Computational Thinking with Javascript 1: Draw & Animate

Computational Thinking with Javascript 1: Draw & Animate

This course is part of Computational Thinking with JavaScript Specialization

Instructors: Quintin Cutts

Access provided by INEFOP - Instituto Nacional de Empleo y Formación Profesional de Uruguay

2,133 already enrolled

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

A key problem solving framework to use new technologies in any problem domain.
Experience using the framework with Javascript and animated graphics.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

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Assessments

8 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Computational Thinking with JavaScript Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

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There are 4 modules in this course

This is the first course in a sequence of four courses that develops essential 21st century computational thinking (CT) skills using the popular JavaScript language as a vehicle.

At the end of this first course you will: know a framework for CT to help you learn about it and work with others; be developing your CT skills so that you can more easily work with digital technology of all kinds; be able to read and write programs in JavaScript that involve drawing and animation, using a specialised library; and post your creations on the web so that others can appreciate your skills. This course is suitable for: complete beginners; those who have taken an introductory course in any programming language and want to learn more deeply about the thinking and learning skills they are starting to develop; those who wish to learn Javascript in a supportive environment. The follow-on courses explore the manipulation and analysis of data, such an important aspect of our lives now, again in a highly supportive environment, and then we move the context to mainstream web--based platforms so that you can use these skills more widely.

This module introduces the instructors for this course and for the longer Computational Thinking with Javascript specialisation. A framework for understanding computational thinking is introduced and first steps are taken with Javascript, applying it in the context of simple graphics - drawing and animation.

What's included

8 videos8 readings5 assignments3 discussion prompts

8 videos Total 106 minutes

Welcome to the course 5 minutes
Where does CT fit into the larger technology landscape? (first attempt) 9 minutes
What is CT? A first look at learning CT... 12 minutes
Our first task and accomplishing it by hand (need to add last slide) 8 minutes
The program for our first task, and introducing how to 'read' it using the TSTM framework 12 minutes
Reading the program via the M (Machine) view 25 minutes
Read some programs 20 minutes
Describing repetitive activities in our programs 15 minutes

8 readings Total 72 minutes

Who am I? A little more detail about Quintin 10 minutes
Introduction to Module 1 5 minutes
Introduction to the second lesson 2 minutes
Find out more about Turtle graphics and Seymour Papert 5 minutes
Introducing the third lesson 5 minutes
Turtle Library Reference 10 minutes
Introducing the third lesson and a bit of repetition 5 minutes
End of Module Summary, and lead in to Module 2 and beyond 30 minutes

5 assignments Total 128 minutes

Check on your understanding of CT 30 minutes
What can you remember from that task and program? 8 minutes
Repetition quiz 30 minutes
A couple of questions to finish the module 30 minutes
Read a program, answer questions 30 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 70 minutes

Who are you, why are you here? 10 minutes
What did you learn there? 30 minutes
How are you getting on? 30 minutes

In this module, you take the foundations you have learned about computational thinking, some early programming constructs, and your program reading skills, and you start to learn about writing programs for tasks.

What's included

2 videos7 readings1 assignment1 peer review4 discussion prompts6 ungraded labs

2 videos Total 35 minutes

Problem solving walk-through 30 minutes
Walk through of posting a program on-line 5 minutes

7 readings Total 70 minutes

Introduction to program writing 10 minutes
Preparing for programming in the next lab 10 minutes
Doing your own thing 10 minutes
Reviewing someone else's program 10 minutes
Sharing your work on-line 10 minutes
Summary of instructions to post on-line 10 minutes
Where you are and what's next? 10 minutes

1 assignment Total 15 minutes

End of Module Quiz 15 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Give and receive feedback on your programs 60 minutes

4 discussion prompts Total 80 minutes

Stuck? Post here. Respond to queries if you can. 10 minutes
Post challenges with your task here; respond with advice on how to overcome them 10 minutes
What did you learn there? 30 minutes
Reporting successes and problems! 30 minutes

6 ungraded labs Total 245 minutes

Use this Lab to follow along with the walk-through if you wish 5 minutes
Review and experiment with the Walkthrough program 30 minutes
Programming new tasks by changing existing programs 45 minutes
Guided Tutorial on a new problem 45 minutes
Now come up with your own task - write your own program 60 minutes
Use this Lab to experiment with your peers' programs 60 minutes

As our drawings become more complex, their descriptions will quickly become unwieldy. To counter this, we introduce programming language constructs that allow highly complex drawings to be described in just a few lines. They're a bit harder to understand at first, but in the long term, they're essential.

What's included

3 videos6 readings1 assignment5 ungraded labs

3 videos Total 69 minutes

Breaking a large program down into manageable chunks 14 minutes
Drawing the house more effectively using parameters 21 minutes
Introducing a program that uses updating variables 34 minutes

6 readings Total 65 minutes

Introducing the module, and how we handle complex process descriptions 10 minutes
A great start to learning about functions 10 minutes
Parameterising functions 10 minutes
Reflecting on parameters with functions 10 minutes
Why are variables called variables? 10 minutes
We've got a long way! 15 minutes

1 assignment Total 10 minutes

Can you read a program that uses functions 10 minutes

5 ungraded labs Total 290 minutes

Worked Example: Break some code into pieces 30 minutes
Worked example: watching and contributing to solving a problem using functions 40 minutes
Practise parameterizing the house yourself 40 minutes
Exercises to practise and embed your understanding 90 minutes
Working with the bar chart - and introducing colour & text 90 minutes

Drawing still pictures is one thing - but the process-oriented element of programming lends itself to animation - an activity taking place over time. In this module, we'll make use of all we've learned so far to create animations. Functions will be used in a new and important way - as a so-called "callback" - which form the foundation of interactive programming as we'll see in Course 3 of the specialisation.

What's included

2 videos5 readings1 assignment1 peer review2 discussion prompts5 ungraded labs

2 videos Total 52 minutes

Making a first animation 30 minutes
Challenges with more complex animation 23 minutes

5 readings Total 50 minutes

Picking up a new Application Area, and the Building Blocks you know 10 minutes
What have we learned while using animations? 10 minutes
Handling more complex animations 10 minutes
Final words for this lesson 10 minutes
Stepping out 10 minutes

1 assignment Total 20 minutes

Final Quiz for Module 1 20 minutes

1 peer review Total 90 minutes

Give and receive feedback on your programs 90 minutes

2 discussion prompts Total 40 minutes

Post challenges with your task here; respond with advice on how to overcome them 10 minutes
What did you learn from seeing others' work and their eyes on yours? 30 minutes