Computer Studies / Computing

Course summary

Thinking computationally means using abstraction and decomposition and is an important life skill. The study of computation is about what can be computed and how to compute it. Computer Science involves questions that have the potential to change how we view the world. Computing is about designing new algorithms to solve new problems. In this sense, Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. Many great challenges lie in the future for Computer Scientists to solve. This course, with its emphasis on abstract thinking, general problem solving, algorithmic and mathematical reasoning, scientific and engineering-based thinking, is a good foundation for understanding future challenges. Computational thinking lies at the heart of the course and is integrated with other topics. This will be supported by practical activities including programming. We use the Python language for most of our programming, but it is not necessary to have programmed before.