TeenCoder: JAVA and Android Curriculum

My 13yr. old son has been very interested in learning computer programming. I knew there was no way I could teach him anything on this topic, so when I came across Homeschool Programming computer courses for kids and teens, I was intrigued. This could work to deepen his knowledge and make things easy for me!

Homeschool High School Computer Science Course

Does your homeschool high schooler need a computer science credit? Are they interested in learning more about computer programming? Then the Teen Coder curriculum might be a good match for you.  There are several options: Teen Coder Java Series or Teen Coder C# Series. My son was very interested in learning Java, so even though this course is geared for high school, I thought we would try it out.

The TeenCoder Java Series is designed for 9th-12th grade students who may be interested in computer science as a career, or who may need a computer course for high school graduation.

The TeenCoder Android Programming is the 2nd semester component. Students will use their Java knowledge and free Android Developers Tools for Eclipse to write their own mobile applications.

 How TeenCoder Works

Your student does not need any prior computer programming skills in order to take this course. You will receive a student book and a program DVD. On the DVD is everything you need for the course plus a solution manual, helpful hints, and tests to print out. Each lesson video is taught using screenshots of what your student will be working on– which is very helpful. The actual teaching component is in the student text, which allows for independent learning. You can view a TeenCoder: Java demonstration video for more information on this program.

 What We Thought

In the beginning it was a little bit of a learning curve to figure out how the program worked. Most of it was due to our computer settings and my lack of knowledge. Thankfully, everything was documented well and the PDF’s helped us trouble-shoot some problems. That was the nice part. I could go back and listen and reread the material to figure out what to do. Honestly, the program walks you right through the set-up nicely. I just needed to figure out some computer settings.

The biggest help for us though was the optional instruction videos. They came out after we started the course and I was thrilled once we were able to get them. These videos help supplement the student text, which is exactly what we needed. The course is very well laid out and thorough. If you really get stuck, you can contact them for help.

At this point my son has gone through half of the first semester. We plan on picking it back up and finishing the first book in a year instead of a semester. Next year we will tackle Android and I’ll post our thoughts then. Looking back, I think we should have started with the KidCoder series which are geared for 4th-8th grade students. My son probably could have handled it more independently. I do appreciate that Homeschool Programming has a quality computer science option for homeschoolers. We will be utilizing some of the other courses in the future.

Other Homeschool Programming Courses

KidCoder: Windows Programming—First semester course (intro to Visual Basic)
Kid Coder: Game Programming—Second semester course (Visual Basic game programming)

TeenCoder: Windows Programming—First semester course (intro to C#)
TeenCoder: Game Programming—Second semester course (C# game programming)

Teen Coder: Java Programming—First semester course (intro to Java)
Teen Coder: Android Programming—Second semester course (Android programming in Java)

For more information, you can follow Homeschool Programming on Twitter, and  Facebook.

Homeschool Programming is allowing me to give one of you your choice of a 1st semester course plus video (Either the TeenCoder or KidCoder course — a $85-90 value).

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Disclosure: I received the TeenCoder course for free, but was compensated for the time invested to do the review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to do a positive review. This review was coordinated by the iHomeschool Network.  Please read my disclosure policy for more information.