Please enable JavaScript to use CodeHS

Utah Exploring Computer Science

View Syllabus Overview
Computing Ideas
Description

In this lesson, students learn about what makes a computer a computer, its capabilities, and its limitations.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Describe the main properties that define a computer
  • List examples of different computers in their lives
  • Describe what computers are good at and what their current limitations are
Description

In this lesson, students will learn about the essential internal and external components that make up a computer.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Explain the purpose of common internal computing components such as motherboards, BIOS, RAM, and more.
  • Identify common external peripheral components.
  • Choose which components are important for a given scenario.
Description

In this lesson, students will learn about the basic functions and types of software and operating systems.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Explain the purpose of operating systems.
  • Identify the main types of operating systems.
  • Navigate an operating system to complete tasks.
  • Explain the types and uses of different applications/softwares.
Description

In this lesson, students will explore how computers use the binary number system to store and communicate information. Through hands-on activities, they will learn how sequences of 0s and 1s represent data in a computer, understanding the fundamental concept of binary code. This foundational knowledge will enable students to grasp how computers interpret complex information and the importance of secure data encoding in cybersecurity.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Explain the significance of binary in computer communication
  • Encode and decode messages using binary representation
  • Understand the role of transistors in storing and processing binary information
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to convert between binary and decimal numbers, understand binary place values, and apply these concepts to encode and decode messages using ASCII.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Explain how text can be represented using a sequence of 0s and 1s (binary code)
  • Convert between binary and decimal numbers
  • Identify binary place values
  • Encode and decode messages using ASCII
  • Apply binary concepts to real-world scenarios
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how computers break down images into concrete values that can be stored. Students will learn how images are represented digitally using pixels.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Understand how images can be encoded as data
  • Create pixel images in color and black and white
  • Identify bit storage units by name and size