Anonymous wrote:Would you take foundations of computer science and then ap comp sci principles in 9th? Or are they pretty similar?

I don't think there is a reason to do both and AP comp sci principles is not hard and would be fine for 9th. If you are considering that, probably no need to do foundations in grade 8.

Would you take foundations of computer science and then ap comp sci principles in 9th? Or are they pretty similar?

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know if she’s still teaching the Foundations of Computer Science at Pyle, but both of my kids has Ms. Stender and she is amazing. She not only makes the class fun, she is highly organized and communicates regularly with students and parents. I can’t recommend her highly enough! (Sorry that I can’t comment on the IED teacher, as my kids leaned towards computer science).

+1 My kid had Ms.Stender when she was at the TPMS magnet and she was awesome! I don't know what she teaches at Pyle. I think it's a great idea to get this graduation requirement out of the way in middle school and not have to waste a high school elective on it. I wish that DC had been able to do this (and why the 3 years of CS classes at TPMS magnet didn't count for this requirement is beyond me, but that's a different conversation).

I don’t know if she’s still teaching the Foundations of Computer Science at Pyle, but both of my kids has Ms. Stender and she is amazing. She not only makes the class fun, she is highly organized and communicates regularly with students and parents. I can’t recommend her highly enough! (Sorry that I can’t comment on the IED teacher, as my kids leaned towards computer science).

Anonymous wrote:Is one more challenging than the other?

Neither are challenging

Is one more challenging than the other?

Engineering focus vs coding

Why waste time taking a technology class in person? Looks like you can do Computer a science online and take more interesting electives during the school day:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/onlinelearning/courses/computerscience/

It looks like for 8th graders students have the option to register for IED (introduction to engineering and design) as well as Foundations of Computer Science A/B and both of these satisfy the high school technology credit requirement. Can anyone speak to the difference between the two? This will be at Pyle is anyone has experiences with the teachers as well. Thank you.