AP Computer Science Principles Reviews

Perfect Beginning to AP and Computer Science!!

This class was amazing! Everything down to the practical, theoretical or problem solving skills that can be learned in this class are extremely well taught. All projects and assignments proved useful for the exam or other assignments or even life situations. Even if you aren't tech savvy, after this class you will know all kinds of new technical information anytime you look at a machine. The class isn't just coding there's much discussion, logical, and critical thinking involved. This class was not hard to complete on top of my other classes and projects, I found it quite manageable, yet incredibly beneficial. I would (and have) recommend this class to any student! It's a great gateway to other AP classes as well.

A Great Introduction to Coding!

This was a very interesting and fun class! The projects and assignments were all quite practical; and gave a lot of room for each student to work on projects that are interesting to them. Ms. Rebekah is an excellent teacher; the weekly videos and assignments were very structured and helpful; and gave students a solid understanding of all the topics laid out in the AP course guide. I really enjoyed the course, and feel very prepared for the AP exam! The teacher's assistants were also very helpful, and were quick to respond to any questions I had. The workload wasn't too heavy, and there were lots of review resources provided. 

Great for AP exam preperation

This class is a truly wonderful course and thoroughly prepares you for the AP exam. The workload was manageable, about an hour a day, and the class interactions were fun and enjoyable. We often worked as a class or split up into groups for projects, and all of this was fun. I have always loved computer science, but this definitely has further expanded my interest in computer science. I would full-heartedly recommend this course to anyone who wants to take the AP computer science exam. Mrs. Lang does a superb job at preparing you for this as well as making this a fun class. This is, by far, one of the best computer science classes, and Mrs. Lang is an amazing teacher.

THE Perfect Course For A Beginner In Computer Science

AP CSP review

This course definitely prepared me for the exam! I was a little apprehensive going in because I had very little solid coding experience and wasn't sure if I could handle an AP course, but we covered all the topics thoroughly and at a very manageable pace. The weekly classes were insanely helpful too -- Ms. Lang would clarify concepts and have us practice, and it was very reassuring to have live content coverage. I especially liked how Ms. Lang guided us through the Create PT -- we started early, about the start of the spring semester, so we didn't have to rush. The preparatory assignments, like looking at past examples and working through activity guides and the College Board guidelines helped me understand exactly what was required and how to go about it. When I sat for the live portion of the exam, I was very well prepared and none of the topics that came up were unfamiliar; we'd covered them all.

While I don't plan to pursue a career in computer science, I'm glad to have some knowledge of coding and how the internet works -- this course provides a pretty good overview of all things computer-y and I would say it has made me a more informed tech user. Ms. Lang's class was one of the rare occasions when coding actually made perfect sense; it taught me how to work through the logic in code, both when creating it and when reading it. I'd definitely recommend this course to other students! The workload, while not exactly light, didn't require more than 1.5 hours/day most weeks, and the Code.org curriculum we used explained concepts very clearly (the live meetings too!). Ms. Lang is a great teacher, taking the time to answer questions and laying out contents/assignments in a clear and understandable way. Plus, her experience as a reader for the AP exam means that she has a solid handle on how the test works -- this was especially helpful during the Create PT, because she could answer our questions about requirements etc without breaching any of the guidelines. I don't think you'd need any prior coding experience to do this course -- anyone genuinely interested in learning more about the Internet/coding/how computing plays a part in society would do well!

I really enjoyed having Ms. Lang as my teacher, this is my second class with her.  I put in around 7 to 12 hours per week on course work, but it varied depending on what project/homework we were working on that week. I think Ms. Lang did a great job at preparing the whole class for the AP exam. She provided us with a schedule that detailed, by week, what to review for the exam. I think that someone with no previous knowledge of computer science would struggle in this class, they would be better served with the Introduction to Computer Science class, also taught by Ms. Lang. My only critique is the workload distribution, some weeks we had both an app development and a test due. 

An Excellent Course for Beginners and Experienced Coders Alike!

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Yes! I just got back from the exam, and I am confident that I did well! Ms. Lang did an excellent job of preparing us, especially for the Create Performance Task, which you submit before the exam and counts for 30% of your AP grade. As a grader herself, Ms. Lang knows exactly what you need to do, making the at-first-daunting task clear and manageable. I loved how Ms. Lang gave us lots of resources for review in preparation for the AP exam, but didn't make them mandatory. This flexibility allowed me to really customize my review and fit it into my schedule as I navigated other final and AP exams.

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I generally spent about 4-6 hours a week on CSP, but I spent 7-8 hours on weeks with tests or projects.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

Every assignment was valuable in preparing me for the AP test, but I specifically enjoyed the apps we coded and the other projects at the end of each unit.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Absolutely! I took this course after taking Intro to CS with Ms. Lang last year (which I highly recommend if you don't feel prepared for AP CSP just yet), so I came into AP CSP with an interest in computer science, but this course enhanced that interest even more! Not only did I enjoy learning more coding beyond what I learned last year, but I also enjoyed exploring topics such as how the internet works and security and social concerns involving it. This course was a great overview of all of computer science and showed me that CS is so much more than just coding.

