This message from Brian Aspinall was floating around in my social media the other day and it really resonates with me.
I’ve long said that we don’t need to teach computer science to create more computer programmers (coders). Now teaching computer science or programming does not automatically make people better problem solvers even if we want to really believe it does. But at least it adds another tool to the tool box.
I’m not sure I know what a “digital thinker” is but I am sure we need people who understand computer science. We are depending on computer science to help us solve an awful lot of problems these days. Leaders of the future are going to be in bad shape if they don’t have some understanding of the power and the risks of computer technology.
I'm not sure what a "digital thinker" is either but those were the words on my mind that day. I do believe this is a good reminder when looking to integrate CS into our classes. We should always be asking why. Why are we doing the Hour of Code? What is the goal? Why are we using Sphero, etc.
ReplyDeleteI guess the same logic applies to any subject. We won't have a generation of mathematicians or athletes but problem solving in math or on the court are applicable strategies to things we are going to do.
Coding is easy to teach compared to CS or "digital thinking". Inexperienced teachers stress programming because it is easy for them to find resources for teaching and it is easy to evaluate (compared to problem solving). I can easily find half a dozen canned curriculum for programming. Finding a good canned curriculum for CS or digital thinking (that does not stress programming) is near impossible.
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