Hey Everyone!!!
I read the first article discussing computational thinking in the classroom. I believe that CT is a vital resource and very useful if brought into the classroom setting. I think that not all students learn in the same manner, and as Professor Campo mentioned, while one of her students seemed to struggle with most of the assignments expected of him, he excelled when it came to computational thinking. I find it interesting how such ideas that we always thought of in a certain way can be broken down and transformed into a mathematical and algorithmic system. For me, I began looking at computational thinking in the class when we did scratch and at first had some difficulty with it and still struggle a bit but I think that with practice it is an idea and way of doing work that is possible for students of all ages. I think that computational thinking should be integrated into education for students at a young age. I feel that computational thinking can be extremely beneficial to students with learning disabilities because it allows them to break down a problem and look at it as a puzzle to be solved. I find that those with disabilities and impairments may benefit the most and if they benefit from this type of learning than most students will as well. However, when we saw the video of the man discussing the way in which doing math would change I had some disagreements and reservations. I think that what he was talking about can be done at certain times but to suggest that computation would be completely done by computers as oppose to students with regard to math seems unfathomable. Computational thinking is a way in which to expand learning and to integrate the use of computers and other forms of technology into a students educational lifetime. Computers are something that a student will continue to encounter throughout their lives and I find it to be useful if we as educators begin to take a closer look at computational thinking. I also liked the examples within my article of how specific classes used computational thinking within their lessons.
Thanks
Brooke Gerrard
Barr, David, John Harrison, and Leslie Conery. (2011). Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill for Everyone. Learning and Leading with Technology.
I feel that CT helps students to perform as their best. You focus your comment on children with disabilities and how CT can help them by breaking down a problem, and I agree with you. On the other side of the coin it works as well. It helps the honor students because they see the problem as a challenge and they want to jump into the solution.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that traditional math should remain because it is not knowing how to add or subtract what is important, it’s important the brain bonds that those basic computational thing fortified
Hi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you brought out some examples of computational thinking in your response (the struggling student who excelled at Scratch, for example). After reading my article, I was a bit skeptical about the whole "computational thinking" push and kind of thought it was a way to put a new (gigantic) label on an old idea. However, the example of Scratch shows how a simplified program can provide students with a logical/mathematical/computer-programming mindset. If this - then that, loops, etc. Good job in finding the diamond in the fuzzy rough of computational thinking!
Melissa