Course selection time is nearing, and there are always classes you debate taking. But they don’t actually end up in your schedule because you were unsure whether the classes would be worth it. So what do they actually do in these classes? Here are the two most intriguing!
Architecture:
Have you ever wanted to design awesome-looking buildings and create realistic floor plans? If you have, then you should consider adding Architecture to your list of potential courses to take next year. Taught by Ms. Nancy Su, Architecture is a relatively new class first offered two years ago.
In the first semester, students draw their surroundings so they become familiar with their environment. In the second semester students get to do some hands-on work and build models of their dream houses. They also learn to use CAD  software to create realistic models of their designed buildings.
According to Ms. Su, Architecture class gives students the chance to “create buildings that are not only pretty, but also structurally sound.” Students analyze buildings, such as Taipei 101, to work out why they don’t topple over when there is an earthquake.
Honors Artificial Intelligence:
If you’re the kind of person who prefers the Java language over English, consider  Honors Artificial Intelligence as a future course. Honors AI is a project-based course in which students spend most of their time working on their own projects either independently or with a group.
Dr. Delgado, who teaches this course, provides the students with project ideas. One project was to create a program that reads a text file and guesses the language the text is written in by counting the frequency of certain letters. “For example, the letter “e” is the most abundant letter in the English language, so a language can be identified as English this way” says Dr. Delgado. Students also can work with Aldebaran Nao robots, which are extremely high tech robots capable of various motions, including dancing.
In AI, students have the freedom to work with any computer language they wish. Though most students choose to use Java or Python, Dr. Delgado once had a unique student who used a lesser known language called c#!