Innovative Minds 1 &2 Students produce a myriad of modern technology

products such as MIT App Inventor to make cell

phone applications and developing robotic engineer-

ing using Logo Mindstorm NXT. Students expand

the skills they learn in Gaming and Robotics and

Website Fundamentals as well as small business and

entrepreneurial developing curriculum from Junior

Achievement.

Designing Technology Solutions (full year 1.0 high school Tech Ed credit) This

is a high school credit course. When students

complete this course, they will have satisfied

their technology credit toward high school grad-

uation. This course utilizes technology to put

students in situations where they have to use

technology to solve problems. For example, af-

ter students have learned code, they will be given

broken codes and they have to problem solve to

find a solution. Also, they will design a robot

with a broken program and must work together

in a group setting to re-route the program so that

the robot will function.

Computer Art

During this intermediate

course students are intro-

duced to the principles of

color, texture and form

using a variety of media

including drawing, paint-

ing and digital art. Stu-

dents will apply basic

principles as they create

original pieces in both the traditional and digital for-

mat. Historically significant and contemporary art

examples representing a variety of cultures are inves-

tigated and represented in the creative production pro-

cess.

Television Production

Students produce the schools student-run television

news program in our digital media suite. Students

also write, develop, and produce public service an-

nouncements, documentaries, and other video projects

that are used on the school’s website and the student-

run news website.

Lights, Camera, Literacy!

This course combines English and technology curric-

ulum to produce videos in our digital media suite.

Students write stories, design story boards, tape and

edit a variety of video assignments. As a final

product, students develop and create a complete se-

quence story with multiple takes and shooting angles

to edit a complete story. They also learn how to cre-

ate an animated video.

Gaming and Robotics

Students spend a semester learning how to make vid-

eo games and then a semester learning how to pro-

gram and design robots. Students from this class also

compete in state and national competitions. Our first

and third place STEMFuse gaming competition na-

tional winners came from students taking this class!

This course requires a student to be in Math 7 or high-

er. Grade 6 students who are recommended for Math

7 or Algebra are placed in an accelerated technology

track that enables them to take this course in grade 6

instead of grade 7. We average about forty students

each year who will take this course as grade 6 stu-

dents.

Course Offerings: Argyle Magnet Middle School for Technology Innovation

ITCS 6: Information Technology

&Computer Science Students will be intro-

duced to Coding through gaming concepts using

Scratch, Python, and Game Maker; create interest-

ing multimedia presentations using digital cameras,

video cameras, and editing programs such as Win-

dows Movie Maker and Adobe Premiere Elements,

develop Network Operation Skills using Makey

Makey boards, and learn how to design Cell Phone

Apps using MIT App Inventor!

Website Development Fundamentals The effective and efficient use of the world-wide-

web as a source for sharing information has become

critical to success in the academic and professional

world. This course gives students an opportunity to

create their own websites adding complexity as the

course progresses. Skill development progresses

from basic web pages

to sites that are inter-

active and include

animation. Students

work with web devel-

opment programs

such as Alice, Java,

Adobe Illustrator, and

HTML 5.

Web Development A/B (full year 1.0 high school elective credit) This ad-

vanced level course continues concepts from Web

Development Fundamentals. Students manage web

projects from beginning to end starting with story-

boards and ending with sites developed based on

client specifications using XHTML, Java Script,

Cold Fusion, Web composers, and object-oriented

programming languages. Skills in streaming media,

server applications, and 3-D animation are devel-

oped. Project management provides students with

skills to lead teams through projects, from inception

to completion. Prerequisite: successful completion

of Web Site Design Fundamentals.

Advanced Video Game Design This is an advanced level course in which students

continue to work from programming fundamentals

using coding languages they have learned in the

pre-requisite course. Students will continue their

use of Java, Python, Game Maker Studio, and oth-

er gaming languages. Focus of this course will be

teaching coding and programing skills through the

design and development of video games. Students

design games for cell phones and gaming systems.

Art 8 Grade 8 develops knowledge of art history and

techniques using master works as inspiration.

Active composition and depth of space are em-

phasized in drawing. The sculpture unit high-

lights an artist’s style, and a ceramic project is

designed to represent a specific art movement

from the past.