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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
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Joined: Mar 2010
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Ds13 is taking the Intro to Programming class through AoPS this summer, and we are considering the Java Programming with Data Structures this fall. Has anyone's child taken these courses? I'm trying to figure out how the Java course would compare with the AP Computer Science A course. Ds is a rising 8th grader, and could take the AP Computer Science (for free :)) in 9th grade. Not sure if it would be a waste to take the AoPS class, or it might make the AP course easier. Ds just finished the advanced AMC8 course and he loved it! I'm also not sure how much work the Java class would be. Ds's gifted MS program has a lot of homework and he is in outside activities. However, the last AMC class seemed to really captivate him, much more than his (supposedly gifted but quite easy) algebra class at school...
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Joined: Nov 2012
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The textbook for AOPS "Intro to Programming" course "Python for the Absolute Beginner" by Michael Dawson seems to be good. (When deciding on the first programming language/textbook I looked at AOPS, udacity, etc., and liked this the most.) DC has gone through the whole book in the last few months completely on his own (with no previous programming experience) - I just installed Python on the computer. (Taking the AOPS Python course itself in the first place might have been better, but I did not know then whether DC would keep the interest for so long - it happened that he did.) Another interesting resource (not to replace a language course per se) is USA Computing Olympiad online training pages http://www.usaco.org/index.php?page=training . The USACO on-line training pages provide hundreds of hours of free instruction and practice problems to improve your programming and problem-solving skills. These do require knowledge of Java, C++, or Perl (?) (Python is not currently supported).
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Joined: Sep 2011
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arlen1, is there any chance you could post a link to the AOPS Python coursebook you mentioned? It sounds like just what I've been looking for for my ds... but I couldn't find it on the AOPS website... which doesn't mean it's not out there as obvious as daylight... but... would love some help finding it! I even searched on "python" at AOPS and came up with nothing!
Thanks,
polarbear
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Joined: Jul 2012
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As a side mention on Python courses, DS and I have been enjoying codecademy.com
I like that it is using an on page interpreter to give a very interactive lesson --> try it format.
I also plan on checking out these other options.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,640 Likes: 1
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I have programmed in Python but not Java. Python does not require you to declare variables and is generally more concise than Java, which requires considerable boilerplate code. I suggest continuing to study Python independently. A follow-up to the Python book mentioned above is "More Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner" by Jonathan S. Harbour.
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Joined: Mar 2010
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The textbook for AOPS "Intro to Programming" course "Python for the Absolute Beginner" by Michael Dawson seems to be good. (When deciding on the first programming language/textbook I looked at AOPS, udacity, etc., and liked this the most.) DC has gone through the whole book in the last few months completely on his own (with no previous programming experience) That's great to know - I was debating whether to buy the book since it was optional, but ds likes textbooks and if it's something he can go through on his own as well, I'm sure he'd enjoy it. Thanks for the resources as well. Ds can program a little and dh's undergrad is in CS, so he can help him get through stuff but I'm always looking for good sites for him.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
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As a side mention on Python courses, DS and I have been enjoying codecademy.com I love the resources I can find here; thanks!! For Zen and anyone else who has used codeacademy - can an absolute beginner use it (I'm thinking of my other son. Ds13 has taken a Coursera intro to programming, but ds11 would be brand new)? Is it mainly aimed at kids or all ages?
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,856
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Joined: Oct 2011
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momtofour: Having looked at College Board's course description for AP Computer Science A, it looks as if the AoPS Java class you've described is pretty much the same thing. https://secure-media.collegeboard.o...ience-a-2012-course-exam-description.pdfOf particular interest is the section titled Computer Language (bolding theirs): Current offerings of the AP Computer Science A Exam require the use of Java. Those sections of the exam that require the reading or writing of actual programs will use Java. The exam will not include all the features of Java; it will be consistent with the AP Java subset (see Appendix A). The AP Java subset can be found in the Computer Science section of AP Central (apcentral.collegeboard.com). Students who study a language other than Java during an AP Computer Science A course will need to be prepared to use standard Java, as specified in the AP Java subset, on the AP Computer Science A Exam.
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,478
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Regarding Codeacademy: Fairly well all ages. I like it, DS7 likes it. I probably know a few dozen programming languages and DS had only previously messed around with Scratch and some programmable toy robots. Probably my main complaint is it is more concerned about imparting the language elements over nailing down the concept of programming. For a complete novice, I'd suggest something like Scratch first ( http://scratch.mit.edu/ ) as it gets into the concept of programming without getting too concerned over syntax. But if your sons are going to work together on learning Python that probably trumps anything else.
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