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

I did! From the live meetings to discussions to a group project, I enjoyed interacting and learning from my classmates.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think every student would do well in this course! You do not have to love math or science (I don't) to enjoy and succeed in this course. I highly recommend AP CSP to anyone who wants an exciting introduction to the vast world of computer science! I was nervous to sign up at first because I worried that I would struggle, but I am so glad I did! Ms. Lang truly cares about making computer science accessible to everyone, and she works hard to make every topic engaging and fun!

Overall, this course was an excellent addition to my sophomore year! I honestly can't recommend it enough!

This is a GREAT course

Hi! I took AP CSP this past year with Mrs. Lang, and I loved every minute of it. This course taught me more complex coding and projects than the Intro to Computer Science course. I still used code.org, which was nice, because I love their website and projects. This course thoroughly taught me and prepared me for the AP exam and the end of the year. I would recommend this course for anyone who wants to continue with computer science to get a credit for high school. The homework was only between 3-5 hours each week. I took this course in 9th grade, but I think an 8th grader could take this course. Thank you!

Noble Gladden

My Review of AP CSP.

I very much enjoyed this course and I would recommend it to anyone interested in computer science and coding. Ms. Lang is an amazing teacher who interacted and worked with me whenever I needed help. The live classes were really enjoyable and Ms. Lang really put effort into making it fun and interactive. 

The course covers basic coding and computer systems and real-life implementations of computer systems. AP CSP is what it suggests - principles of computer science. I would assume that deeper dives into CS would be covered in AP CSA. As someone who loves working with computers and understanding it, I found this course really useful and I could implement what I learnt in projects I did by myself on Arduino and other apps. 

This is one of the most enjoyable and informative courses I took this year. If you find the topic interesting, I would have no hesitation recommending it. It's too good to be missed. 

An excellent class for anyone!!

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Even though I had little to no experience with programming before this class, I felt very prepared for the AP exam! Every aspect of the class is designed to in some way prepare students for the exam, and the resources Ms. Lang provided in addition to the regular course load (such as a test prep book and multiple past practice exams) proved invaluable in making me feel confident for the exam. 

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I generally spent about an hour of work per day, though that number might have increased to around 2 hours on project weeks. I would say that this course is less time consuming as compared to other AP courses, but it is still important to stay on top of the work and work regularly. The daily course load would generally consist of a few short videos/articles related to a concept, and discussions/exercises/short written responses based on the new concepts.

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

I definitely feel that the course has enhanced my interest in not only programming, but also technology in general, as well as internet and the impacts of technology on society. Before the course, I would have been completely lost if someone gave me a blank code screen and told me to program and app, but now I feel that I can actually code a program. This class allowed me to learn so much about how the internet functions, something that was a vague and abstract idea for me before the course. I also enjoyed learning about everything else covered in the class, from technology biases to the digital divide to encryption. Though I will not necessarily major in computer science, I feel that this course has provided me with invaluable information and skills that I will be able to take with me to whatever career and path in life I choose. 

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I would recommend this course to any and all students, as long as they are willing to work regularly on the class and are interested in learning about programming from the ground up, technology, the internet, and social impacts. I think this class would be especially useful for students who are curious about programming but have little to no experience with it, though it would of course benefit students who already have some experience with programming. I think it's important to note that programming is not the sole topic of this course, as I've mentioned, but that's one of the aspects of the class that made me like it so much, because I feel that I was able to gain a wide variety of knowledge not limited to just coding. In fact, I would argue that a class like this AP CSP course should be required as a school subject because technology is present in every part of our lives, so it's helpful for anyone to learn more about it, be familiar about its impacts, and to learn how to manage it and improve it through coding. 

As technology keeps evolving, you'll need this course!

My mum was a computer science major, and so I grew up coding here and there, but I never thought I would need it unless I decided to major in CS. Except, what I didn't realize is that our technology keeps evolving and so computer science is a skill needed in almost every career path. My cousin did pre-med in college a few years ago, and expected to only need to take science classes, but turns out he needed some CS classes, much to his dismay! And so, here I was, last September, all signed up for an AP Computer Science class. This class is a great one for those who are passionate about the technological aspect of the world, involving security, privacy, but also a ton of coding and understanding how simple things like websites and apps work. We spent the first semester of the class coding a ton and learning JavaScript, which was an awesome experience and pretty easy to learn, as someone who has had coding experience previously. Ms Rebekah's curriculum is guided by Code.org and it's super easy to navigate and learn. She's always there when you have questions and I found the live Monday meetings especially helpful in getting ahead on assignments, understanding the week's work, having some chill and fun coding work, meeting and interacting with classmates, or just asking questions and learning. The course work isn't particularly heavy at all, with the exception of big projects due at each unit or so, therefore, I would definitely recommend pairing this AP with other APs if you can handle it. Although Ms Rebekah isn't originally a CS major, she does a good job of making an effort to understand the material and teach the students, but I would definitely say towards the end, you're a bit on your own in terms of reviewing for the AP Exam because there aren't review sessions or anything like that, other than review materials to be used independently. If you're willing to put in the effort yourself and motivate yourself to study, take this AP! I did so, and I felt super prepared for the exam, and as a result of the class, I know so much more about the technological aspect of our world and how things work, plus a new coding language! 

