Computational Thinking with Javascript 1: Draw & Animate

Computational Thinking with Javascript 1: Draw & Animate

This course is part of Computational Thinking with JavaScript Specialization

Instructors: Quintin Cutts

Sponsored by Louisiana Workforce Commission

1,749 already enrolled

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

33 hours to complete

3 weeks at 11 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

33 hours to complete

3 weeks at 11 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

A key problem solving framework to use new technologies in any problem domain.
Experience using the framework with Javascript and animated graphics.

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

8 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Computational Thinking with JavaScript Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 4 modules in this course

This is the first course in a sequence of four courses that develops essential 21st century computational thinking (CT) skills using the popular JavaScript language as a vehicle.

At the end of this first course you will: know a framework for CT to help you learn about it and work with others; be developing your CT skills so that you can more easily work with digital technology of all kinds; be able to read and write programs in JavaScript that involve drawing and animation, using a specialised library; and post your creations on the web so that others can appreciate your skills. This course is suitable for: complete beginners; those who have taken an introductory course in any programming language and want to learn more deeply about the thinking and learning skills they are starting to develop; those who wish to learn Javascript in a supportive environment. The follow-on courses explore the manipulation and analysis of data, such an important aspect of our lives now, again in a highly supportive environment, and then we move the context to mainstream web--based platforms so that you can use these skills more widely.

This module introduces the instructors for this course and for the longer Computational Thinking with Javascript specialisation. A framework for understanding computational thinking is introduced and first steps are taken with Javascript, applying it in the context of simple graphics - drawing and animation.

What's included

8 videos8 readings5 assignments3 discussion prompts

8 videosTotal 105 minutes

Welcome to the course5 minutesPreview module
Where does CT fit into the larger technology landscape? (first attempt)9 minutes
What is CT? A first look at learning CT...11 minutes
Our first task and accomplishing it by hand (need to add last slide)8 minutes
The program for our first task, and introducing how to 'read' it using the TSTM framework11 minutes
Reading the program via the M (Machine) view24 minutes
Read some programs19 minutes
Describing repetitive activities in our programs14 minutes

8 readingsTotal 72 minutes

Who am I? A little more detail about Quintin10 minutes
Introduction to Module 15 minutes
Introduction to the second lesson2 minutes
Find out more about Turtle graphics and Seymour Papert5 minutes
Introducing the third lesson5 minutes
Turtle Library Reference10 minutes
Introducing the third lesson and a bit of repetition5 minutes
End of Module Summary, and lead in to Module 2 and beyond30 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 128 minutes

Check on your understanding of CT30 minutes
What can you remember from that task and program?8 minutes
Repetition quiz30 minutes
A couple of questions to finish the module30 minutes
Read a program, answer questions30 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 70 minutes

Who are you, why are you here?10 minutes
What did you learn there?30 minutes
How are you getting on?30 minutes

In this module, you take the foundations you have learned about computational thinking, some early programming constructs, and your program reading skills, and you start to learn about writing programs for tasks.

What's included

2 videos7 readings1 assignment1 peer review4 discussion prompts6 ungraded labs

2 videosTotal 34 minutes

Problem solving walk-through29 minutesPreview module
Walk through of posting a program on-line4 minutes

7 readingsTotal 70 minutes

Introduction to program writing10 minutes
Preparing for programming in the next lab10 minutes
Doing your own thing10 minutes
Reviewing someone else's program10 minutes
Sharing your work on-line10 minutes
Summary of instructions to post on-line10 minutes
Where you are and what's next?10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 15 minutes

End of Module Quiz15 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 60 minutes

Give and receive feedback on your programs60 minutes

4 discussion promptsTotal 80 minutes

Stuck? Post here. Respond to queries if you can.10 minutes
Post challenges with your task here; respond with advice on how to overcome them10 minutes
What did you learn there?30 minutes
Reporting successes and problems!30 minutes

6 ungraded labsTotal 245 minutes

Use this Lab to follow along with the walk-through if you wish5 minutes
Review and experiment with the Walkthrough program30 minutes
Programming new tasks by changing existing programs45 minutes
Guided Tutorial on a new problem45 minutes
Now come up with your own task - write your own program60 minutes
Use this Lab to experiment with your peers' programs60 minutes

As our drawings become more complex, their descriptions will quickly become unwieldy. To counter this, we introduce programming language constructs that allow highly complex drawings to be described in just a few lines. They're a bit harder to understand at first, but in the long term, they're essential.

What's included

3 videos6 readings1 assignment5 ungraded labs

3 videosTotal 68 minutes

Breaking a large program down into manageable chunks14 minutesPreview module
Drawing the house more effectively using parameters20 minutes
Introducing a program that uses updating variables33 minutes

6 readingsTotal 65 minutes

Introducing the module, and how we handle complex process descriptions10 minutes
A great start to learning about functions10 minutes
Parameterising functions10 minutes
Reflecting on parameters with functions10 minutes
Why are variables called variables?10 minutes
We've got a long way!15 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 10 minutes

Can you read a program that uses functions10 minutes

5 ungraded labsTotal 290 minutes

Worked Example: Break some code into pieces30 minutes
Worked example: watching and contributing to solving a problem using functions40 minutes
Practise parameterizing the house yourself40 minutes
Exercises to practise and embed your understanding90 minutes
Working with the bar chart - and introducing colour & text90 minutes

Drawing still pictures is one thing - but the process-oriented element of programming lends itself to animation - an activity taking place over time. In this module, we'll make use of all we've learned so far to create animations. Functions will be used in a new and important way - as a so-called "callback" - which form the foundation of interactive programming as we'll see in Course 3 of the specialisation.

What's included

2 videos5 readings1 assignment1 peer review2 discussion prompts5 ungraded labs

2 videosTotal 52 minutes

Making a first animation29 minutesPreview module
Challenges with more complex animation22 minutes

5 readingsTotal 50 minutes

Picking up a new Application Area, and the Building Blocks you know10 minutes
What have we learned while using animations?10 minutes
Handling more complex animations10 minutes
Final words for this lesson10 minutes
Stepping out10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 20 minutes

Final Quiz for Module 120 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 90 minutes

Give and receive feedback on your programs90 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 40 minutes

Post challenges with your task here; respond with advice on how to overcome them10 minutes
What did you learn from seeing others' work and their eyes on yours?30 minutes