty easy to use, right? After all, you’re on it right now! But what starts out as a simple web page can quickly turn into a more involved and complicated application. We are going to explore web programming by learning a little bit of both sides. We’ll start simple and create our own web page using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We’ll get more advanced by adding some dynamic interactivity. Then, we’ll scale up to web applications and learn about page life cycle, events, state management, and web hosting. Get ready for a wild ride on the web!
Unit 2: Spicing It Up with Multimedia
Have you ever been told that you are a visual learner? Do you find it easier to remember information when it is put to music? Actually, it turns out that most of the world’s population are visual learners and can remember information more accurately when it’s in a song. Images and audio can be very powerful, and they can make or break a website or application. Because they are so important, we need to learn a few things about them, such as what forms they take on, how they are represented at the binary level, and how to manipulate them. You’ll also be making your very own photo editor and sound player in Python!
Unit 3: Focus on the User: Improving UI
Did you know that the average user spends a mere 15 seconds on a website before leaving? That’s not a lot of time! In order for a website to make a good impression, it needs to be intuitive and user-friendly. Let’s examine how to make interfaces that will attract users and be aesthetically pleasing. We will use criteria to evaluate everyday interfaces like remote controls and microwave ovens. We’ll analyze some of the issues surrounding accessibility and users with diverse needs. And we will wrap up by creating our very own mobile app!
Unit 4: Testing & Quality Assurance
Did you know that the average user spends a mere 15 seconds on a website before leaving? That’s not a lot of time! In order for a website to make a good impression, it needs to be intuitive and user-friendly. Let’s examine how to make interfaces that will attract users and be aesthetically pleasing. We will use criteria to evaluate everyday interfaces like remote controls and microwave ovens. We’ll analyze some of the issues surrounding accessibility and users with diverse needs. And we will wrap up by creating our very own mobile app!
Unit 5: Communicating in Teams
Did you know that 74 percent of employees feel as though they are missing out on company news? With a workforce that is shifting more toward remote working, it is critical now more than ever that we have solid communication skills and protocols in place. You will learn how to improve your verbal and nonverbal communication skills, what software tools are helpful for collaboration, how network components and architectures form the backbone of our online communication, and how APIs facilitate communication between interfaces. You will also get practice with synthesizing multiple sources and ideas on a research topic as well as presenting information in a compelling way.
Unit 6: Taking Control: Security & Ethics
Did you know that a hacker will perform a cyberattack every 39 seconds on average? One in three Americans will be affected by a cyberattack in some way each year. Not only do companies need to be aware of the risks and plan specific controls, but they also need to fully realize the impacts that a data breach could have on them financially and socially. Building privacy and security into the earliest stages of software development is absolutely crucial. We are going to investigate the fields of cryptography and cryptocurrency and how they relate to privacy and security. Then, we’ll even implement an encryption technique in Python!
Unit 7: Graphical User Interfaces
We have all used graphical user interfaces; in fact, most of our operating systems are based on this visual form of interaction. But even though GUIs are all around us, we may not know much about how they are designed or developed. Let’s explore how Windows apps use GUI components and how they function. We’ll get very practical by designing and developing our own GUIs through Python’s Tkinter library. And finally, we’ll examine some of the ethical concerns around apps, including intellectual property issues and ethical data acquisition.
Unit 8: Go Team!
In today’s fast-paced, team-oriented programming world, it’s absolutely critical to develop good communication and collaboration skills. Gone is the stereotype that programmers are introverts who don’t like to talk to people. Quite the opposite! Collaboration takes place all the time throughout the development process, and we’ll get some practice using various tools. You’ll also continue working on your capstone app by adding backend functionality in Tkinter. And we’ll wrap up by making some concrete goals for your future. Ready, set, teamwork!