OK, folks this on is going to be a long one about an AWESOME review product, get your self a cup of JAVA…lol...pun intended :O)
Lets start off with a homeschool Momma funny! LOL. I kept calling TeenCoder C# Series, LOL….”TeenCoder C pound sign Series.” That got a real laugh out of my son, the proper pronunciation is TeenCoder C Sharp Series. OK, enough of the laughing here, because TeenCoder C# Series is a very serious year long educational computer course from Homeschool Programming INC. Homeschool Programming INC has won many awards including the
Lets start off with a homeschool Momma funny! LOL. I kept calling TeenCoder C# Series, LOL….”TeenCoder C pound sign Series.” That got a real laugh out of my son, the proper pronunciation is TeenCoder C Sharp Series. OK, enough of the laughing here, because TeenCoder C# Series is a very serious year long educational computer course from Homeschool Programming INC. Homeschool Programming INC has won many awards including the
|
TeenCoder: Android Programming:
"Technology" Winner! TeenCoder: Game Programming: "Education K-12" Finalist!
|
We got 2 CD Rom’s that were instructional videos
Ebooks in the form of PDF’s that can be downloaded to a Kindle
These products were valued at $155 dollars for 2 one-semester courses
Windows Programming and Game Programming
The course materials may be purchased together or separately and the CD Rom’s may be purchased together or separately. The CD Roms’s ARE optional, BUT you must have the Ebook to do the program. I like how you can pick or chose what works for your homeschool child.
TeenCoder Windows Programming or TeenCoder Game Programming
COST $20.00
TeenCoder Windows Programming Instructional Video CD Rom ONLY or Teen Coder Game Programming video CD Rom only
COST $75.00
Windows Programming Semester Course ONLY or TeenCoder Game Programming Semester Course only TeenCoder
COST $90.00
TeenCoder Windows Programming Semester Course and Instructional Videos on CD Rom or TeenCoder Game Programming Semester Course and Instructional Videos on CD Rom
Alternatively, you can purchase these as year long packs
$130.00 TeenCoder: C# Year Pack (Courses Only)
$155.00 TeenCoder: C# Year Pack (Courses & Videos)
Here are the computer hardware and software requirements
For the TeenCoder Windows Programming Course you will need Visual C# 2010 Express
For the TeenCoder Game Programming Course you will need Microsoft XNA Game Studio (free download)
Designed for 9th-12th graders with no computer programming experience. However, your child should have a basic understanding of using a computer mouse, typing, saving things to the hard drive, starting up programs and running them and clicking through different menus. After using TeenCoder Windows Programming and TeenCoder Game Programming, I am going to issue our homeschool son a full credit for Computer Science, as this was a very thorough course that fostered independence in our child.
Topics Covered in this Course
Introduction to the C# programming languages
Creating graphical Windows screens
Using dialog controls
C# data types and variables
User input and flow control
Math functions and string operations
C# debugging and exception handling
Object-oriented programming concepts
Classes, inheritance, and polymorphism
Collections, sorting, and recursion
File Input/Output
What this homeschool Momma liked
1) First off let me say that if you have a student that is interested in programming or gaming TeenCoder is definitely for them!
2) AWESOME help desk with personal responses
3) I like how it talks about to do the grading.
4) There are chapter tests.
5) Solutions are included in the PDF’s yeah!!!!
6) Course Errata & document updates: nice to have & easy to find
7) There were a variety of activities to test putting skills to use.
8) Cute graphics. I think that the TeenCoder guy, teacher and students are adorable! Check them all out on the Demonstrations Video’s here.
9) Loved how it explained the history of programming
10) Pre-requisites are listed on the website
What this homeschool Momma did not like
1) I could not have taught this just from the Ebook, I would have to have the CD Rom’s for sure!
2) They say they are self study student textbook, but again, I think that the CD Rom’s are a MUST have.
3) We did not get a physical book that would have been nice to be able to highlight things and make notes on things.
4) We struggled with getting the Visual C# 2010 Express loaded, up and running on our computer. (a free version) There are other versions of this but you must use the 2010.
5)We had more struggles with finding things once they were on our computer.
6) We had trouble jumping back between screens and it really slowed down our computer.
7) This to me was a hard course, BUT in saying that, it’s a high school course, so it’s not going to be a snap and really it should not be easy if it’s a high school course :O)
8) I do not agree with the company website saying that no prior computer knowledge is needed.
9) Looking back at this I wish now that I had printed out the student text, but I hated to waste the ink and ½ of ream of paper. As we continue forward, I think that I may break down and do just that.
What this homeschool student liked
1) Liked the chapter reviews, the way they presented facts about each chapter.
2) Learned history of programming
3) Learned definitions and terms for computers terminology
4) I like how each lessons builds on the next one, I would not skip any lessons.
5) Text boxes were super cool!
6) Easy to download to Kindle Fire, nice to take in the car for reading the lessons, then coming home and doing the lessons on the main computer.
7) I really learned a lot and was surprised at how once we got going that it all started coming together for me.
8) Screenshots were VERY helpful, I like to see what things are suppose to look like.
9) Set up on an easy to use format once we figure it out.
10) You can make games for Xbox 360 (if you own one, we do not)
11) It was very easy to follow along as to where the lessons started and ended, there is an
activity to do at the end chapter.
12) Saving the best for last…ULTIMATE COOLNESS FACTOR making the graphic chess game, I can’t wait to get to the end of the TeenCoder Game Programming to make a Bumper Car Game!
What this homeschool student did not like
1) It was a struggle to learn by just the Ebook, so I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the CD Rom’s to go along with the program, to me it was much easier learn that way along with the reading of the Ebook.
ONLY 1 dislike here!
In the 8 weeks we had to complete this review we were not able to make it to the second semester of course, but are sure looking forward to it. This second semester course is on creating Windows games. Your student will learn the following plus more during the TeenCoder Game Programming course.
Important game concepts
Object/movement in games
How to detect collisions between objects
How to create 2D images
Animations
Simple game physics such as bouncing and reflections
How to simulate wind & gravity
They will learn artificial intelligence
They will learn game physics and concepts such as velocity and gravity on projectiles
They will make fun games such as The Swarm Game (remember Space Invaders? LOL...It’s just like that.
Snowball Fight Game
Plans for the future...
I plan to work my way through the TeenCoder C# Series by Homeschool Programming INC myself, as I am pretty computer illiterate :O)
Stop by and see what my friends from the TOS Review Crew had to say about TeenCoder (they even have reviews for the younger kids computer programming courses.