Difficult, but well worth your time

This class has definitely put me outside of my comfort zone this year, however, it has also helped me gain confidence to know that I can do anything I set my mind to. While I am leaving this class knowing that I do not want a future in CS, I like leaving knowing something of the field. I spent about 4 hours a week on the coursework, give or take a little. I really enjoyed the projects where she had us create videos on a certain topic. I loved the discussion board we were assigned almost every week. this helped me feel like I'm not totally alone doing it lol. I would totally recommend this course to any student, no matter their experience (I had none) as long as they work hard until the very end. Have fun!

Hope Waggoner

Hard Earned Grades

Hello! I recently took the Computer Science Principles course and I absolutely loved this class. Now while this class has some fun moments, it also requires hard work and commitment. I would recommend this class for anyone who enjoys coding and loves a challenge! 

Fun, Engaging Class!

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Obviously it's a little hard to answer this before taking the exam itself, but I do know I've learned a LOT over the course of this year, so yes, I do think I've been well prepared for the exam! Mrs. Lang prepared us well for the Create Performance Task and helped us (as much as she was allowed) whenever we had trouble, so that part of the exam was very low stress and lots of fun; regarding the multiple choice questions, we've done a lot of practicing and I'm heading into the exam pretty confident that this class has prepared me to do well!

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

This definitely depends on the course week, as some weeks had much less work than others. For example, on a recent week where all I had to do was practice MCQs for the exam, I probably only did 1-2 hours of work for the week. However, the week the Create Performance Task or other bigger projects were due, I may have spent five or six hours.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

All of the assignments were "valuable" for the exam, I'm sure, but my favorites were the assignments in our coding modules - particularly the larger projects at the end of each chapter. I really enjoyed being able to create and code my own apps, and the assignments where we had free reign over what topic we chose/how to make the app were especially fun! 

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Absolutely! I went into AP CSP viewing it simply as a science course I could take to get out of taking Physics, but at the end of the course now I'm SO glad I chose to take this class, and especially with Mrs. Lang! Although the data science/security modules were interesting, I actually had a lot of fun learning to code in Code.org, and I look forward to learning more about coding on my own going forward! (As an English major, I'm not sure I'll take another class specifically about computer science, but who knows?)

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes - the Schoology platform worked really well, allowing each of us to post comments and questions whenever we had them for the rest of the class and Mrs. Lang to answer. The different folders for assignments were very helpful in organizing assignments, and the discussion boards for different assignments were very useful - our class also had a separate CSP School-Appropriate Memes board that was a hilarious break from the grind of homework and that allowed us to communicate in a little be more of a relaxed manner. 

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

Honestly, I think almost any hard-working student would succeed in and enjoy this class! I came into the class as a completely English-centered student (rather than math and science), and though I'm still more of a humanities student, I really enjoyed learning Computer Science in this class! For you language-lovers out there, this class is (for the most part) just learning another language! (That's why I took it, lol.) But for you math- and science-focused kids, there's plenty of math, science, and data analysis worked in as well. Like I said before - I think this class is for everyone, and I would absolutely recommend taking it with Mrs. Lang! She is so fun, but at the same time teaches really well. 

Great teacher, Great class!!

My son took AP Computer Science Principles under Rebekah Lang this past year. He loved it from the first class. He enjoyed all of the material presented, even when difficult.

I cannot say enough kind words about Rebekah - she was kind, always available to her students, and set high, but realistic goals. 

Fine Class

We feel this course prepared our daughter for the AP exam adequately. She spent between 5-6 hrs on a light week and 12-14 on a heavy week, so on avg 10 hrs per week. Grading according to the rubric helped and this course did enhance our daughter's interest in Computer Science. The communication with the other students was helpful and interesting at times. A high school student who can research on the Internet and is used to a more rigorous course load would do well with this course. If someone is interested in taking the AP Computer Science exam, this course will cover what is needed to pass. 

AP Computer Science Principles--2019-2020

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?!

I did! I reallly enjoyed the prep we had for the AP exam and we looked over many samples of performance tasks that both met and did not meet the guidelines. We were tasked with evaluating sample tasks, discussing them, and determining what points the tasks would receive. We were assigned many assignments which proved helpful in the final examination tasks. I do not belief lack of exam prep will be a problem in this class. I felt very prepared, as did many of my classmates as far as I know. 

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

The amount of time put in during a week varied with the week, since, of course, the assignments due were different each week. On the average week, I averaged about 3 hours a week. Some weeks, the count was as low as 30 minutes to an hour; for other weeks, I spent upwards of 5 hours. The busiest week for me was the week the Create Performance Task was due; debugging took a good portion of time and I believe that week I spent 6-7 hours on this class. I will say that I work very fast, so this should be taken into consideration when considering these numbers..

