Teacher's Programming Computers

Why Should Educators Learn Computer Programming? :Why Should Educators Learn Computer Programming? Computer Assisted Construction vs Computer Assisted Instruction


Framework :Framework Organized thinking about why educators should learn some Computer programming & processes


Programming Specific Cognitive/Thinking Benefits :Programming Specific Cognitive/Thinking Benefits Increased knowledge of mathematics & problem solving skills [Programming in BASIC) (McCoy, 1996)‏ Increased knowledge of Geometry [Programming in LOGO] (McCoy, 1996)‏ Increased learning of Mathematical Content [Programming in LOGO, McCoy, 1996]


(CAI) vs Programming :(CAI) vs Programming "To get better education, we must improve instruction. And if we're going to use computers, we'll make the computers do the instruction.” (Papert)‏ Computer as Tutor or Tool of Instruction Giving children good things to do so that they can learn by doing much better than they could before." (Papert)‏ Computer as Tutee or Tool for Learning


What Can Educator’s Do With Programming in the Classroom? :What Can Educator’s Do With Programming in the Classroom? Create Games Word Games Guessing Games Simulations Teach Concepts (Geometry, Mathematics)‏ Teach Structure (Logic, Sequencing)‏ Play with words (Jumbles, Searches)‏ Play with media (Sound, Video)‏


Programming Goal :Programming Goal Get Learners to THINK with computers NOT programming for programming sake!!! One learns a language to communicate not simply for its form - the communication function is what’s important not the language per se So, in a way, the computer becomes invisible. The computer becomes just an instrument. I said if you asked that child making the picture, "What are you doing?" she would have said, "Making a picture, making a bird." It's interesting to compare this --


Programming Goal (Cont’d)‏ :Programming Goal (Cont’d)‏ imagine going to a poet and saying, "What are you doing?" You'd be very surprised if the poet said, "I'm using a pencil". The poet would have said, "I'm writing a poem," or, maybe, "Just leave me alone, I'm busy." Of course the poet was using a pencil, but that's not worth mentioning, and the same should be true of computers. (Papert, n.d. Speech to Japanese Educators online http://www.papert.org/articles/const_inst/const_inst2.html) Faces of Seymour Papert


Programming as Mechanism for Teaching Problem Solving :Programming as Mechanism for Teaching Problem Solving Educator's can encourage construction and creation. In one of his speeches to Japanese educators in the 1980’s Papert describes an early computer programming project: Children in a school in California, the Gardner Academy, in a project called Project MindStorms, the children made a calendar. And this is the work of a fourth-grade child who programmed the computer to make this shape, thinking of squares and triangles and how to fit them together.


Programming as Problem Solving :Programming as Problem Solving And because she had to explain all that to the computer, writing programs in LOGO, she was really using mathematics to make something which she liked, which was even commercially valuable because they sold this calendar and got money to improve their project. Papert, S. Constructionism vs Instructionism http://www.papert.org/articles/const_inst/const_inst1.html