Computational thinking: expanding the toolkit

Abstract

In this paper we describe a set of tools, LEGO® Mindstorms NXT, SCRATCH, App Inventor, and CS Unplugged, that was presented to teachers to support computational thinking curriculum initiatives. During a workshop sponsored by GOOGLE's CS4HS program, educators were given step-by-step instructions in the basics of each tool, along with a computational thinking activity/challenge that can be used in the classroom. Survey data from the workshop indicated that a breadth first, intensive introduction influenced educators to consider these tools. The educators cited deficient school resources as a possible barrier to implementation, but the introduction of the Raspberry Pi holds promise for mitigating this. Educators unanimously found the workshop useful and indicated that they are likely to include the tools in their classrooms