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

There were so many assignments in this class that I loved! In particular, I loved the coding projects. We were tasked with creating a scene as a group, and that was a blast. It wasn't an easy assignment, but it was very rewarding. We collaborated, discussed ideas, divided up parts, debugged, and finished together. It was a blast. I also loved doing the Create PT task. Coding in general in this class was lots of fun! We started very simple and built up to writing hundreds of lines of code before we even noticed we had. It was awesome, taught very well, and was in great stepping stones so as to not be overwhelming. The coding segments were overall the most rewarding and valuable to me. 

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

It did! I entered the year moderately interested in computer science, without any real coding experience. 9 months later, I'm considering computer science as a major, and am taking AP CSA next year! Mrs. Lang is so great, the course is run well, and I believe that this course is likely to enhance most people's interest in the subject. 

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

I did! I really really enjoyed them. There were not too many collaborative projects or too few; it was a great mix. I loved interacting with classmates from across the world and working on projects together! Mrs. Lang was super helpful in ensuring participation, and the communication was very interesting and valuable. We exchanged ideas, discussed the course, and even just life in general!

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!

Any student with any moderate interest in the subject matter of computer science should take this course. If they want familiarity with computers, want an computer credit, or want to look into it as a possible career field, this is a great intro course. I would say it is on the easier side of AP courses but very rewarding. Any student who can work independently will thrive in this course. 

Excellent class and excellent teacher!

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam? 

I felt extremely well prepared! By the end of the course, I knew exactly what I needed to do in my Explore and Create Tasks to get a good score. Ms. Lang provided so many great assignments and helped us analyze past work, so I really understood what each part of the rubric required. Note: Due to Covid -19, I took the abbreviated exam which didn't include a  multiple choice part, so we didn't do any test prep. Despite this, I think that had there been a multiple choice exam, I would be very well prepared. We did summary tests every unit, and Ms. Lang prepared us so well for the Explore and Create tasks, so I have not doubt that the test prep would have been great. 

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

Usually, I put between 2-6 hours per week depending on the amount of work for the week. I do think that the coding portion of the class required more time than learning about internet and computing innovations, but I think the latter was conceptually harder. Regardless of what we were learning about, the assignments were almost always interesting, and informative.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

We did many, small, research projects to prepare us for Explore Task, which I found very helpful and interesting. Practicing the skills we would need for the Explore Task made me very confident, and helped me understand exactly what was expected. It was also fun to explore smaller topics like the types of cyber attacks and file format. Another assignment I enjoyed was all of the code.org work. Code.org provided short videos and tutorials that made coding really intuitive and fun. I always looked forward to it!

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Yes! I already had some interest in coding, but this course also showed me other parts of computer science like how the internet works, security issues, analyzing computing innovations, and much more. 

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Definitely. We did many discussion boards regarding texts that we read, or samples that we looked over. I always looked forward to the discussions, because everyone posted such great insights, and asked great questions which helped me better understand the topics.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think that any student who wants to learn about our rapidly growing, digital world should take this class, not just for students who want to code. I have learned so much about the basics of how technology functions, and how to be a better internet user. 

Overall this class was interesting, well structured, and extremely informative. The assignments were easy to follow, and really built up the knowledge necessary for the exam. The best part of the class, however, was the teacher! Ms. Lang was always so helpful when I was confused, or needed help. She always wanted us to understand the material, and was really fun too. Thanks to her I have had a great semester, and learned so much. :)

AP Computer Science P

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

I actually decided to not take the AP exam due to the circumstances with COVID-19 and the fact that I have already been accepted to college, so I don't think I can fully answer this question. However, this was my 11th AP class that I have taken and I think Ms. Lang does a really good job of preparing her students for the exam.  

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I would say that I spent about 2-3 hours a week on work. This varied depending on the work for the week. If we had our Performance tasks to work on than this increased by a lot. 

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

I don't think I have a particularly favorite assignment from this year but I enjoyed researching for the explore task. 

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

I think this course did enhance my interest. I didn't have too much interest in computer science before and this course helped me to understand a little more what computer science is about. 

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

I did find communication with other students valuable. I honestly didn't feel like I interacted too much with other students. We did have quite a few discussion and a few group projects but besides that I did a lot of work on my own and personally work better that way. 

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think this is a good class for students of all grades and experience. I had absolutely no experience and did fine in this class so that isn't a concern. Compared to my other AP classes I would say this is lower on the rigor scale, so that also isn't too big of a problem and I would recommend this as a good introduction to AP classes in general!

Great class with an amazing teacher :)

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Yes! Due to COVID-19, there was no multiple choice exam in 2020, but if there had been, I felt absolutely prepared! She provided so much material that if you just put in the effort to understand it, it isn't hard to get the hang of it. If you're ever confused about something, she welcomes questions and is always open to help. She doesn't make you feel bad about asking any questions and genuinely wants you to succeed. The Code.org course provides a great foundation for coding and definitely prepares you for the Create Performance Task. The several research projects helped by allowing her to give us feedback before we started the Explore Task. Besides just the tasks, this class helps you gain a deep understanding of how the internet works.

