====== Week 4: Pre-AP Curricula and Challenges of CS Teaching ======

===== Objectives =====
  * Identify a variety of languages/approaches used in a Pre-AP HS course
  * Discuss which languages would work well and why more than one should be used
  * Discuss different approaches and syllabi for Pre-AP courses

===== Readings for Class Discussion =====
  * What (else) Should CS Educators Know? Gal-Ezer and Harel

  * http://alternatives.rzero.com/lang.html  language comparison
  * http://www.python.org/workshops/2000-01/proceedings/papers/elkner/pyYHS.html python in HS
  * http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/python/python-first.html  python first
  * http://www.strchr.com/first_language   first language discussion
  * http://www.stanford.edu/~pgbovine/python-teaching.htm  Why Python

===== Topics =====
  * What are good introductory programming languages? [5 min]
    * Brainstorm a list
  * What are the benefits of each language? [15 min]
    * Are there certain topics/concepts when a certain language should be used?
  * Review different syllabi/course outlines for Pre-AP courses [15 min]

===== Lab ======

  * [[http://www.bluej.org/|BlueJ]] download, installation, and tutorial.