[IAEP] "Exploring Computational Thinking" curriculum @Google: Math Future event Wed, June 6 at 7pm

[Maria Droujkova]

LOGIN: *http://tinyurl.com/math20event<https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.FCAF787B38E30D58F943EB7232EE27>
*
Join Phil Wagner, the Curriculum Fellow for Google's Exploring
Computational Thinking project, to discuss teaching higher order thinking
skills that are used by computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians
to solve problems.

All events in the Math Future weekly series:
http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events
The recording will be at:
http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/ExploringComputationalThinking
Your time zone: http://bit.ly/JFwB4P

*How to join*

   - Follow this link at the time of the event: *
   http://tinyurl.com/math20event<https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.FCAF787B38E30D58F943EB7232EE27>
   *
   - Wednesday, June 6th 2012 we will meet online at 4pm Pacific, 7pm
   Eastern time.
   - Click "OK" and "Accept" several times as your browser installs the
   software. When you see Session Log-In, enter your name and click the
   "Login" button
   - If this is your first time, come a few minutes earlier to check out
   the technology.


About Exploring Computational Thinking projectThe project began about 3
years ago to support the STEM and CS community. The concept of
Computational Thinking was first referenced by Seymour
Papert<http://www.papert.org/articles/AnExplorationintheSpaceofMathematicsEducations.html>
and
brought into the mainstream by Jeannette
Wing<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~wing/publications/Wing06.pdf>.
Math and science teachers were brought in to develop curriculum and promote
computational thinking so others would be inspired to implement it in their
own classrooms.

[image: external image Screen-Shot-2011-10-22-at-9.49.39-PM-320x217.png]

The comics on this page come from http://www.ctillustrated.com/, one of
Phil's favorite Creative Commons projects on the subject.

Computational thinking includes the higher order thinking skills that are
used by computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and others to solve
problems. While computers and technology are not essential to this process,
they are useful for problems involving large amounts of data or repeated
use of an algorithm.

[image: external image Screen-Shot-2011-10-22-at-9.40.49-PM-320x218.png]

The process of computational thinking as it is described at Google is to
decompose or break down the problem, look for patterns in the data, create
abstractions, and finally develop an algorithm that can be used by others
to solve the problem and others like it.

We believe computational thinking is relevant to students because it
enables them to see how computer science applies to what they are
interested in and is necessary if they are to innovate and create in this
age of big data and enormous challenges. Computational thinking is often
referred to as CS + X for all x. This means that wherever computer science
meets another discipline, students discover how it is relevant to their
lives and how useful it can be.

[image: external image Screen-Shot-2011-10-22-at-9.41.57-PM-320x470.png]

The project can be found at www.google.com/edu/ect
Event Host*[image: PhilWagner.png]Phil Wagner* writes:
I am a math/science/robotics teacher. I came to work at Google on the
Exploring Computational Thinking project, because I wanted to spread this
idea and help others create resources that were appropriate for their
classrooms. In addition to my work at Google, I blog at
BrokenAirplane.com<http://www.brokenairplane.com/> and
I created the Android app Physics
Gizmo<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brokenairplane.physicsGizmo>
to
enable students to collect scientific data using only their phones. I can
be found on Google+ <https://plus.google.com/110891307255905847602/about> and
Twitter @brokenairplane <https://twitter.com/#!/brokenairplane>


Cheers,
Maria Droujkova
919-388-1721

Make math your own, to make your own math
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