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I put in an average of 5-6 hours per week. Some weeks had bigger projects, and so they required more time. Generally, the work wasn't bad at all - the right balance between really understanding the material and not spending unnecessary time on it.

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

The coding projects were definitely a highlight. They allowed you to see how much you've learned and what you can do with it. It also helped you get comfortable with the coding process - debugging, problem-solving, etc.  It's also a lot of fun to share your projects in class and see what everyone has done!

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

For sure! In the beginning, I thought that the deeper I get into computer science, the more I'll lose interest - but this course definitely shows that the more you know about computer science, the more you want to know! I've always had an interest in this subject, and this class got me started in what I hope will be a part of my career path.

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes! The students in this class are very driven and dilligent. The other students challenge you in the discussion boards, encourage you during class, and work with you for group projects.

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

Any focused student that's willing to work hard would do well. This course is tailored for any driven student. Even if they're unfamiliar with coding and even know nothing at all, this course eases you in and helps you to grasp the basics. All the material can be overwhelming at first, but this course teaches it in bite-sized pieces, and at the end of the year, you'll be so amazed at how much you learned. 

AP CSP Review 2019-2020

AP CSP was a very enjoyable experience for me. I had no coding background at all, but I was still able to complete most of the coursework without too much confusion. On most weeks I worked around 6 hours, but on some weeks when a project was due, I worked up to 10-12 hours. I found most of the coding oriented assignments very fun, because they reminded me of logic puzzles. I think the course adequately prepared me for other coding or computer courses I may take in the future. Mrs. Lang was super understanding whenever a difficulty or confusion came up, and anytime I collaborated with other students on coursework, they were always enthusiastic and willing to help. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in computers but does not have that much experience with coding.

I had an amazing time because of Ms. Lang!

Disclaimer: I took this class during the 2019-20 year, meaning that the exams were re-adjusted for COVID-19. The exam only consisted of turning in the Create and Explore PT for me. 

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Absolutely! During the entire school year, Ms. Lang was always there to answer any questions I'd have. If I ever got confused or struggled, she'd give extra resources (if I asked) and worked with me, even allowing late work. She made sure as a student, I actually understood the material vs. getting things done because there was a deadline attached (don't make this a bad habit, though!). Once it got closer to exam time, she released a bunch of study materials which covered everything needed to be best prepared for the exam. If the multiple choice portion were still a part of the exam, I'd feel very confident in passing despite being a bad test taker. 

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

It depended on the week and/or semester. For the fall semester, it was coding focused while in the spring it was more reading comprehension focused. I didn't have much of a coding background, so I struggled a lot in the fall. I'd typically spend 1 - 2 hours each day, 5 hours if I understood the work decently while 10 hours if I didn't understand it decently. Spring semester, I was better at since I was better at comprehending reading, so I'd spend about an hour if not less, each day, total of 5 or less hours per week. 

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

I found a lot of the coding projects to be very fun and valuable despite struggling quite a bit. They made coding more fun as you were essentially creating a game. It also allowed me to connect the dots whenever I saw games online because I could then have a, I'd like to believe, decent idea of how they created that game. The best part, in my opinion, was when you got to show off your hard work during the live meetings. One of the projects required integrating sound, so I made a "guess the song" game and it was really fun to have everyone participate. 

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

For sure! In the beginning, I actually wanted to drop the class because I decided I didn't like computer science that much and that I didn't want to major in computer science. I'm glad I saw this class through as it became one of my favorite classes. There was so much I learned in this class that I could apply to real life and it's really cool when you connect the dots of what you learned in class.

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes! There were the obvious communications in the discussion boards, the live meetings, and the group project, but students were allowed to talk outside of class, too. I made a friend and others I emailed whenever I had trouble/hoped for some advice and they were very sweet and gave solid help. You might have to initiate some of the contact, but that's okay! 

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

Anyone who is willing to try and is confident in asking for help when they get stuck. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone who wants to see what computer science is about. This is a fun introductory class, it gets you to understand the basics and a little bit more. You could still get by even if you don't completely understand everything, but I'd recommend trying to understand things the first time around. As long as the student puts forth the work and tries to meet the teacher half-way, they'll pass and as long as they study and understand the material, they'll get a 5 if not 4 on the exam. 

About the teacher: 

This is just an extra note I'll put in. Ms. Lang is an amazing teacher and one of the best I've had in a while. If you as the student are worried about taking this class because you don't have a computer science background, take the risk! Ms. Lang is so supportive and if you as the student are putting in effort, you'll for sure pass this class and the exam. She also made some of the studying fun with sites like Kahoot and Quizzes. Closer to the exam, I'd set up calls with her for extra practice and ask for tons of feedback, I'd email her asking her a lot of questions and she'd always answer them, and she's just overall very involved. 

