Computational Thinking Concepts: March 2011 Webinar
This is the first of three ScratchEd Webinars dedicated to computational thinking. In Part 1, Karen Brennan focuses on computational thinking concepts (sequences, loops, parallelism, events, conditionals, operators, variables, and lists). For each concept, Karen defines it, explains why it's useful in Scratch, illustrates it in the context of a Scratch project, and talks about common misconceptions or mix-ups. After the presentation, attendees join the conversation to ask questions, offer suggestions, and share resources.
Scratch supports the cultivation of computational thinking, a set of concepts, practices, and perspectives that draw on ideas from the world of computing. In the past few years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of computational thinking for understanding and solving problems in a wide range of contexts, not only in the field of computer science. As young people program and share Scratch projects, they begin to develop as computational thinkers: they learn core computational and mathematical concepts, while also learning important strategies for designing, problem solving, and collaborating.
The slides and example projects are attached below.
Here are links to resources that were mentioned during the webinar:
- Rube Goldberg Scratch Projects:
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/cindy12/1517665, http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/ramiro7/1529641,http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/ramiro7/1583540 - Scratch Cards and Scratch Getting Started Guide
- PicoBoard and PicoBoard Getting Started Guide
- Google's Exploring Computational Thinking Intiative
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them as a comment here.
Tune in to the next webinar for part 2 of the series on Monday, April 25: "Computational Thinking Practices" and part 3 on Monday, May 23: "Computational Thinking Perspectives."
