Computational Literacy in AP Computer Science Principles

EdTech, Education

Overview

This document is an outline of how components of Computer Literacy fit into a full AP Computer Science Principles curriculum. Ideally these topics are intrinsic to the content the College Board expects of the AP course, but it is my goal that these subjects are taught with more explicit focus rather than letting them come implicitly with the material. That said, the primary goal of any AP course should be to ensure the students’ success on the exam and demonstrate long-term mastery of the content. It is my hope that this increased emphasis on efficient skills and practices will only benefit this and make the course even more worthwhile for the students.

With the current set-up, all conceptual AP content is covered at least at the surface level by the end of the first semester. After that a majority of the time is focused on programming until the test draws nearer. As such, all of the computer literacy components are included efficiently and as part of dense lessons, only occasionally getting a standalone focus. This will help build a better understanding of the context of these skills so that the students do not compartmentalize them as something too abstract; instead, they should see it in context and understand its role.

Curriculum

Unit 0: Computers Are Not Magic

  • On Learning CompSci
  • AP Overview
  • Academic and Practical CS
  • Computational Thinking: Game Theory and Strategy
  • Computer Hardware
  • Basics of PC Building
  • History of Computing

Computer Literacy Focus: The initial focus of the course, paired with general management and procedures, will be on digital citizenship, specifically professionalism. The course is potentially the first AP course for many students and they will be working with their vitally important College Board account from day one. Making sure they know all of their information, what is safe to share, and having a professional email address are all things that are essential knowledge and actions within the initial hours of the class. These practices will also hopefully instill a positive growth mindset about the curriculum. If framed correctly this extra attention to privacy and professionalism will motivate students to take a fuller sense of ownership on their work in the class.

During this unit students will also be introduced to other programs and online resources they could pursue for potential extra credit opportunities or, ideally, their own growth. Students will have the opportunity to raise their first semester grade via successful completion of the Typing.com curriculum, which also doubles as a great way to keep students who finish all their work quickly occupied with something productive. A more focused program for some students, especially those with little experience in the Google suite, will be to attempt lessons via the Applied Digital Skills program from Google. 

As part of the base curriculum, students will also get a strong understanding of the difference between hardware and software, including more nuance to each category with explanations of things like operating systems and layers of abstraction. The physical limits can be hard to understand for the current digital native cohort and the deep dive into the actual components of a device helps establish these constraints. It also lends itself to better troubleshooting skills going forward as the students are more cognizant of the different aspects involved in say loading a game or loading a webpage.

 

Unit 1: The Internet

  • Bits of Information
  • Transferring Information
  • Number Systems
  • Koans of Data
  • Encoding with Binary
  • Basics of HTML and CSS
  • Transistors
  • The Internet is for Everyone
  • How the Internet Works

Computer Literacy Focus: Though this unit starts out heavy in mathematics as we study binary (and other base) number systems and technical aspects of the internet like bandwidth and latency this leads to a more nuanced discussion of the nature of information once students have demonstrated mastery of the previous concepts. These discussions are framed as koans, inspired by the fantastic book on modern tech Blown to Bits. The koans point paradoxical phenomena unlocked by tech, like perfect duplication or how all digital information just exists as patterns in bits. Students who can articulate their understanding of these koans can show a deep comprehension of not only the technical aspects of the internet but their practical reality as well.

As we dive into our first coding experience with markup languages HTML and CSS, students have their first real opportunity to demonstrate their current level of comfort with the basics of logic and algorithms to allow the lessons to be appropriately scaffolded and leveled. Students new to the languages can show learning by going through the Khan Academy’s challenges and tutorials while advanced students could demonstrate their mastery by using the same given time to build a page from scratch through a more flexible interface like GitHub pages. Advanced students may also choose to learn new web building tools like PHP or libraries like React to build modern interfaces comparable to those seen on the popular internet.

 

Unit 2: Digital Information

  • Bytes and File Size
  • Compression and Encoding
  • File Types
  • Ethics 
  • Digital Citizenship

Computer Literacy Focus: This unit has the strongest, most practical inclusion of computer literacy curriculum as the key focus is how digital information manifests itself for the user on a local device. This includes things like file management and storage in addition to how different file types are utilized like word processing, presentations, and images. Students will also do a deep dive on how the different compression schemes for the same type of file have a variety of tradeoffs, like the consistency of a pdf that comes at the cost of a more cumbersome editing experience. This will also be an opportunity to go over fundamental computer skills that some students might not have encountered, like decompressing a zipped file or negotiating the different means of transferring large amounts of data across devices.

