Computer Science: An Overview

An Introduction to Computer Science – Part 1 (Fall Semester) & Part 2 (Spring Semester)
10% Discount when you enroll in both sections.

Online Course Description

This two part online Computer Science course gives students an overview of computer science — a foundation from which they can appreciate the relevance and interrelationships of future courses in the field. This survey approach is, in fact, the model used for introductory courses in the natural sciences.

This broad background is also what students from other disciplines need if they are to relate to the technical society in which they live. A computer science course for this audience should provide a practical, realistic understanding of the entire field rather than merely an introduction to using the Internet or training in the use of some popular software packages. Students interested in those topics may want to consider Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and/or Web Development.

Learning Focus

• The Field of Computer Science: Uses broad coverage and clear exposition to present a complete picture of the dynamic computer science field.
• Develop a Practical, Realistic Understanding: An overview of each of the important areas of Computer Science prepares students for future courses.
• Use Python to prepare students for future courses: A new focus on Python provides programming tools for exploration and experimentation.
• Reinforce Core Concepts: Social Issues questions give students the opportunity to apply concepts.

Why the Python Programming Language?

Why Python? Choosing a language is always a contentious matter, with any choice bound to upset at least as many as it pleases. Python is an excellent middle ground, with:

• a clean, easily learned syntax,
• simple I/O primitives,
• data types and control structures that correspond closely to the pseudocode primitives used in earlier editions, and support for multiple programming paradigms.

The Python supplements are intended to give readers a deeper taste of programming than previous editions, but not to serve as a full-fledged introduction to programming.

Grade Levels

This is an introductory course. It is mostly targeted towards high school students, but the course may also benefit middle school students if the student is particularly interested in this subject.