Exposure Java 2009 InformationExposure Java 2009 Order Form |
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What is Exposure Java? Exposure Java is designed to assist teachers in teaching Computer Science, PreAP Computer Science, AP Computer Science and Advanced Graphics Programming courses, using the Java programming language with the flexibility to suit any teaching environment. It is a complete electronic teaching package that includes text book chapters along with all the necessary teaching tools and materials to teach the course. |
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How can a textbook be flexible for different environments? Exposure Java is not a printed text book. Teachers are provided with textbook chapter files, sample source code Java files, lab assignments, quizzes, chapter tests, semester exams and presentation slides that may be altered to suit the teacher's needs. Topic sequences can be altered; explanations can be reduced, expanded or modified. All Exposure Java materials are electronic files that can be modified to a teacher's environment and/or teaching style. |
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Which topics are included in Exposure Java? Exposure Java includes all the topics required for the AP Computer Science "A" examination with additional topics for solid college preparation. Download the table of contents to view the topics for AP Computer Science and other courses. View Exposure Java Table of Contents for AP Computer Science "A" View Exposure Java Table of Contents for Computer Science "AB" View Exposure Java Table of Contents for PreAP Computer Science View Exposure Java Table of Contents for Advanced Graphics Programming (under construction) |
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What is new in the Exposure Java 2009 Update? Exercises, quizzes and slides are more organized. They used to be called Quiz08.1, Quiz08.2, etc. Now a different system is used like Exercises08.1-4, Exercises08.5-9. This new system makes it easier to create lesson plans and assign homework. This means that Exercises12.1-4 follows a reading assignment and class on Chapter 12, sections 1 through 4. The labs have also been altered considerably. Many new lab assignments are added, especially Lego Mindstorm Robotics labs. There are also additional graphics labs. Labs are organized in four categories: Text, GFX (graphics), GW(GridWorld) and Math, named like Lab12Math07, Lab12GFX15, Lab12GW09, Lab12Text13. Teaching materials for an entirely new course are added, called Advanced Graphics Programming. This course teaches advanced computer science concepts, using graphics while creating video games. This course is designed for students who would normally have taken the AP Computer Science "AB" course. Teaching computer science with Lego Mindstorm Robotics is very exciting. Teaching materials are included for teachers who have the opportunity to use Lego Robotics in the curriculum. |
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How can so many lab assignment be finished in one course? It is not the intention that all lab assignments are used. Teachers have personal preferences. Some teachers like a mathematical approach, which teaches computer science and also assists students with their math classes. Other teachers like many graphics assignments. Many teachers, like myself, like a mix of lab styles. There is also a second reason for a large selection of lab assignments. Teachers can rotate lab assignments yearly in such a manner that students from previous courses cannot pass solutions on to current students. |
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AP Computer Science AB is cancelled. Why is it still included? The College Board creates the curriculum and examinations for selected AP courses. They do not decide what you teach. Many schools, my former high school included, have used the sequence: AP Computer Science "A", AP Computer Science "AB" and some advanced (non-AP) third course, which often is graphics. The "AB" material is included for schools who decide to teach this material as a college-prep course. The only thing that has changed is that there is no AP exam provided at the conclusion. |
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Why are there PreAP Computer Science materials? As the AP Computer Science "A" curriculum grew in size over the years, many schools started to teach the "A-level" course in two years to handle the challenging quantity of topics. With time the first year course became "PreAP Computer Science". The problem is that such an approach is really AP Computer Science "A-Part1" and AP Computer Science "A-Part2". The intention of the PreAP course is to prepare the student to handle the challenge of an AP course. The Exposure Java PreAP course is specifically designed to be a user-friendly introduction to computer science. It is a new course and there are many features that makes the introduction of programming skills less tedious than is done in the AP course. At the same time, completion of the preparatory course makes it manageable to handle all the topics in AP Computer Science in the following year. |
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Can Students Purchase Exposure Java Materials? There have been many requests from students to purchase Exposure Java on an student individual basis. This is not possible for two reasons. First, materials are provided on a CD, which includes answers to lab assignments, quizzes, tests and semester exams. The materials are only provided to school districts. Second, Exposure Java is provided with a copy license for an entire school site. There is no one-person license. At summer workshops Leon Schram provides teachers with a single user license CD, but this CD is only distributed to teachers to help them learn Java and also to give teachers an opportunity to preview Exposure Java. |
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What is included with Exposure Java? A CD is provided with over 4000 files, including textbook chapters in MS Word format and PDF format, Java programs for all textbook examples, lab assignments, exercises, quizzes, PowerPoint slides, lab tests, multiple choice tests, semester exams, solutions for all types of evaluations given to the students, GridWorld Case Study teaching unit, Lego Mindstorm Robotics teaching materials and teaching strategies for each chapter. |