The second half of this unit gives students an opportunity to discuss the ethics in computing, framed as an extension of the look into koans in the previous area of study. Here students will get to look at actual case studies from recent years and use their technical knowledge combined with academic ethical frameworks to make a case for the merits (or lack thereof) of their assigned scenario. One point of focus students will have to take on in this study is an empathetic view of the average citizen’s level of computer literacy. They can not assume that the general public might have a full understanding of the tech development in their case study (like the timeline for reporting vulnerabilities in software) and as such will have to also consider the impact of things like outreach and educational publicity campaigns for technology.

With these topics in mind, the unit wraps up with a study of digital citizenship under the lens of a professional networked environment. The key understanding is that digital citizenship and proper behavior online is closely linked with cybersecurity as the fundamental goal is to have a clear, efficient set of practices when approaching digital work. Being mindful of things like phishing attacks in respect to the security on one’s entire work network, for example, is a focus when going over common internet pitfalls.

 

Unit 3: Programming Basics

  • JavaScript
  • Processing

Computer Literacy Focus:Though the focus on coding makes this unit significantly lighter on computational literacy, there are some valuable lessons for students as to where programs are stored and run on their device. For example, in this unit the JavaScript is run in-browser via Code.org while Processing is a language that must be downloaded and installed to function. In addition to this, learning how to make interactive programs in Processing helps students better understand the full variety of inputs they can enter into a standard PC as they can tie actions to every input.

 

Unit 4: Big Data

  • Big Data
  • Trends
  • Assumptions: The Digital Divide
  • The Cost of Free
  • Encryption

Computer Literacy Focus: This unit helps students see the real impact the internet has had on their personal lives and society as a whole as the study of big data will include a look at the cookies and the personalized services that are rampant online. Understanding these phenomena are essential to successfully navigate and understand how the internet actively changes our society and economy as these tools are also what fuel most tech businesses. Students will explore the passive collection of their data while debating the balance of privacy versus utility, especially as they put their personal information out there in search of scholarships and internships.

Students will also look at the socioeconomic impacts of a tech-driven economy, specifically the phenomena of The Digital Divide and the lack of equity that is pervasive in tech right now. Regardless of the careers they pursue, all students should at least be aware of the inequity around them and what potential privilege benefitted them and helped them reach their current position. This is especially important as they gain power in their careers and will have the ability to impact the lives of others with their decisions; ideally this knowledge will help them make sure they make these decisions in a way that will lessen the divide.

 

Unit 5: Development

  • Event-driven Programming
  • Control Flow
  • Logic Gates
  • UI/UX
  • Data and Variables
  • Professionalism in Programming

Computer Literacy Focus: Much like Unit 3, this is a heavily technical unit devoted to learning how to make full applications using JavaScript to prepare for the AP Create task. By creating apps students will also develop a better understanding of the applications and programs they consume on a regular basis. This is especially apparent in the study of the User Experience and User Interface aspect of development where developers can use design to manipulate the consumer to make certain choices in their program via choices like color and placement. For example students will study Dark Patterns, the techniques used by advertisers to get people to unsuspectingly purchase or subscribe to new products via confusing and deceptive language and options.

 

Unit 6: Simulations & AI

  • Simulations
  • AI Around Us
  • Machine Learning
  • Using AI
  • AI Ethics

Computer Literacy Focus: An awareness and fluency in AI is an essential skill all students will need to develop, regardless of their level of interest in computer science. Buzzwords in the field are prevalent in advertising and across the internet and students need to be aware of what they are actually participating in. For example, much like in a previous unit students need to balance privacy and utility when buying into a smart home system. They also need to be aware of the issues and ethical problems in AI, like how a biased data set could lead to serious issues of discrimination (like Amazon’s failed hiring formula or Apple’s controversial credit limit calculations). 

 

Unit 7: (Post-AP) Advanced Programming

  • Python
  • Libraries

Computer Literacy Focus: The final unit will focus on practical programming skills a student could use to get more out of their devices, like how to write quick scripts to clean up files on their computer or solve repetitive calculations. Though it is beyond what would be deemed necessary for an average person, it can bring a lot more efficiency and power to their lives.