CS Discoveries 2019-2020

Vocab

Unit 1 - Problem Solving

Lesson 5: Input and Output

  • Input: the information computers get from users, devices, or other computers
  • Output: the information computers give to users, devices, or other computers

Lesson 6: Processing

  • Algorithm: A list of steps to finish a task.

Unit 2 - Web Development

Lesson 1: Exploring Websites

  • Website: A collection of interlinked web pages on the World Wide Web

Lesson 2: Websites for Expression

  • Website Content: the text and images on a website

Lesson 3: Intro to HTML

  • HTML: Hypertext Markup Language, a language used to create web pages
  • HTML Element: A piece of a website, marked by a start tag and often closed with an end tag
  • HTML Tag: The special set of characters that indicates the start and end of an HTML element and that element's type
  • Website Content: the text and images on a website
  • Website Structure: how the content of a website is organized

Lesson 4: Headings

  • Heading: A title or summary for a document or section of a document.

Lesson 5: Digital Footprint

  • Digital Footprint: The collected information about an individual across multiple websites on the Internet.

Lesson 7: Intellectual Property and Images

  • Citation: A quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work.
  • Copyright: the exclusive legal right to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same
  • Creative Commons: A collection of public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work, used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created
  • Intellectual Property: A work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a piece of writing or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

Lesson 8: Clean Code and Debugging

  • Bug: Part of a program that does not work correctly.
  • Comment: A note in the source code of a computer program that helps explain the code to people who read it
  • Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.
  • Indentation: The placement of text farther to the right or left of the surrounding text, making it easier to understand the program's structure
  • Whitespace: Any character that shows up as a blank space on the screen, such as a space, a tab, or a new line; helps separate different parts of the document to make it easier to read

Lesson 9: Project - Multi-Page Websites

  • Hyperlink: A link from a HTML file to another location or file, typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image on the screen.

Lesson 10: Styling Text with CSS

  • CSS: Cascading Style Sheets; a language used to describe how HTML elements should be styled
  • CSS Selector: the part of a CSS rule-set that defines which HTML elements the style should be applied to

Lesson 12: Sources and Search Engines

  • Algorithm: A list of steps to finish a task.
  • Relevant: closely connected to a topic
  • Search Engine: A program that searches for items on the World Wide Web.
  • Trustworthy: reliable, honest, and truthful

Lesson 13: RGB Colors and Classes

  • CSS Class: An identifier that allows multiple elements in an HTML document to be styled in the same way

Unit 3 - Interactive Animations and Games

Lesson 3: Drawing in Game Lab

  • Bug: Part of a program that does not work correctly.
  • Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.
  • Program: An algorithm that has been coded into something that can be run by a machine.

Lesson 4: Shapes and Randomization

  • Parameter: An extra piece of information passed to a function to customize it for a specific need

Lesson 5: Variables

  • Variable: A label for a piece of information used in a program.

Lesson 6: Sprites

  • Property: Attributes that describe an object's characteristics
  • Sprite: A graphic character on the screen with properties that describe its location, movement, and look.

Lesson 7: The Draw Loop

  • Animation: a series of images that create the illusion of motion by being shown rapidly one after the other
  • Frame: a single image within an animation
  • Frame Rate: the rate at which frames in an animation are shown, typically measured in frames per second

Lesson 8: Counter Pattern Unplugged

  • Expression: Any valid unit of code that resolves to a value.
  • Variable: A label for a piece of information used in a program.

Lesson 10: Booleans Unplugged

  • Boolean: A single value of either TRUE or FALSE
  • Conditionals: Statements that only run under certain conditions.
  • Expression: Any valid unit of code that resolves to a value.

Lesson 11: Booleans and Conditionals

  • Boolean Expression: in programming, an expression that evaluates to True or False.
  • If-Statement: The common programming structure that implements "conditional statements".

Lesson 13: Other Forms of Input

  • Conditionals: Statements that only run under certain conditions.

Lesson 16: Collision Detection

  • Abstraction: a simplified representation of something more complex. Abstractions allow you to hide details to help you manage complexity, focus on relevant concepts, and reason about problems at a higher level.
  • Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in an algorithm or program.
  • If-Statement: The common programming structure that implements "conditional statements".

Lesson 18: Collisions

  • Abstraction: a simplified representation of something more complex. Abstractions allow you to hide details to help you manage complexity, focus on relevant concepts, and reason about problems at a higher level.

Lesson 19: Functions

  • Function: A named group of programming instructions. Functions are reusable abstractions that reduce the complexity of writing and maintaining programs.

Unit 4 - The Design Process

Lesson 1: Analysis of Design

  • Critique: To critically evaluate in a detailed and constructive manner.
  • Empathy: In design, paying attention to a user's feelings and needs when designing a product.
  • User: Someone who uses an object, including software and hardware.

Lesson 2: Understanding Your User

  • Usability: How easy, efficient, and satisfying it is to use a human-made object or device (including software).

Lesson 4: User Interfaces

  • Prototype: A first or early model of a product that allows you to test assumptions before developing a final version.
  • User Interface: The visual elements of a program through which a user controls or communicates with the application. Often abbreviated UI.

Lesson 10: Paper Prototypes

  • Prototype: A first or early model of a product that allows you to test assumptions before developing a final version.

Lesson 15: Improving and Iterating

  • Bug: Part of a program that does not work correctly.
  • Feature: An individual functional element of a software item, such as the ability to do something new, work across multiple platforms, or perform more efficiently

Unit 5 - Data and Society

Lesson 2: Patterns and Representation

  • Decode: to change how information is represented so that it can be read by a person
  • Encode: to change how information is represented so that it can be read by a computer

Lesson 4: Representing Images

  • Pixel: short for "picture element", the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot that contains a single point of color of a larger image.

Lesson 6: Keeping Data Secret

  • Decrypt: to change information so that its hidden meaning is shown
  • Encrypt: to change information so that its meaning is hidden

Unit 6 - Physical Computing

Lesson 1: Innovations in Computing

  • Innovation: A new or improved idea, device, product, etc, or the development thereof

Lesson 7: Analog Input

  • Analog: Any continuously changing signal that is not restricted to finite set of values. For example, the wave forms of spoken words are an analog signal.
  • Digital: Data or signals represented by a finite number of values. Analog signals (which can have infinite values) must be converted to digital in order to be computed with.

Lesson 10: Arrays and Color LEDs

  • Array: A data structure in JavaScript used to represent a list.

Lesson 12: Arrays and For Loops

  • Array: A data structure in JavaScript used to represent a list.
  • For Loop: Loops that have a predetermined beginning, end, and increment (step interval).

Lesson 14: Functions with Parameters

  • Parameter: An extra piece of information passed to a function to customize it for a specific need

Lesson 15: Circuits and Physical Prototypes

  • Circuit: A device that provides a path for an electric current to flow, often modifying that current. In computers, circuits allow for simple logical and mathematical operations using electricity.
  • Prototype: A first or early model of a product that allows you to test assumptions before developing a final version.