Computer Science Classes

Computer science may be a newly emerging department at Pattonville, but several classes of varying degrees of difficulty are offered to students wishing to further their knowledge of programming and computers.

Most students will begin with PHS's lowest level introductory computer science course, Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSE). This PLTW sponsored course introduces students to programming fundamentals through the programming language, Python. In addition to learning python, students will create a game in Scratch, produce an Android application through appinventor, and learn fundamentals of web design and web technologies.

From CSE, most students will progress to AP Computer Science, a weighted class taught exclusively in the Java language. This is a still a relatively basic course, but it does adequately prepare students to receive college credit through the passing of the AP Computer Science A test.

With knowledge of the Java language, students can progress to Pattonville's second tier PLTW computer science course: Computer Science Application. This class teaches android development and the Android SDK, a subset of the Java language. The majority of the course will consist of projects, most of which will be the production of android applications. Student applications will be tested in-class on Samsung Galaxy Tablets (ownership of an Android Device is not required).

Finally, students still wishing to expand their knowledge of computer science have the option to take Computer Science Independent Study. This class is for highly motivated students wishing to complete an in-depth investigation into a specific area of computer science. A recommendation from Mr. Simmons is required, as is completion, or concurrent enrollment in Pattonville's three other computer science course.