Computer Science
& Technology
The integration of technology into the Upper School curriculum increases every year. Faculty members develop and evaluate technology-enhanced curriculum projects and teaching methodologies, leading to exciting new forms of academic discovery and discourse. A common goal is to enable all students to use technology to enhance their ability to research, assess, process, and present information and ideas.
In the Upper School, technology is not seen as an independent subject, but as a growing collection of tools and methods to be appraised, experienced and mastered by students. In addition to developing core technology skills for all students, OES offers advanced opportunities to help students reach their full potential. Each year, technology winterims or activities may also be offered.
The Computer Science sequence enables students with opportunities for both basic and advanced programming experiences. Given the importance of technology in today’s world, all students are encouraged to take Computer Science I or II.
The following courses are offered:
Intro to Computer Science
AP Computer Science
Digital Simulations
Course Descriptions
INTRO TO COMPUTER SCIENCE (TRIMESTER AND YEAR-LONG ACTIVITY)
This course is designed to provide exposure to some relevant topics of computer science and experience with a high-level programming language, currently Java. This course provides students with an introduction to object-oriented programming, Java syntax, the use of Java library classes, and GUI (graphical user interface) applets and applications. The course emphasizes the importance of thoroughly analyzing problem statements, carefully selecting an appropriate algorithm and implementing the algorithm in using proper Java code. Students will learn about object-oriented design, class declarations and definitions, methods, parameters, conditionals (decision structures), and iteration (looping statements). The course is based primarily on completion of programming projects. No previous programming experience is required.
AP COMPUTER SCIENCE
This course is a college level introduction to the Java programming language. It is strongly recommended for students who enjoy and excel at programming and logic problems. Students will learn the intricacies of object-oriented programming (OOP) specific to Java. OOP techniques including class declaration, encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism are emphasized. Students extend their knowledge of introductory topics such as data types, iterative and conditional structures. In addition, they will learn to use basic data structures such as one and two-dimensional arrays. Students will learn multiple algorithms for searching and sorting data in these data structures (both recursive and iterative). In addition, the concept of the abstract data type is examined by studying different implementations of linked lists, stacks, queues and trees. Students are required to take the AP Computer Science exam. Prerequisite: Intro to Computer Science semester class or activity
DIGITAL SIMULATIONS
In this semester-long course, students use advanced applications (Terragen and Maya) to create original 3D animations, digital models, and landscapes. Students will learn how computers simulate light, texture, depth, and motion as they gain mastery over tools that are used by major motion picture studios to create computer generated effects as well as full-length animations. Completed projects may be published on the OES internal or external web sites. (Prerequisite: none. One semester. Receives art credit.) (S)
