Digitizing Data: Computational Thinking for Middle School Students through Computer Graphics
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Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Eurographics Association
Abstract
The concept of digitized data is fundamental to computer science, yet for many students, there is a disconnect between objects they encounter outside the computer and the data they interact with in the computer. A programmingbased approach can exacerbate the problem for young students who are developmentally unready for the abstraction required to translate the world into objects described through the syntax of a programming language. This case study describes the creation of a curricular unit called Digitizing Data, delivered in an eighth grade all-girls computer science class. The unit extends the CS Unplugged Image Representation lesson into a series of coordinated projects, culminating in students using a custom-built application to visualize three-dimensional objects and spaces. The project successfully engaged students in computational thinking, communicated a fundamental computer science topic without the barriers of programming, and allowed them to express computer science concepts creatively.
Description
@inproceedings{10.2312:eged.20101011,
booktitle = {Eurographics 2010 - Education Papers},
editor = {L. Kjelldahl and G. Baronoski},
title = {{Digitizing Data: Computational Thinking for Middle School Students through Computer Graphics}},
author = {Cutler, Robb and Hutton, Michelle},
year = {2010},
publisher = {The Eurographics Association},
ISBN = {},
DOI = {10.2312/eged.20101011}
}