Introduction to Programming Concepts Course

This is a course for students who wish to learn the basics of computer programming; no prior programming experience is required.

The course will introduce basic programming terminology, concepts, and best practices. Students will learn to write programs using such constructs as loops, statements, variables, and functions. Good programming habits will be covered, as well as program design, flow charting and architecture, and debugging techniques.

The class examples and assignments will use JavaScript, as it requires nothing more than a text editor and browser to execute; however, the focus of the class will be on learning the syntax and logic of programming, and not on writing browser-centric JavaScript. Consequently, the principles learned in this course will be easily applied to any programming language, whether it is a compiled language like C, or an interpreted language like PHP.

Outline

Week 1

What is Computer Programming?
Introductory Programming Terminology
What is JavaScript and Why is it Being Used Here?
Creating a Program Plan
Designing a Solution - Flowcharting
Implementing a Solution - Programming
My first program: 'Hello World'

Week 2

Syntax
Statements
Variables
Comments
Operators and how they work

Week 3

Conditional Statements: 'if'
Repeated Statements
Debugging

Week 4

Nesting Conditionals
Functions
User Input

Week 5

Logical Operators: Boolean values
Arrays

Week 6

Objects
Functions (continued): 'return' and functions with multiple parameters
Debugging review

Prerequisites

A basic understanding of browsers and rudimentary HTML knowledge.

Requirements

Any text editing software application: Notepad or Wordpad for Windows and BBEdit for Macintosh are a few good examples.
An Internet browser: Firefox 3.0 or higher, Internet Explorer 7 or higher, Safari 3.0 or higher, Opera 6.0 or higher, or Google Chrome 1.0 or higher.
A webspace to post assignments, preferably without banner ads.

Books:
Required Book	JavaScript, The Definitive Guide
Additional information:
Your place in the course is confirmed by your payment. Introductory courses are intended for students with no experience in the subject matter and are seeking beginner level training. Refund Policy: Please read our Terms and Refund Policy before registering for this course. Additional Cost: Book and software might be required for the course. Read the Requirements and Book section for more information. Course fee does not include the book and software cost . How eClasses Work:Instructors post lectures (text-based, no video or audio), reading selections, and hands-on assignments once a week in the online classroom. Students can discuss the assignments with the instructor and amongst themselves in the classroom area. This format has no set meeting time, which allows students to attend class at a time most convenient to them, yet still provides logically organized communication between class participants. Students can apply for the completion certificate after finishing the class.

Price:

$180.00

IWA-HWG Price:

$80.00

Course No.:

P010

Instructor:

Kevin Goldberg

Co-instructor/TA:

CEUs:

Duration:

6 weeks

Open Courses:

Start Date: Sep 13, 2010

Testimonials

Instructor's Profile:

Before starting his own company, imagistic, in 1997, Kevin held senior positions in video game divisions at Film Roman and Lionsgate (previously Trimark). Previously, he served as Lead Software Engineer at Philips Interactive Media, where one of his innovations resulted in an ADPCM compression / decompression scheme, which doubled the sound effects storage capacity for all CD-i titles. Kevin serves on both the Santa Monica College Computer Science and Information Systems Advisory Boards. In 2006, he was invited to speak at the ACLU Nationwide Staff Conference as a Web development and production expert. Kevin holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he is a candidate for a master's degree in Computer Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Kevin is also the author of "XML: Visual QuickStart Guide (2nd Edition)." which was published in December 2008, by Peachpit Press. In addition, an article Kevin wrote on CodeIgniter (a PHP MVC framework) was published on the IBM developerWorks site in 2010.

Before you register for this class, please read the Outline, Prerequisites, Requirements, Books, and Refund Policy sections carefully.

Ratings

"Ben was very prompt in answering questions, evaluating and posting assignments and very helpful in explaining things in a way that is easy to understand. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and have been able to apply it in my everday work....and it works! " - Claudia Ellis

"I've waited many years to take this fundamental programming course. Ben made difficult concepts easy to understand and apply. Strongly recommend this course and Ben as the instructor." - William Valvo

"I could not have asked for a better introduction to programming. Ben was absolutely nothing less than masterful in his concise presentation of these concepts. Since this class, I've been able to engage myself more fully in several areas! I've been able to add complexity to MS Access Database projects, to FLASH movies, and to a bit of Java-Scripting -- all from a beginner's class! This class was one of the best I have taken here." - Joshua Rowe

"The instructor was very helpful, and didn't mind how simple my questions were about the assignment. I got a lot out of this class." - Benny Brinkman

"Ben was very helpful and patient while teaching us the basics of programming. He took the scariness out of it and just helped us understand! Questions were encouraged and answered in depth. He's a great instructor." - Kara O'Day