Programming

Overview

Why should you need to know anything about programming (i.e., coding)? The answer is simple. You might need to work with a programmer some day in your work. Or, you even find yourself rolling up your sleeves and begin coding yourself. There's a growing trend toward end-user software development. This means that end users, like you, are developing their own programs and writing their own code. Essentially, "scratching their own itch".

In fact, you've even done some coding in our class already when you were building the formulas and other logic in your Excel spreadsheets!

This week we take a deeper look at the topic of computer programming with the goal of understanding its importance while also giving you a taste of what it means to write a bit code.

Objectives

At the end of this week, you will be able to:

Learning Activities

  1. Read Paul Ford's in-depth article, What is Code? (or, at least, parse through the article...watch the videos and play through the interactive sections.)
  2. Review the FAQ found about half-way down the Hour of Code web page.
  3. Read the Programming and Languages SIMBook in SIMnet.

Assignments

  1. Complete the Programming Lab assignment.