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We'll focus on computational thinking in the next two weeks. We'll learn about the basic concepts and different forms of teaching and learning computational thinking. You will create some computational artifacts individually and in a group.
Discussion:
What are your takeaways from the reading computational thinking (page 67-83) and the video: what is computational thinking.?
Computational thinking refers to the thought processes involved in expressing solutions as computational steps or algorithms that can be carried out by a computer.
ISTE Standards about Computational Thinker:
Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions. Students:
a. formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
b. collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
c. break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
d. understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Four facets of computational thinking:
Decomposition: Breaking big problems into smaller, easier-to-manage problems.
Pattern Recognition: Analyze and look for repeating sequence.
Abstraction: Remove parts of a problem that are unnecessary and make one solution work for multiple problems
Algorithm: Step-by-step instructions about how to do something
Computational Thinking in daily life:
Computational Thinking is everywhere in our everyday life. Can you think of some examples?
Cleaning your room
Gathering things you need before leaving home.
Choosing a check-out line at the grocery store
HOMEWORK:
Watch this video CS50 computational thinking and Scratch, which provides a more systematic explanation of computational thinking concepts and a great introduction to Scratch.
Be prepared for some simple quizzes in class (just to check if you have watched the video).
Create an account on Scratch, if you don't already have one. We are going to use this tool for our projects.
This is the first lecture of the Harvard MOOC CS50 Introduction to Computer Science. I highly recommend you to register for this course on eDX, if you want to learn more about the basics of computer science (Not required).
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