Toward Integrating Computing Concepts into the K-12 Curriculum

1. Cynthia S. Hood Illinois Institute of Technology hood@iit.edu Dennis J. Hood Cinaptus dennisjhood@cinaptus.com All Candies Question #1:Is it chocolaty? YES Butterfinger, Snickers Baby Ruth and Heath NO Dots, Smarties Sour Patch and SweetTarts Question #2 Is it chewy? YES Snickers Baby Ruth NO Butterfinger Heath YES Dots Sour Patch NO Smarties SweetTarts Toward Integrating Computing Concepts into the K-12 Curriculum A key to achieving widespread IT fluency is integrating computing concepts into the K-12 curriculum. We developed a series of hands-on exercises that use simple, familiar props as metaphors for complex computing concepts. These exercises can be integrated into the existing curriculum or used as part of a computer science curriculum. These exercises formed the basis of two professional development courses for teachers taught in July 2004. Once the teachers became comfortable with the concepts they began to make connections between these concepts and their curriculum. The teachers were amazed at how much they learned and also surprised to find so many connections between computing and their curriculum. Overview Magnetic Storage Programming Concepts Computer Dissection Objectives Objectives Objectives • Explore the inner workings of PCs • Analyze component interconnections • Discuss hardware design • Introduce magnetism as a memory tool • Motivate the need for efficient “permanent” memory • Demonstrate the ability to magnetize • Demonstrate the use of magnetism to store information • Reinforce the idea that computers “speak” binary, requiring us to encode and decode • Discuss optical and electronic storage • Explore computer programming at a conceptual level • Demonstrate the processes of constructing and executing computer programs • Discuss programming language arts • Motivate the need for effective debugging Materials • Screwdrivers • Old PCs • Other electronic devices Materials • Lego bricks • Lego baseplate Materials • Bar magnets • Binder Clips • Paper clips • Hard drive • Floppy disk • Credit card Networking Artificial Intelligence Objectives Objectives • Introduce types of network connectivity (wired, wireless) • Compare different types of topologies (how network nodes are connected?) • What are evaluation metrics or points of comparison? • Understand how networks are typically designed • Introduce the concept of addressing • Gain a basic understanding of the IP address space • Gain an understanding of the IP translation process • Gain an appreciation for its shortcomings, including security concerns • Explore the risk exposure inherent in an open, fully-connected environment • Explore protection mechanisms • Introduce the concept of artificial intelligence • Explore neural networks and decision trees • Discuss everyday applications of classification • Compare and contrast human decision-making and artificial intelligence Materials • 20Q ball or www.20q.net • Candy to classify Materials Training Set • Yarn • Colored beads • Letter beads • Pipecleaners • Wooden boards with hooks Test Set Our thanks to • Partnerships with K-12 teachers • We learn about K-12 curriculum, pedagogy • K-12 teachers learn about computing concepts, common ground • Together we work toward integration into K-12 curriculum • Lots of creativity! Results Helene Caliva Kim McMahon