The world is becoming progressively more digital. Banks, schools, and even students’ identities are online. To keep up with the increasingly technological world, HHS introduced the AP Computer Science class for this school year.

“We offered in the registration book last year, but we didn’t have enough people wanting to sign up. This year is the first year HHS has had enough students to take the course,” said Mr. Tim Amlie, Business, Communication and Technology Education.

Alex Feldman owns WhatHurts? Technology Solutions, a company located in Minneapolis that specializes in providing creative professionals with advice and solutions for all their technology needs. Feldman believes that technology will continue to have an expanding impact on the professional world.

“I think students at HHS should understand that in the real world, a lot of jobs are moving toward online information and training,” Feldman said.

The AP Computer Science course introduces students to computer science topics such as problem-solving, design strategies and methodologies, organization of data, algorithms, analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing.

“AP Computer Science is a very challenging course, and it really pushes you to problem solve. I suggest that students have prior knowledge of algebra and good problem-solving or troubleshooting skills to be comfortable with the information given in the class,” Amlie said.

The course emphasizes problem-solving and design using the computer program Java. Java is a general-purpose computer programming language that is object-oriented and specifically designed to function independently.

Java appears in sections of the AP Computer Science exam in the spring, which requires students to read and write actual programs.

“The exam is on paper, just like any other AP test,” Amlie said.

Students that take AP Computer science also learn how to code. Code is written by programmers and is readable by people, but not by computers. Code must be converted to object code or machine language before a computer can read or execute the program.

“To learn coding is basically to learn a new language,” Amlie said.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio have been pushing for more K-12 emphasis on coding, according to quotes gathered by code.org. However, significant obstacles deter many students from studying computer science during high school.

Some schools do not have the resources available to offer computer science courses or to train their teachers. Additionally, there is a fairly widespread belief among minority students and female students that the computer science industry is populated solely by people of demographics.

”We have only two girls in the class. Females are mainly the minority in computer related careers,” Amlie said.

The College Board’s online statistics show that 82 percent of students who take AP Computer Science are white or Asian, and only 20 percent are female.

“Being a woman in computer science is golden,” said Ellie Tigner, senior and AP Computer Science student. “There is a lot of opportunity for careers in this field.”

The College Board is currently introducing a new course called AP Computer Science Principles, which will launch in the fall of 2016. The class aims to appeal to a broader audience by allowing flexibility in the use of computing tools and languages and by emphasizing how computing innovations affect people and society.

“I hope HHS adds AP Computer Science Principles to the course registration book next year because it would open up another door for students who want to go to college to be a computer programmer or a software developer,” said Harry Jensen, senior and AP Computer Science student.

Many students believe that if they take AP Computer Science they could learn how to hack a computer.

“Hacking is getting through a computer networking system. It’s not a part of our curriculum, and we do not promote it,” Amlie said.

With the saturation of computers and technology in today’s world, it may be hard to believe that computer science-related careers could have more room to grow. However, as stated by the U.S.Department of Labor, it is expected that there will be one million more jobs in the computer programming field in the coming years.

“There are almost always job availabilities for people who graduate from college with a degree in computer science, so I encourage students to pursue those kinds of careers,” Amlie said.