Blogs, Social Media & Web 2.0, Grades 10 – 12 (Available each trimester)
Students will learn how many modern websites work by creating their own Wordpress blog website.  They will register their own domain name, create on-line databases and use FTP set up common open source web software.   They will then use their blog to communicate and collaborate on-line with their class.  The class will discuss and explore the next generation of web applications and technologies (Web 2.0).  These discussions will include blogs, wikis, rss, podcasting as well as the societal implications of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace.  As a class, we will also categorize and review the plethora of Web 2.0 websites such as digg.com, flickr.com, del.icio.us, youtube, basecamp.com, quizlet.com and google.com.  Finally, we will discuss what the next 10 years of Internet innovation will bring to the world.

Computer Applications – Grades 9 - 12 (Available each trimester)
Students learn basic and advanced word processing and spreadsheet skills and techniques that allow them to insert multimedia elements, like microphone voice-overs and movie files, into a variety of documents.  Students learn fundamental web page design techniques and then create an educational web site that will be posted on the school's web server.  Students learn how to digitize camcorder video to create QuickTime or other movie files using Final Cut Pro.  They learn simple editing skills in Final Cut Pro to be able to produce a clean, professional finished movie.  One movie they will produce is a short report that will be included in their educational web site project.  Students will also learn how to record microphone voice-overs using a sound board and digitize them as WAV files for inclusion in their web pages. Students also learn to write simple applet programs that contain graphics using Java drawing commands.  Links to these programs will be available on their web pages. (No prerequisite.)

Video Editing and Production, Grades 10 – 12 (Available each trimester)
In this course, students learn advanced video and audio editing techniques using software and computers provided by the school.  Students learn how to record voice-overs using a microphone and sound board and edit them according to professional standards.  They will record voice-overs to be included in a number of video projects. Students will learn techniques for shooting video with a camcorder in a variety of situations.  They will use FinalCutPro software to learn how to capture video and audio clips, mark in and out points for clips, edit clips to a timeline, control transitions between clips, superimpose text, utilize special effects, and render video and audio.  Students will write story boards to plan and design their video projects before shooting and editing them.  Projects include planning and editing a 30-second television commercial, one-minute news stories, and several larger projects about some aspect of KCD.  They will also learn how to save projects in appropriate formats for viewing on the web or a DVD player.  (Prerequisite:  Permission of the instructor is required for enrollment in this class. This class is limited to two persons per class period but can be offered more than one class period per trimester to accommodate student use of the equipment.)

Fundamentals of Programming, Grades 9-12 (Trimester)
This course gives students the opportunity to learn programming in Java at a non-AP level.  It progresses at a pace that allows students to learn the basic concepts of programming while simultaneously developing their problem solving skills.  This class emphasizes fundamental object-oriented program design while covering the topics of computer ethics, basic Java syntax, loops, branching statements, array data structures, and user-defined classes.  Elementary sorting and searching algorithms are also covered.  Additionally, students will program a robot in Java to perform various operations.  The free compiler software Eclipse for Windows and Macintosh is used in writing and developing programs.  (Prerequisite:  Completion of Algebra I)

AP Computer Science A, Grades 10-12 (Full Year)
This course gives students the opportunity to learn the basic concepts of object-oriented programming using Java.  It goes at a fast pace and is not recommended for students who are not in advanced math courses.  The curriculum addresses the topics listed in the Topics Outline of the College Board's Advanced Placement Course Description Guide for AP Computer Science A.  This class emphasizes object-oriented program design, proper program implementation, program analysis, standard data structures, standard algorithms, and computing in context while teaching the concepts of encapsulation, information hiding, inheritance, and polymorphism.  Topics covered include the history of computers, computer ethics, basic Java syntax, loops, branching statements, array data structures, and user-defined classes.  Elementary sorting and searching are taught and the use of recursion to implement programming solutions.  Students study and modify the College Board Case Study program GridWorld in preparation for working with it on the AP Exam. The free compiler software Eclipse for Windows and Macintosh is used in writing and developing programs.  (Prerequisite:  Sophomore level status taking Advanced Algebra II concurrently.)

Advanced Computer Programming, Grades 11 - 12 (Full Year)
The curriculum for this course parallels the previous content for the AP Computer Science AB course taught in previous years.  Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the College Board will not administrate an AP Computer Science AB exam.  This class will continue to fulfill the opportunity for students who wish to major in Computer Science in college or affiliated areas like engineering.  This class includes an in-depth study of algorithms, data structures, and data abstraction using the object-oriented language Java.  Students study the following major data structures:  stacks, queues, priority queues, linked lists (singly, doubly, and circular), trees, maps, and sets.  The class gives special emphasis to studying these structures as dynamic structures manipulated by pointers.  The class also covers the advanced Quicksort and Heapsort algorithms as well as the search technique named hashing.  Numerous student projects will focus on programming the school’s iRobot and using a specialized Java APIs to program an IntelliBrain2 robot and a Lego NXT Mindstorms robot.  The class requires a commitment of 1 hour per day of programming time outside of class to complete program assignments. The free compiler software Eclipse for Windows and Macintosh is used in writing programs.  (Prerequisite:  AP Computer Science A.)