Saturday, October 29, 2016

AP CS Principles - The College Board Gets It Right

Beginning this Fall, students in high schools across the United States were able to will be able take a new course - AP CS Principles.  I can't say I've always been a big fan of the College Board and the impact this very powerful institution has on education in my country. I have to say, however, that I think they got it right this time. From my experience thus far, I am a huge fan of the new CS Principles course.

Working with the NSF, the College Board has approved three on-line curricula for the launch this Fall:
Last Spring I used the Mobile CSP curriculum with students who were taking dual-enrolled CSC 200: Introduction to Computer Science with me through Northern Virginia Community College.  While I haven't researched the details of its history, it is obvious that CSC 200 was created by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to receive credits from the new AP CS Principles course.

As a free software activist of many years, I found little gems inside the Mobile CSP curriculum that let me know kindred spirits where involved in its creation:
This Fall I am again teaching CSC 200 using Mobile CSP. The more I use App Inventor the more I love it.  While I've been too busy to keep up with this blog of late, it is time to get back to more regular posting so I can document our experience this year with this wonderful new curricula.