Thank you, Ms. Lang, for everything that you did, I had an amazing year! :) 

A Phenomenal Class

AP Computer Science Principles from Ms. Lang was hands down one of my favorite courses I've ever taken. This course prepared me exceptionally well for the AP exam. Throughout the year, we mainly focused on extensive code.org work to build up our foundation in CS, and then the discussion posts (focused on readings from Blown to Bits) helped you think about what you're learning and solidify it; I especially loved how it helped us understand how what we are learning applies to everyday life. We also did group projects which included aspects of the Create PT responses and did research projects which prepared us for the Explore PT. When the AP test date was approaching, we had enough time to focus on our Explore/Create PTs thoroughly, and Ms. Lang provided an extensive amount of resources/tests that significantly helped me score a 5 on the exam. Though, I have to mention that the addition of the interactive live meetings was one of my favorite parts of the class--we both interacted with our peers and learned the material through games/quizzes, activities, and lectures. The meetings were also recorded for people who couldn't attend. 

The amount of work you put in varies. On a regular week, I'd personally put in about 4 hours of work; however, they're many times where we have larger projects, and on those weeks I'd put in somewhere between 8-12 hours. I felt that every assignment was necessary to understand the subject further. In the beginning, I felt as if some of the work was slightly redundant, though as the course progressed, I realized that each assignment was explicitly chosen and enhanced my interest in what we were learning and the subject as a whole--I really appreciated that. 

One of the highlights of this course was the awesome peer community that was built. A student made a hangouts group chat, and that was very helpful: we asked and answered questions, studied for tests, helped debug code, and much more. And as I've said before, we also interacted with each other via the live meetings. However, the biggest highlight of AP CSP was having a fantastic teacher. Ms. Lang seemed to care about each student and wanted them to do well. She, of course, thought the subject very well, but she also was very responsive in answering any question you had. For example, I had a problem with registering for College Board (for the digital portfolio), and Ms. Lang communicated with me to make sure that the problem was solved. 

I came into this class with a little background in Python; however, it doesn't matter whether you have experience or no experience with coding. This class does a great job teaching the subject and preparing you for the AP test, so whether your goal is to spark an interest in CS, or just to get a good score on the AP exam, this class will fit your every need. The only thing you need for this class is a good mindset, and a willingness to work hard. 

Thank you, Ms. Lang, for a great year! 

Good class with a great teacher!

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Yes! I felt very ready. Although I decided not to take the exam, I was very confident about how I would have done on it for both the create and explore PTs and the multiple choice!

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I usually put in an hour or two a day, for a solid total of 5-10 hours a week. The very lightest weeks I dipped as low as two; the very highest were closer to 15.

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

I really loved using the book Blown To Bits - I learned so much from that text, and even though I grumbled and groaned about the discussion questions over it, they were really valuable to me! In addition the practical applications were great. There were two main coding units in the class, one in the mid-fall and one in the spring, and getting to use the principles we had learned all year was really great and helped cement a lot of concepts for me.

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Yes, absolutely! Although I liked computers and computer things before I took this course, I've now decided to major in computer science this fall and pursue it as a career (in fact, this summer I'm doing an internship with a software company!). I had a great time in Mrs Lang's AP CSP class!

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Sometimes. I came into the class with a pretty solid background in Javascript, so honestly most of the time in my study group I was helping answer other students' questions rather than the other way around - however, having those questions asked and those bugs in people's programs to find and solve was really great for me too and gave me a lot of extra chances to learn and apply what I had learned!!

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

 Yes, I would definitely recommend this course. Although it is pretty code.org-heavy, there were so many discussions and practice scorings and so forth that I'm glad I took the class. Also, having Mrs Lang there was GREAT! She's a super helpful teacher and was really good about answering my questions and helping me clear up things I was confused about both by email (she almost always responded really fast) and in the weekly live chats.

Excellent course!

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

I did not take the AP exam, but this course prepared me extremely well to take the test if I had decided to. Many review materials were provided for the multiple choice exam, and we were given detailed instructions on how to complete the portfolio successfully. (Completing the portfolio was required even for those not taking the exam, serving as a valuable learning experience as well as a method of testing.)

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I usually put about 5 hours of work a week into the course, but I had a fair amount of experience with computers and coding before the course. I also tend to code quickly. 10 hours might be more accurate for someone who was not as familiar with computers before starting the course. During weeks with a lot of coding or work on the portfolio, expect to put in 10 or more hours.

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

My favorite assignment was the Create PT task for the portfolio. Each student got the opportunity to use what they had learned in the class to make an app of their own which they would submit as part of their exam if they were taking the exam. Another favorite assignment of mine was reading Blown To Bits, an online book which we read parts of for the class. I also enjoyed the coding lessons which we did through Code.org.

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

The course enhanced my interest in the subject. I was already planning to pursue a career in computers at the start of the year, but this course helped me to appreciate different fields that I had not thought about as much previously. We learned a wide range of different coding and computer skills, which gave me a glimpse into different possible careers and a better grasp of computers as a whole.

