Welcome to AP Computer Science Principles

This week we are going to be working on the following:

AP Computer Science Class – Unit 2 – Digital Information

To Think; To Develop Problem-Solving Skills; To Discover; and To Create;

Learning to Compute and Computing to Learn

Classroom Protocol:

This is where you will come every day to find out what we are going to do in class for that day. Every day you are to come to your Quia class web page upon arriving to class, go to your class web page, and follow the directions for today.

Homework Policy:

All assignments will be due on the deadline date given. It is the responsibility for all students to complete their assignments on time. Any assignments received late will not be accepted and a grade will not be given for that assignment.

Accessing your Class Weekly Agenda:

Each week’s agenda and assignments will be updated and posted on your Quia class web page on a weekly basis.  Previous weeks Assignments/Agendas will be provided with a link at the end of the current week’s Class Web Page in case you need to revisit due to an absence, or you’re required to make up, or catch up on your course assignments.

Homework Assignment: Daily homework assignments may be found at the end of each day’s agenda.

F Day – Lunch 11:35 – 11:59

IMPORTANT DATES:     Saturday December 10  (8 – 12) Grafton - AP Study Session

                                      Saturday March 4 (8 – 12) Millbury - AP Study Session

In class Explore Performance Task and Submission Dates:

Task Begins: Monday December 5, 2016 (Total 9.5 Classes)

This Week’s Agenda:

Your Explore Performance Task Begins Today!

Continuation to UNIT 2: Digital Information: This unit further explores the ways that digital information is encoded, represented and manipulated. Being able to digitally manipulate data, visualize it, and identify patterns, trends and possible meanings are important practical skills that computer scientists do every day. Understanding where data comes from, having intuitions about what could be learned or extracted from it, and being able to use computational tools to manipulate data and communicate about it are the primary skills addressed in the unit.

Chapter 1: Encoding and Compressing Complex Information

Big Questions

·         Are the ways in which digital information is encoded more laws of nature or man made?

·         What kinds of limitations does the binary encoding of information impose on what can be represented inside a computer?

·         How accurately can human experience and perception be captured or reflected in digital information?

Enduring Understandings

·         1.1 Creative development can be an essential process for creating computational artifacts.

·         1.3 Computing can extend traditional forms of human expression and experience.

·         2.1 A variety of abstractions built upon binary sequences can be used to represent all digital data.

·         3.3 There are trade offs when representing information as digital data.

Vocabulary

• Heuristic - a problem solving approach (algorithm) to find a satisfactory solution where finding an optimal or exact solution is impractical or impossible.
• Lossless Compression - a data compression algorithm that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data.
• Image - A type of data used for graphics or pictures.
• metadata - is data that describes other data. For example, a digital image my include metadata that describe the size of the image, number of colors, or resolution.
• pixel - short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image.
• RGB - the RGB color model uses varying intensities of (R)ed, (G)reen, and (B)lue light are added together in to reproduce a broad array of colors.
• Lossy Compression - (or irreversible compression) a data compression method that uses inexact approximations, discarding some data to represent the content. Most commonly seen in image formats like .jpg.
• Abstraction - Pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems.
• Hypothesis - A proposed explanation for some phenomenon used as the basis for further investigation.

Monday 12-4-16 – Day C - Friday 12-9-16 – Day G

For the next 9.5 Classes, 8 hours of class time you will be working on your first AP CSP college board Performance Task. This is an independent assignment. Please plan and use your time wisely and use the Digital Portfolio online resources including the Explore Performance Task Rubric as a guide to fulfilling the Explore Performance Task Requirements.

Explore Performance Task Rubric

Please review the following description of an Explore Performance task:

What is a Computational Artifact?

There are a number of widely available computational tools students can use to create computational artifacts for this task.

A Computational Artifact is a visualization, a graphic, a video, a program, or an audio recording that students create using a computer. Your artifact creations show a creative expression or provide the viewer with new insight or knowledge.

Effective artifacts include: visual, graphical, and/or audio content to help a reader understand the purpose of a computing innovation; and the use of communications media, such as animations, comic strips, infographics, and/or public service announcements, to illustrate the purpose of a computing innovation.

Good luck and always do the best you can and most of all have fun and enjoy!

Ticket to Leave:

In order to prepare you for your two AP CSP college-board performance tasks we need to get use to reflecting on our daily work and experiences. This is a skill that will prove to be useful when you go on to college, enter the workforce, and even in every aspect of your everyday life.  Every day at the end of class you should save your work, open up your journal, put down today’s date, and provide the following information.

