Friday, October 23, 2009

How to Teach CS to Children

At the Atlanta Java Users Group (AJUG) we had an awesome presentation by Barbara Ericson on how to inspire children to learn more about computer science (CS). It was a really informative session. As director of Computing Outreach at Georgia Tech University she helps prepare curricular materials for high schools.

As such, she gave us a detailed overview of the state of CS teaching in Georgia and the nation as a whole. Furthermore, she gave us an overview of all the cool software tools that help teach CS concepts including:
She also talked about some interesting robotic toys that help in her efforts:
I wish I had had the stuff when I grew up...

There is even a website out there that provides free information on activities that teach CS concepts without a computer: http://csunplugged.org/

Lastly, if you have children of your own, you should certainly check out Barbara Ericson's presentation and you can also find many more resources on her website: http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/ice-gt

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