An Introduction

 

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Andrea and I am a homeschooling mom to two boys. Before I became a mom, I was a computer programmer with a degree in Computer Science.

 

My love of computers started early. I was in middle school when I wrote my first program and I was hooked! I spent hours sitting in front of our family PC, experimenting with different commands in different languages. I made programs that displayed text, blinking characters, and simple graphics. (Computers were simple in those days!) I loved to experiment with new techniques and languages. By the time I graduated high-school, I was not only programming, but building and repairing PCs as well.

 

During my career, I have worked for several Fortune 500 companies in the Atlanta area, including Motorola, where I met my husband — a computer programmer with two degrees in Electrical Engineering.

 

Why We Created Our Courses

 

A few years ago, I received a call from one of my homeschooled nieces. “I want to learn how to do computer programming,” she said. “Real computer programming.” My sister had no idea how to teach this subject and had sent her straight to me. “You have a degree in this stuff,” my sister told me, “Surely you can help her find what she needs to learn.”

 

So I set to work, searching the Internet for some sort of course in programming that was made for middle-school to high-school aged homeschool students. You can find anything on the Internet, right?

 

I was shocked at what I found: Nothing. Zilch. Nada. At best there were some courses based on graphical scripting languages for younger children.  But a middle-school or high-school student will want to build a skill set in modern computer techniques.  These skills will give them a head-start in college, and the courses are suitable for enhancing high-school transcripts.

 

So, my husband and I decided to write curriculum of our own. We wanted to take our love of computers and programming and inspire a new generation. We set out to create courses that would teach real programming languages in a fun way that students could understand and that non-technical parents could teach.

 

Why We Are Different

 

In addition to being the only complete computer programming curriculum on the market today, each course follows three important Principles:

 

First, our courses take a fun, hands-on approach geared for pre-teen and teen kids.  Each chapter covers basic theory in a light-hearted, yet informative manner. Hands-on activities allow students to immediately apply the lessons learned in the chapter.

 

Second, you don’t need to have a degree in Computer Science to teach our courses!  The Teacher’s Edition makes following your student’s progress a breeze, even if you have little to no computer knowledge whatsoever!  The following teaching aids are provided for each chapter:

· Chapter overviews will let you know exactly what concepts your student should be learning. 

· Complete, coded solutions are provided for all activities.  The activity solutions walk you through exactly what your student is doing and what to expect them to accomplish.

· Each chapter has tests and keys that explain the answers in an easy-to-understand format.

 

Third, our courses use modern programming languages (C, C++, and C#).  These are not throw-away toy languages, but are solid, well-established languages that are used in colleges and businesses today.

 

If you have a student who is genuinely interested in computer programming, our courses are for you!