1.   Provide at least on new thing that you learned today – Refer to today’s Objectives

2.   What did you accomplish today?

3.   Indicate any problems or obstacles you experienced

4.   How did you solve the problems or obstacles that you experienced?

Feel free to provide screen shots of your daily work in order to illustrate your day’s activities. Windows provides a Snipping Tool within its provided Accessories that may be used for this purpose.

Homework:

Preparation for Explore Performane Task:

Ø  Look for a computing innovation that will allow you to meet all requirements of the Explore Performance Task. Begin thinking about the digital tools you will use to create your innovation artifact.

Explore Performance Task Rubric

Ø  Every day for the next couple of weeks please do the following as part of our chapter on Data Collection:

Fill out this form EVERY DAY, or as frequently as possible over the next few weeks.  We will look at the results more fully later on in this unit  

Data Tracker Link

AND

Ø  Complete your ticket to leave journal entry.

Thanks for a great week!

Mr. PC 

Every day for the next couple of weeks please do the following as part of our chapter on Data Collection:

Fill out this form EVERY DAY, or as frequently as possible over the next few weeks.  We will look at the results more fully in Lesson 7 of this unit.

Data Tracker Link

Explore Performance Task Rubric

More Resources for finding computing innovations:

http://www.ted.com/talks

www.digg.com

http://www.teachersdomain.org

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

www.paper.li

Tools for building computing artifacts:

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

To Due: Create Digital Portfolios for Performance Tasks Submissions. Our goal is to complete our Explore Performance Task before the end of 2016.

·         Begin preparing for the May 5th Exam with practice exam questions from AP training google drive and the career board. Use online student response system for class review and discussion.

Unit 1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary

• Innovation - A novel or improved idea, device, product, etc, or the development thereof.
• Binary - A way of representing information using only two options.
• Bit - A contraction of "Binary Digit". A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1.
• Bandwidth - Transmission capacity measure by bit rate
• Bit - A contraction of "Binary Digit". A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically represented as a 0 or 1.
• Bit rate - (sometimes written bitrate) the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. e.g. 8 bits/sec.
• Latency - Time it takes for a bit to travel from its sender to its receiver.
• Protocol - A set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data between devices.
• ASCII - ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is the universally recognized raw text format that any computer can understand.
• code - (v) to write code, or to write instructions for a computer.
• IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force - develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards and protocols, in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP).
• Internet - A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other.
• Net Neutrality - the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet Service Providers
• IP Address - A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet.
• Packets - Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information
• DNS - The service that translates URLs to IP addresses.
• HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol - the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet
• Net Neutrality - the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet Service Providers.
• TCP - Transmission Control Protocol - provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of a stream of packets on the internet. TCP is tightly linked with IP and usually seen as TCP/IP in writing.

Setting up the APP Inventor and Emulator for Testing

Setting Up App Inventor 2

You can set up App Inventor and start building apps in minutes. The Designer and Blocks Editor now run completely in the browser (aka the cloud). To see your app on a device while you build it (also called "Live Testing"), you'll need to follow the steps below.

You have three options for setting up live testing while you build apps

If you are using an Android device and you have a wireless internet connection, you can start building apps without downloading any software to your computer. You will need to install the App Inventor Companion App for your device. Choose Option One below. This option is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

For Class Use this Option: If you do not have an Android device, you'll need to install software on your computer so that you can use the on-screen Android emulator. Choose Option Two below.

If you do not have a wireless internet connection, you'll need to install software on your computer so that you can connect to your Android device over USB. Choose Option Three below. The USB Connection option can be tricky, especially on Windows. Use this as a last resort.

Option One - RECOMMENDED
Build apps with an Android device and WiFi Connection (preferred): Instructions

If you have a computer, an Android device, and a WiFi connection, this is the easiest way to test your apps.

********* Option Two – use these instructions for class! **********
Don’t have an Android device? Use the Emulator: Instructions

If you don’t have an Android phone or tablet handy, you can still use App Inventor. Have a class of 30 students? Have them work primarily on emulators and share a few devices.

Option Three
No WiFi? Build apps with an Android device and USB Cable: Instructions

Some firewalls within schools and organizations disallow the type of WiFi connection required. If WiFi doesn’t work for you, try USB.

System requirements

Note: Internet Explorer is not supported. We recommend Chrome or Firefox.

1)Setup your emulator by following these Instructions

2)Check out the Designer and Blocks Editor Overview

Designer and Blocks Editor Overview: Gives a tour of the App Inventor environment.

3) Setup Review the following Beginner Tutorials

Beginner Tutorials: Highly recommended as the best way to get started programming in App Inventor.

Click Here to Access Your Development Environment

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