Computer skills are almost a necessity in the world we live in today.  Very few interactions in our modern world escape the influence of these devices.  If you want to help your kids get a good foundation learning how to use computers, then check out the products CompuScholar, Inc. has to offer. They have a wide variety of easy to learn computer curriculum for kids from 6-12 grades.

We recently had the opportunity to write a review for CompuScholar.  For this review, they gave us the option to choose from three of their outstanding courses:

Java Programming ,

 Digital Savvy ,

Web Design

My oldest son researched each one in-depth and we found out they are all terrific courses!  He was so excited and wanted to use all three classes.  He eventually chose the Java Programming course for this review.

The course is completely self study online.  We printed off the course syllabus so he would have a physical outline to see as a visual aid as well as using his dashboard on the computer.  The course syllabus is laid out very nice and has the week listed, the reading and objectives of each lesson, and the corresponding labs and helped us get a good overview of the course.

The Java Programming course is easy to follow step by step and understand the goals and what you are working on.  Each lesson has a video as well as written text.  As you work through each chapter lesson and project progressively building upon each concept.  If you make a mistake you can retrace your steps and figure out where you messed up.  Then complete one section at a time, and then a quiz, before moving forward into the next lesson.

Summary From James age 16:

“I like using the Java Teen Coder Course. It has been great for me. I have learned many new things.  I learned the E.N.I.A.C. was the first reprogrammable computer.

I like the fact that there is a video and text to each lesson.  Both the video and the text are very easy to follow and understand. The layout of the lessons is very easy to navigate and find what you are looking for.

I like the lab projects I have worked on so far.  It is cool to see my work on the screen.  I have enjoyed using this program very much.”

Java Programming

Online Course Self Study Course

Retail $15 / month or $120 / year subscription.  If you choose the 1 year subscription, you can add additional children in for $40.

27 Chapters & Quizzes & AP Exam

Projects & 20+ Hours Hands On Programming Lab

Free, Comprehensive Technical Support

Self-Study at your own pace

Step-by-step lessons

Integrated instructional videos

Lesson quizzes, chapter tests

Programming and computing projects with easy-to-follow solutions

Projects & Lessons

The program is flexible and you can complete lessons and projects at your own pace.  There are 27 Chapters that contain about 97+ lessons. Some chapters have only 3 lessons and some chapters have 6+ lessons.  Some chapters have only 1 Lab project and some chapters have multiple Lab projects to complete.   The lessons can be accessed 24 hours a day 7 days a week with an internet connection from any HTML5-compliant web browser on standard computers, laptops, or tablets.

Though it is flexible, it is recommended to do 1 chapter per week plus the final review over the course of 30 weeks.  The way we planned our course is that we decided what time we had available and when we wanted my son to finish the class, and then figured out the number of chapters he needed to complete each week to finish the course at that desired time frame.  If you plan to finish in the recommended 30 weeks for example, you will need to do a chapter a week and at least a lesson every day or so to keep up the pace of completing this course within this time frame.   If you planned to go faster and do the course in about 3 months, you would need to do about three chapters a week.  You can take longer than recommended or finish sooner if desired.  It is up to you how much time you want to spend on the course.

Some of the Java Programming Lab projects kids make in this course include:

Create a Checkerboard screen pattern

Identify and hunt program bugs

Create a race with a track and racer.

Phone Dialer

Create a pizza ordering screen.

Calculate Baseball batting statistics.

Create game pieces or classes.

Create Game for MidTerm project

Create a Math Factory that converts decimals.

Create a program to convert addresses to a file.

Create a method of monitoring algorithyms.

Create a Sky Art Cloud Scene

Create a diagram of a composite class

Create a shared image directory and web page

Create JavaDoc HTML

Final Project

Guided Projects

and more.

Requirements:

Java Programming course requires internet access and use of a computer, laptop or tablet with operating system: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 Mac OS version 10.7 or higher.  It also requires familiarity with using a keyboard and mouse and the basics of how to select and run programs, navigate application menu systems, and generally interact with the operating system on your device.   Kids taking the Java Programming course should know how to load and save files on their computer. If they do not have these minimum skills, then parents are encouraged to consider having their kids take the Digital Savvy course before taking Java.

Video:

Video that explains how Java Programming course works:

AP Computer Science A Exam

If your child desires to take the AP Computer Science A exam, this course is on the College Board recommended list. The Java Programming course will teach them all of the Java skills required for the test and no pre-requisites are required.

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Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using CompuScholar courses in their homes.