The Skyline Computer Science Department offers a variety of computer science classes that are available to all students. With an emphasis on creative problem solving, the courses offered allow students to choose their own focus and develop projects that meet their particular interests and needs. Drawing inspiration equally from the Art Department and the Math/Science Department, the curriculum offers multiple opportunities for the visual presentation of data and digital art. Recognizing the lack of female and minority students in the field of computer science, the department aims to reverse that trend.

The Computer Science Department is pleased to be a partner with the Colorado University at Boulder's School of Computer Science. We are participating in a five year (minimum) National Science Foundation GK12 grant, that brings two doctoral students to Skyline to develop curriculum and work with students in our computer science courses.

The Skyline Computer Science Department is developing a curriculum for high school computer science that does not rely on any particular software or operating system. At present, the main languages/applications taught include the Python programming language, the Java programming language, and several applications noted for their role in computer science education: Scratch (from M.I.T.), Alice (from Carnegie Mellon University), and the Processing language/IDE (also from M.I.T.).

Courses Offered

Intro to Programming

Prerequisites: None

This is a one-semester class open to all students. Students will learn how to solve problems using the Alice programming environment. Students are given ample opportunity to choose the focus of their projects, and throughout this course they will become familiar with the basic elements of programming, including control flow, object-orientation, and the use of algorithms for various tasks.

Intro to Computing

Prerequisites: None

This is a one-semester class open to all students that can be taken along with Intro to Programming to give a full year of introductory computer science. Whereas the Intro to Programming classes rely heavily on "drag and drop" graphical interfaces, this class introduces students to writing code in a text editor. Students will be able to explore their own interests in developing projects that can include digital art, the processing of data, and game creation.

Computer Science

Prerequisites: None, although Intro to Programming and Intro to Computing are highly recommended to be taken before this class.

This is a year-long class that provides students with the necessary skills to learn any computer language and use computers to solve problems and create visual and sonic art Students are allowed to design their own path through the computer science standards for this class, allowing for specialization in various applications of computer science. Currently the two main paths of specialization in this course are game programming and the creation of digital art using the Python and Processing languages.

Advanced Placement Computer Science

Prerequisites: Computer Science or instructor recommendation.

This is the official College Board Advanced Placement Computer Science course. Currently the language used is Java, and the emphasis is on the design of robust and re-usable object-oriented programming code. Students will learn to write well-formed methods and understand the concepts of abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance. All students who take the class are expected to take the APCS exam at the end of the year.