CS104

Course Description

The first course of our sequence, CS104, is an introductory course that overviews the core principles of computer science from a broad spectrum of topics. The course content is focused on computing and its relation to creativity, abstraction, algorithms, programming, Big Data, Internet/networking, and societal impact. Students will work on team-based projects that explore topics in Big Data, investigate the impact of the internet, and create their own games and/or smartphone applications.

Course Objectives

  • explain characteristics of computers, identify the basic component of a computer
  • build simple block coding programs
  • differentiate between the basic coding structures
  • calculate binary conversions 
  • understand how abstraction fits into computing
  • process how data is collected, stored, and used
  • explain how algorithms are developed and used to solve computational problems
  • describe communication protocols and data transmission modes
  • explain the use of computer network
  • describe different required components of the internet
  • understand key components of computer security
  • describe how computing impacts global and social issues

Student Artifacts