No abstract

oritha@techunix.technion.ac.il SUMMARYComputational Thinking [1] is a universal metaphor of reasoning used by both mankind and machines. From this perspective it has the potential to be a comprehensive umbrella for capturing the intrinsic nature of computing and conveying this in an understandable way to students and the general public. It represents a broad spectrum of reasoning across time and disciplines.Learning to count is a beginning of human computational thinking, followed naturally by arithmetic computation and abstract levels of symbol based thinking, often starting with algebra. Counting, arithmetic, symbols and abstract thinking are fundamental to the study of computing.Computational reasoning is the core of all modern Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and is intrinsic to all other disciplines from A to Z. It is used in our everyday lives from baking a cake, changing a tire or brushing our teeth. The human brain is wired to think computationally, as are modern computing devices. As educators, a Computational Thinking perspective can help us to convey fundamental computing ideas to all students. This special session will outline the principles of Computational Thinking, offer suggestions on ways to promote Computational Thinking at all educational levels, and provide ample time for audience participation and discussion.

Introducing children to fundamental computing concepts through Computer Science Unplugged.

In this paper, the design and implementation of a novel introductory computer science course for non-majors is presented. This course focuses on the major contributions in computer science from the perspective of the process of computation. This course differs from most introductory courses in computer science in that it does not include programming using a computer programming language. Students focus on algorithms and the principle of computational thinking, and use a flowchart simulator to experiment with various short algorithms and build simple computer games without dealing with programming language syntax. Steadily increasing enrollments and interest from various departments on campus indicate that this course has become a successful addition to our introductory CS offerings.

In this paper, the design and implementation of a novel introductory computer science course for non-majors is presented. This course focuses on the major contributions in computer science from the perspective of the process of computation. This course differs from most introductory courses in computer science in that it does not include programming using a computer programming language. Students focus on algorithms and the principle of computational thinking, and use a flowchart simulator to experiment with various short algorithms and build simple computer games without dealing with programming language syntax. Steadily increasing enrollments and interest from various departments on campus indicate that this course has become a successful addition to our introductory CS offerings.