Introduction to Computer Science

Online Course Overview:

Many students are showing strong interest in Computer Science. This has been a steady trend for the past number of years. Computer Science has been a fast-growing field of study and the skills learned continue to be in very high demand. These skills include algorithmic and computational thinking. Here at Rutgers Prep, students can enroll in four Computer Science courses. To complete these courses students must enroll in the Introduction to Computer Science course. This 4-week summer course is offered to students who are interested in Computer Science.

Online Course Details:

For:	Entering grades 9-12
Dates:	June 30-July 25, 2025 (Mon-Fri)
Times:	9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location:	Online only
Tuition:	$1,500* *This course is complementary to currently enrolled RPS students, with permission from Mr. Lake. Please contact Mr. Lake via email to express your interest and receive an enrollment code PRIOR to registering.

Course Objectives:

The main objective is to teach students computer science by using “real-world-computing” to demonstrate the growing importance of computers in today’s society. This fundamental course builds a good foundation for further study of computer science and is a prerequisite for AP Computer Science.    

This fully online summer introductory course in computer science runs for four weeks and focuses on the basic concepts in computing using Java technology. The course comprises teacher instruction and lab exercises. The instructional portion of the course will demonstrate key concepts using a “live-code” and “hands-on” approach. The students will work through fun and interactive examples while learning key computing concepts. This is a fully online course with live instructional videos, projects, and quizzes. Projects and quizzes will be assigned daily. The first day is assigned to computer/laptop set up prior to the beginning of the course. During this setup period, students will install the Eclipse IDE and walk through the process of submitting and receiving online content. The course expectations will be discussed on this. 

Students need a computer with the Eclipse IDE installed but all other materials will be provided. 

Students will receive instructions with interactive exercises to work through instructional topics. The topics are:

Week 1

1. System set up.

2. Computer Vocabulary, Introducing Computers, the Internet and Java Programming.

3. Welcome Application – Introduction to Graphical User Interface (GUI). This introduces JPanels and ImageIcons. 

4. Inventory Application – Introducing JTextFields and JButtons; Introducing programming; Introducing Variables, Memory Concepts, Arithmetic and KeyBoard Events

5. Wage Calculator Application – Introducing Algorithms, Pseudo code and Program Control. Control structures introduced are if, and if … else.

Week 2

1. Car payment, interest calculation and class average using Repetition statement. This introduces while, do … while, and for loops.

2. Dental Payment Application – Introducing JCheckBoxes, Dialogs, and Logical Operators. This introduces “AND”, “OR”, and “NOT” logical operators.   

3. Security Panel Application – Introducing the switch control statement, Date, and DateFormat.

4. Wage Calculator Enhanced Application – Introducing Classes and Methods. This introduces method declarations. 

5. Interest Calculator Application – Expanding Event Handlers. This expands upon the previously seen button click event to and key events.

Week 3

1. Fundraiser Application – Introducing Scope and Conversion of Primitive Types

2. Craps Game Application – Introducing Random Number Generation

3. Flag Quiz Application – Introducing One-Dimensional Arrays and JComboBoxes. This introduces declaring, creating, sorting, and traversing arrays.

Week 4

1. Student Grades Application – Introducing Two-Dimensional Arrays and RadioButtons. This introduces declaring, creating, sorting, and traversing two-dimensional arrays.

2. Microwave Application – Introducing Building Your Own Classes and Objects. This introduces constructors, mutators (setters), and accessors (getters).

3. Shipping Hub Application – Introducing ArrayLists, Iterators, and Mnemonics. This introduces JList and collections.

Assessments & Grading:

The students will be given daily quizzes and projects. Each assignment is worth a certain number of points and students earn points as the course progresses. The grades will be posted online for students to see their progress. The course will not end with a letter grade but with a pass/fail designation. A passing grade is 85% (B) or higher. A certificate will be given to all students who meet this passing grade criterion.