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

There were several discussion boards and group activities throughout the year, which I enjoyed. The teacher did an exceptional job of managing groups so that work was fairly distributed and there were no "coasting" team members.

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think most students who are willing to work hard would do well in this course. I recommend this course to everyone, even those who might not consider computers their favorite things--this course makes computers fun and simple, and a working knowledge of computers is an asset in almost any job or career. I also recommend the course to students who already know a great deal about computers--if nothing else, it is a good review to solidify concepts you already understand and will prepare you to get a 5 on the exam.

The workload and time required to succeed will be vastly different between someone who does not know much about computers and someone who already knows a good amount, but I believe that any hardworking and dedicated student would be capable of succeeding in this class.

Great Course!

I had a blast in AP CS P with Mrs. Lang. She made the course enjoyable and prepared us well for the exam. The work load was pretty light for me but the homework was always a joy to complete (maybe because I enjoy coding). This is a great intro course for those who might be interested in computer science or just want to try it out. 

An amazing course!

First of all, this course was absolutely amazing. I loved interacting with my classmates, and Mrs. Lang is a phenomenal teacher! It was a lot of fun, but I also learned a lot. I think the curriculum definitely prepared us well for the exam, since we learned everything in a methodical way and thoroughly covered all the topics on the exam. Mrs. Lang also supplied us with a ton of resources for studying, and by the end of it, I felt well-prepared. I would definitely recommend this course to motivated and hardworking students who wish to further their knowledge. Thank you Mrs. Lang for an amazing year!

Amazing CSP class!!!

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Absolutely! Mrs. Lang provided LOTS of review material and sources that sudents can use. During our live lectures, we also played some games as review tools. Of course, you can't rely on just those sources to feel prepared. You also need to study on your own but if I had any questions while studying, Mrs. Lang was very quick to respond!

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

Hmm, about 1-4 hours? If we had projects it was on the longer side. 

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

Probably the coding projects. For those, we would treat them as if they were the Create tasks and so we would practice writing the written responses.

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Yes. Before the year started, I didn't know much about coding. Now that the year is over, I know so much more and find it super interesting.

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes. We were in a chat where we could ask questions or communicate with group members if we were working on a group project. 

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

Anyone who is willing to put the work into this class. If you have a big interest or small interest in this class, are willing to work hard, and get somehting out of it, this class would be awesome. 

AP CSP Class Review Form

• I do feel like the class prepared me for the AP exam, but we did not go over more that was on previous exams. 
• I generally spent 8-10 hours a week on this class.
• I found the creating assingments where we could program anything we wanted particulary valuble. 
• This course made me really interested in becoming a computer programmer. 
• I did not do much communicating with other students, even though I am in a group chat with a dozen of them, but when I did they helped me with any questions that I had.
• I think that someone with a higher level of focus would do better in this class, I have a very short attention span so I did all my assignments in thirty minute chunks. I am recomending this class to other students. 

Excellent Class and an Excellent Teacher!

I really enjoyed taking this class this year! The workload was super easy for me, and I could generally complete all assignments for a week within 4-8 hours. At the same time, I felt completely prepared for the AP exam and after taking practice exams nothing really came up that I hadn't already been taught! Furthermore, the teacher is super nice, and when there was a problem with my school and registering me for the AP exam, she stayed in constant contact with me for almost a week, contacting both the College Board and school on my behalf, and solved the problem for me!

AP Computer Science Principles

I feel that this course prepared me very well for the AP exam. The assignments were great practice for the Create and Explore PT portions of the exam, and we learned everything we needed to know for the multiple choice exam as well. The study guide and practice tests that Ms. Lang gave us were also very helpful in preparing for the exam.

The hours of work per week varied a lot depending on the assignments for the week. I spent anywhere from 5-15 hours/week on this class. The Explore and Create PT assignments required the most amount of work, but Ms. Lang scheduled plenty of time for us to finish these assignments and submit them to the College Board. Goal planning and timeline development were important assignments that Ms.Lang built into the schedule.

My favorite assignments were the coding ones. I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of those assignments.

The course sparked my interest in coding and I am planning to explore it further.

I have done many online classes and they always have a discussion/interaction aspect. Sometimes these feel like busy work, but Ms. Lang created useful and interactive communication assignments. I enjoyed working with other students doing group coding projects. Ms. Lang created discussion boards where we could put links to the projects we were working on to get feedback from others. I found this feedback very helpful. 

Anyone who is willing to work hard and put in the time would do well in this course. Although there were math and problem solving skills used during this course, it didn't require prior computer science experience. I would definitely recommend this course. Ms. Lang is one of the best online teachers that I have had.

AP CSP Class Review

Mrs. Lang did a wonderful job with her inaugural class. She is one of the first teachers teaching this newly launched AP course nationwide. Without much outside resources nor any help from older siblings, my daughter was able to follow along and even excel with Mrs. Lang's guidance. We are very pleased with the learning that took place during the school year and the final AP score. Thank you!

