Goal
The goal of the independent projects are for students to explore a variety computer science topics.
Requirements
Since there are too many topics which will be covered, Mr. Didier does not have time to directly teach you the individual subjects. Thus, you are responsible for finding tutorials or videos to teach you about these topics. Mr. Didier can assist you in learning the topics as well as finding tutorials, but you are responsible for your own learning.
Topics
Programming Projects
Continue your programming project or start a new programming project. Check the Programming Projects page for more details.
2D Graphics Projects
2D graphics (Digital Arts prep). 2D graphics work often falls into either painting based (with a paintbrush) or a drawing based (drawing objects, moving and reshaping them). This page can describe some projects for 2D Graphics
- Painting (bitmap) software
- Needs computer
- Photoshop (not free)
- Gimp (free)
- Web based (runs on Chromebook) and are free.
- Gimp: now has a web app that may work on the Chromebook,
- Sketchpad
- Medibang: Painting. No longer runs of Chromebook but will run on phones and tablets.
- SumoPaint: Painting
- Pixlr: photo editing
- Photopea: photo editing
- Needs computer
- Drawing (vector) software
- Needs Computer
- Illustrator (not free)
- Web based (runs on Chromebook) and are free.
- Needs Computer
3D Graphics and Modeling Projects
3D graphics (Computer Graphics and Modeling prep). See the Graphics and Modeling Projects Page for 3D graphics assignments and ideas.
- Drawing, Modeling, and Animation
- Blender: free, requires a computer. See the Graphics and Modeling Class Home Page for more information if you are interested in Blender work.
- Maya: freeish, requires a computer
- CAD, 3D printing, Engineering
- AutoCAD: freeish, requires computer
- Sketchup: free, web-based, and runs on Chromebook. Here is a link to some Sketchup projects and tutorials.
- TinkerCAD: free, web-based , runs on Chromebook
- Drawing, Modeling, and Animation
Business Application Projects
Learn more about business applications like Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms or Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Create newsletters, spreadsheets, graphs, slideshows, and questionnaires. Check out the Business Applications Project page for more information.
Research Projects
Research a topic in computer science and do a report about it. More information can be found in the Research Project pages.
Learn more game design. Continue working in Scratch or jump to a more challenging program like Unity or Unreal.
- Scratch
- Unity (taught in Computer Game Design) or Unreal
- Unity Projects for Game Design Class
Music Production Projects
Learn to create a simple song, rhythm, podcast, voice-over and more. Get a taste of what the Digital Music Production class is about. Check out the Music Production Projects page for some project ideas. Below is a list of software apps that you can use.
- Garageband (Digital Music Production prep)
- Songwriters Studio: Beginner Garageband video tutorials
- Garage Band Guide: Beginner Garageband video tutorials
- Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, Native Instruments Komplete
- Collective Intelligence: Ableton Live video tutorials
- Ableton Push: Ableton Push video tutorials
- Audacity (free audio program, but requires Mac, Windows or Linux. It won’t run on the Chromebook)
- Audacity Manual: This site is text based, but had great information from the tutorials, tips, a tour, and the reference manual for Audacity.
- TJ Free Audacity Tutorial Series. Free YouTube series that covers many beginner topics in Audacity.
- Soundtrap (free month trial, but costs money. Music Production class sometimes uses this software)
Video Production Projects
Make your own short movie or video (Video Production prep). The Video Production Projects page can give you some ideas and guidelines on how to structure your projects.
Some of the software you can use to edit your video include
- iMovie (free on MacOS computers)
- Adobe Premiere (not free)
- WeVideo (freeish online editor. Your school account may give you more access.)
- Adobe Spark (free online editor using your school account)
Animation Projects
Computer animation is a little more advanced as it requires knowledge of a 2D or 3D graphics first. It is a great topic to pursue, though, if you want a real challenge. Check out the Animation Projects Page for some possible projects. A few programs for animation are listed below.
These programs require a computer or tablet, but won’t run on a Chromebook.
These programs are web-based and will work on a Chromebook.
- Flipaclip: free through the Google Play Store
- Animaker: video animation
Cybersecurity Projects
Cybersecurity is a recently booming field. It deals with the protection of computers, networks and other devices from digital attacks and damage. Check the Cybersecurity Projects page for possible projects.
Learn to build and program simple electronic circuits. Arduino’s and Raspberry Pi’s are the devices behind the Internet of Things. (Electronics prep)
- Arduino/Galileo boards are small programmable boards that can control small electronics and electronics circuits. Projects can be found in this link.
- Raspberry Pis are small credit-card sized computers used for variety of things from Minecraft Servers, cybersecurity, retro gaming systems and more.
- Building and programming Lego robots (Robotics I prep)
- Programming Arduino Robotic Car
Web Page Design Projects
Learn to create your own websites. You can create them from code using HTML and CSS or use web page generating software like Google Sites, GoDaddy, WordPress and more. Check out the Web Page Design Projects page for project ideas.
- HTML and CSS tutorials with Kahn Academy
- Google Sites are free with your Google account. Google Sites Tutorial.
- Online HTML editor through tutorialspoint.
Cricut Project Page
A Cricut printer is a precision cutting machine that cuts patterns out of paper, vinyl, fabric, iron-on material, and even wood. It is often used for craft making like cards, stickers, vinyl decals, t-shirt designs, and more. Talk with Mr. Didier about the various projects you can make with a Cricut printer and what your projects will be. Important Note: Mr. Didier will charge you $5 (total for the all projects for the semester) to cover the cost of materials.
What is a Cricut and what does it do?
Learn more about computer hardware or operating systems. Speak with Mr. Didier about details. Students doing these projects must have prior experience or partner with students with prior experience
- Tear apart and rebuild a computer.
- Reinstall an operating system.