What do APIs and restaurant wait staff have in common? Find out in API Applications! Use this unplugged lesson to start teaching high school computer science – no devices necessary.
This lesson comes from Ellipsis Education High School Computer Science Python, built for grades 9-12. Explore other courses in this grade band:
In API Applications, students will review APIs through an analogy. Then, students will discuss the three main types of APIs and their applications. Finally, students will complete an activity to help an app development agency decide on potential APIs to implement in their apps. This lesson is built for grades 9-12 and includes links to the appropriate materials and resources, a detailed procedure, activity tips, and a bonus challenge activity.
What do APIs and restaurant wait staff have in common? Find out in API Applications! Use this unplugged lesson to start teaching high school computer science – no devices necessary.
This lesson comes from Ellipsis Education High School Computer Science Python, built for grades 9-12. Explore other courses in this grade band:
Ellipsis Education provides K-12 computer science curriculum. The lesson on this page represents a sample from our High School Computer Science courses, made for grades 9-12. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to preview other lessons from each course listed below.
Explore computational thinking and computer science principles using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Develop websites that integrate data and interactive elements. Discuss trends, ethics, and impacts of technology.
Expand core computer science skills with Python. Learn programming concepts like comments, methods, and print functions. Discuss data manipulation, ethical online behavior, and various STEM career opportunities.
Demonstrate computer science skills using Java. Learn object oriented programming with loops, objects, methods, and classes. Explore the importance of digital and physical security in relation to cybersecurity.
Engage with game development processes through line coding. Learn game theory, game psychology, and constructs like nodes and trees. Discuss ethical behavior and STEM careers in the gaming industry.
You might be asking yourself, “What are some everyday technologies that use Python”? There are so many things that we interact with daily that use Python programming.
Python is especially prevalent in devices included with the IoT, or Internet of Things. IoT devices are non-standard computing devices that have the ability to connect to a network and communicate via the Internet to transmit data. This extends our connectivity beyond standard devices (laptops, PCs, smartphones & tablets) to non-internet-enabled physical devices. Some of these devices are smart TVs, smart appliances, wearable technology, toys, and smart speakers. It also might be a sensor in a conference room that facilitates the creation of new meetings based on room size, type, and features available. Then, when the meeting starts, the lights could dim, temperature could adjust, and the appropriate slideshow loads on a screen.
Python is also used in everyday applications and tools that you use. Have you ever used Dropbox? It was built with Python. Instagram, Pinterest, Spotify, Uber and Reddit were also built on or are now running on Python. Python is also used by tons of small startups due to the ability to quickly prototype new features.
Python is also used in the world of Big Data. Big Data is a field in computer science that deals in ways to analyze, extract information from data sets that are just too large to be processed by typical data processing systems. Big Data is used in every field from education to government to healthcare. And Big Data has created an increase in the need to manage this information so much that companies like IBM, Dell, Oracle, Microsoft and others have spent more than $15 billion on finding ways to manage Big Data.
Looking for more? Here are other downloads that are representative of Ellipsis Education High School Computer Science for grades 9-12. Mix and match Ellipsis Education free resources to organize your own hour of code event.