Computational Thinking

Ongoing throughout the year

Create a new representation through generalization and decomposition.

Write and debug algorithms in a structured language (pseudocode).

Understand how different data representation effects storage and quality.

Create, modify, and manipulate data structures, data sets, and data visualizations.

Use an iterative design process to create an artifact or solve a problem.

Create models and simulations to formulate, test, analyze, and refine a hypothesis.

Select and use ‘best’ computing devices to accomplish a real-world task.

Understand how computing device components work.

Ethics and Laws

Ongoing throughout the year

Model mastery of the school’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

Identify computer-related laws and analyze their impact on digital privacy, security, intellectual property, network access, contracts, and consequences of sexting and harassment.

Discuss the legal and ethical implications associated with malicious hacking and software piracy.

Interpret software license agreements and application permissions. .

Analyze the impact and intent of new technology laws.

Interpret license agreements and permissions.

Networks

Ongoing throughout the year

Explain how network topologies and protocols enable users, devices, and systems to communicate with each other.

Examine common network vulnerabilities (e.g., cyberattacks, identity theft, privacy) and their associated responses.

Examine the issues (e.g., latency, bandwidth, firewalls, server capability) that impact network functionality. 

Understand how networks communicate, their vulnerabilities and issues that may impact their functionality.

Programming and Development

Ongoing throughout the year

1. Use a development process in creating a computational artifact that leads to a minimum viable product and includes reflection, analysis, and iteration (e.g., a data-set analysis program for a science and engineering fair, capstone project that includes a program, term research project based on program data).

2. Decompose a problem by defining functions, which accept parameters and produce return values.

3. Select the appropriate data structure to represent information for a given problem (e.g., records, arrays, lists).

4. Analyze trade-offs among multiple approaches to solve a given problem (e.g., space/time performance, maintainability, correctness, elegance).

5. Use appropriate looping structures in programs (e.g., FOR, WHILE, RECURSION).

6. Use appropriate conditional structures in programs (e.g., IF-THEN, IF-THEN-ELSE, SWITCH).

7. Use a programming language or tool feature correctly to enforce operator precedence.

8. Use global and local scope appropriately in program design (e.g., for variables).

Create, modify, and manipulate data structures, data sets, and data visualizations.

Use an iterative design process to create an artifact or solve a problem

Modeling and Simulation

Create models and simulations to help formulate, test, and refine hypotheses.

Form a model from a hypothesis generated from research and run a simulation to collect and analyze data to test that hypothesis.

Create models and simulations to formulate, test, analyze, and refine a hypothesis.

Research

Ongoing Throughout the year

Identify digital information sources to answer research questions (e.g., online library catalog, online encyclopedias, databases, websites).

Perform searches to locate information using two or more key words and techniques to refine and limit such searches.

Evaluate digital sources for accuracy, relevancy, and appropriateness.

Gather and organize information from digital sources by quoting, paraphrasing, and/or summarizing.

Cite text-based sources using a school- or district-adopted format.

Provide basic source information [e.g., Uniform Resource Locator (URL), date accessed] for non-text-based sources (e.g., images, audio, video).

Develop intermediate research skills to create artifacts and attribute credit.

Computing Devices

Ongoing Throughout the year

Identify a broad range of computing devices (e.g., computers, smart phones, tablets, robots, e-textiles) and appropriate uses for them.

Describe the function and purpose of various input and output devices (e.g., monitor, keyboard, speakers, controller, probes, sensors, Bluetooth transmitters, synthesizers).

Demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency (connect and record data, print, send command, connect to Internet, search) in using a range of computing devices (e.g., probes, sensors, printers, robots, computers).

Identify and solve simple hardware and software problems that may occur during everyday use (e.g., power, connections, application window or toolbar).

Identify and explain that some computing functions are always active (e.g., locations function on smart phones). 

Differentiate tasks that are best done by computing systems and humans.

Algorithms

Ongoing Throughout the year

Recognize that the design of an algorithm is distinct from its expression in a programming language.

Represent algorithms using structured language, such as pseudocode.

Explain how a recursive solution to a problem repeatedly applies the same solution to smaller instances of the problem.

Describe that there are ways to characterize how well algorithms perform and that two algorithms can perform differently for the same task.

Explain that there are some problems, which cannot be computationally solved.

Write and debug algorithms in a structured language (pseudocode)