Review, AP CS Principles, Rebekka Lang

Ms. Lang was an excellent teacher who was very responsive to any questions or concerns of my student. I highly recommend her as a teacher. I feel confident that any course she teaches will be very well done: she is knowledgeable about the subject mattter, responsive to the students, and genuinely want the student to learn the material and do well in both the class and on the AP class. Whatever the scale for ranking, I would give Ms. Lang the highest number of stars! Thank you for offering the calibre of teacher for which Ms. Lang is an terrific example. 

Sincerely, Christine Solomon for student Michael Solomon, 9th grader at time of the class

AP CSP 2017-18 Review

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Generally, yes. I have to say, a week before the AP exam or so, I was rather overwhelemed and didn't feel ready at all - there were just so many great review materials out there and I wasn't sure where to start or end! But by the time the exam rolled around, I had gone through Ms. Lang's list of review materials and was feeling relatively confident.

• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

On average, I would say maybe around 8 hours per week? The workload varied, though.

• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

Definitely the two portfolio tasks, Explore and Create! The Explore PT was a great learning experience, and helped hone not only my knowledge of computer innovations but also researching/writing skills. I struggled a lot with the Create because of a few coding disasters, but I learned a lot from the mistakes I made and it was so fun to be able to develop an app I could call my very own.

• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Most definitely yes. Prior to taking the course, I knew little about computer science; all I knew was a little bit of coding and I really wasn't motivated to do anything with that knowledge. However, taking this course reignited my interest in computer science and made it into something completely new and wonderful.

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Actually, the communications with other students were probably my favorite thing about this course! Ms. Lang provided a lot of opportunities for peer interaction and collaboration, and although I admit I was somewhat shy around my classmates at first, I soon found these communications to be insanely valuable and engaging.

• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think literally any student who's willing to work hard could do well in this course. Although it does involve a lot of problem solving and reasoning, it's nothing that students can't learn to do. I was very skeptical of CSP at first, as I didn't think I had any hopes of doing well among all my genius classmates ;) but my mindset has changed since then. Ms. Lang was very supportive and quick to reply to any questions/concerns I would message her with; sometimes she'd reply within minutes, which I really appreciated.

This course was one of the most enjoyable ones I've ever taken, and I would totally recommend it to other students!

AP CSP 2017-18

Nerves aside, I felt VERY prepared for the exam! 

The time I spent in a week varied... I spent 5 hours some weeks and (one week) a good deal more than 30 in others... 

I loved everything that I could put an artistic spin on, like the favicon and our group coding project.

I loved having all the material given to me instead of having to find it on my own...

Our communication as a class was interesting. I enjoyed getting to see what others thought.

Any dedicated student can do well in this course! I'm totally going to recommend it to others and look forward to doing more with my knowledge.

AP Computer Science Principles Review

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?: Yes, it prepared me well. Throughout the year, we covered the requirements for the performance tasks (done within class as part of the AP score) and reinforced the concepts we learned in tests and quizzes, so I felt confident both when we did the PTs and during the multiple choice exam.

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?: I generally put in four to seven hours per week, depending on the workload.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?: I found the coding projects we did on Code.org valuable, because they helped me understand the concepts better and get practice with programming. The practice tests we took were also very helpful.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?: The course enhanced my interest in many computing concepts, including representation of data, how the Internet works, and file compression techniques.

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?: I didn't communicate a whole lot with other students, but many of the conversations in the discussion forums were valuable because they helped me understand assigments better and learn additional information about computing.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?: Students who enjoy interactive activities and are willing to put in the  time for various small projects (and a few larger ones) would do well in this course. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn programming and gain a solid foundation in computer science.

Review for Rebekah Lang's Computer Science Principles Class

I recently completed Rebekah Lang's Computer Science Principles Class with PA Homeschoolers, and it was one of the biggest highlights of my school year.

Not only did this class prepare me well for the AP Exam, as well as the Performance Tasks, but I also feel that it gave me a much better understanding of the internet, computers, and many other things, as well as many of their uses.

The work load for this class is not extremely intense, but it definitely requires you to put in a fair amount of work every week, with occasional projects and quizzes that add more to some weeks.

These quizzes and projects helped immensely in learning all of the material and, as some of the projects were group projects, teamwork and collaboration skills. They helped to reinforce many of the concepts that we had learned over the past few weeks, and helped creating in learning, and remembering, all of the material.

This class also helped to give me a much better understanding of computer's, computer related technologies, and the internet, as well as many of their uses, and benefits, as well as the risks and concerns, and I feel that this has helped me to become a better user of these technologies, and a better citizen of the time we live in.

On a final note, I would like to say how much I enjoyed Mrs. Lang as a teacher, and all of the helpful advise and feedback she would give on homework, quizzes, projects, and any concerns I might send to her. She really helped me get through the class, and learn the material, and as this was my first AP, that really helped.

I would recommend this class to anyone, no matter what they are interested in, as I fell it has helped me to learn more about the world we live in.