iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

The Darnit kids write out "exact" instructions for their Dad on how to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.

It's all in the details!!

The word “algorithm” may not seem relevant to kids, but the truth is that algorithms are all around them, governing everything from the technology they use to the mundane decisions they make every day. Algorithms are fascinating and, although some are quite complex, the concept itself is actually quite simple.

The oldest algorithms ever recorded were on ancient Babylonian tablets dating to about 1,800 BCE, explaining the specific procedures to compute different values like square roots and other measures. We still use one of the Greek mathematician Euclid’s most famous algorithms—his method for finding the greatest common divisor, first formulated around 300 BCE—in programming today because of its elegant simplicity.

It wasn’t until the age of computers however that algorithms really began to take a mathematical approach to seemingly non-mathematical problems, and these modern algorithms are some of the most important solutions to problems currently powering the world’s most widely used systems.

Former president Barack Obama captured the essence of the challenge many educators are facing today when he stated, “Computers are going to be a big part of our future…and that future is yours to shape.”

The quote communicates the power and importance of taking a more thoughtful approach to the intersection of education and technology – pointing to the need for students to learn far more than how to navigate an app or a computer’s desktop.  Actively shaping the future requires students to create, and innovate with computers, as well as considering the implications of these changes and choices.

As a result, schools are placing an emphasis on robust concepts like computational thinking in addition to learning programming.  Educational challenges seem to always involve addition, not subtraction.  Students still need to master writing, and improve their reading comprehension.  Teachers have to be experts in pedagogy around these subjects, and now additionally, computational thinking.

Algorithms in Computational Thinking, just published by Carnegie Mellon University attempts to assist teachers as they embrace these subjects and begin infusing their lessons with computational thinking by creating some of the same frameworks that teachers are familiar with using in other subjects.