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How was Exposure Java Created? Exposure teaching materials has been developed by Leon Schram since 1995. The current Java text books are similar in style to the previous Exposure C++ teaching materials. Over 400 high schools in the United States, Europe, Africa, South America and Asia have purchased Exposure Java and the materials have evolved with the feedback provided by numerous teachers at summer institutes, personal suggestions, and email. The main motivation behind the Exposure Java approach is that most textbooks, for various reasons, do not provide enough examples and take incremental steps that are too large for many students. This is very difficult for students who are learning a new discipline without any prior background. Additionally, teachers have personal teaching styles that work best with the flexibility of teaching materials that can be altered. Adding, deleting or altering textbook chapters, slides or tests is easily done with provided electronic files. |
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Who is Leon Schram? Leon Schram has taught AP Computer Science since 1983, when the AP course was first offered by the College Board. He is an endorsed College Board consultant in the Southwestern Region, and has conducted one-day conferences, two-day conferences and summer institutes for twenty-five years. He has been an AP exam reader for ten years and served as a member of the College Board AP Computer Science Test Development Commmittee for four years. Currently he is the Computer Science Department Chair at John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas. |
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How do teachers provide text books to their students? When a school purchases a site license, they have the flexibility to provide text book chapters and other materials in a printed or electronic format. Many school districts have their own print shops and print the chapter files provided to teachers with their personalized modifications. Some teachers copy chapters throughout the school year, which students keep in binders. Various schools have found corporate sponsors who print the materials. There are also schools that use outside print shops and sell the textbooks to students. The font size for the textbook is intentionally large to make it easy to read on a computer. This means that two pages can easily be printed on one paper side to save printing costs. Many schools print nothing at all and provide electronic files on the computer that students can read at school or at home. Some schools provide textbook chapters on-line at a secured school web site. Currently the most popular, and inexpensive, distribution method is to give students CDs. This method allows students access to all the textbooks chapters, slides, lab assignments and exercises on one convenient CD. |
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Is Exposure Java Expensive? Exposure Java is licensed on a yearly basis. An original site license for the 2009-2010 school year is $450.00. A renewal/update license for schools who purchased a previous original license is $225.00. This license provides access to over 4000 files of computer science teaching materials. A site license is for a single high school campus or single college campus. Licenses are only available for educational institutions. At AP Computer Science Summer Institutes, Exposure Java is distributed on single-user license CDs to teacher participants, who can use this license to learn computer science and evaluate the teaching materials. There are no licenses available for students. |
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What makes Exposure Java popular with students? All the text book chapters are intentionally written in a first-person, conversational style. The reading level is informal and relaxed to keep students at ease. Topics are presented with numerous, complete programs that very gradually present computer science topics in small, bite-sized chunks. Students and teachers especially appreciate the manner in which advanced topics are presented in many, many small steps from initial introduction to very advanced concepts. Over the years more and more graphics lab assignments are included, which are popular with the students. Students are also widely enthusiastic with the Lego Mindstorm Robotics. |
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Who Publishes Exposure Java 2009? Leon Schram personally handles the sales and is the sole distributor of the Exposure Java teaching materials. In years past, distribution was handled by a large publishing company. Even though this method was very efficient for shipping and invoicing, it did not work well for updates and corrections. Changes are inevitable with a product that wishes to be on top of any new College Board curriculum changes and effective new teaching strategies. Contact Leon Schram for any technical or educational matters: Email: Communication by email usually gets the quickest result. Use leonschram@sbcglobal.net Call: Use (972) 722-6539 in the daytime to leave a message or in the evening between 7:00pm-10:00pm Contact Greg Schram for any shipping, invoicing or administrative matters: Email: greg@schram.org |
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This all sounds great on the web site, but how do I preview Exposure Java before ordering? The links are provided below with zip files that includes a sample of the first few textbook chapters, presentation slides, lab assignments and teaching strategies. It is not possible to provide the entire set of Exposure Java teaching materials online. Such an approach would compromise evaluation files for quizzes, tests and solutions. The first two chapters in APCS and PreAPCS are pretty much identical. With the third chapter the presentation is different and it is very different in Chapter IV. Teachers can receive an evaluation CD with complete Exposure Java files at summer workshops where the security is insured and delivery is made directly to a teacher.
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How can I order Exposure Java 2009? Mail the attached order form with pre-paid check or PO. Email can be used with PO information to expedite the order.
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Page last updated 04-04-09