Welcome to Mega-Mind Mondays! This series feature both students and parents who have embarked on this fruitful journey of Computational Thinking. Over here, inclusivity is our mission. Expect to hear stories from different backgrounds and walks of life, like a special needs child who found his passion in programming and a parent of a 4 year-old Computational Thinker who is also a coding teacher. After all, this is what we believe in - that Computational Thinking is for anyone and everyone, without discrimination. Also look out for how we have worked to spread our mission at various events!
In today's episode, hear more about how we worked to spread the word about the importance of Computational Thinking, and how age and tools present no barriers to learning! We are grateful to be invited down to the Early Childhood Conference (ECC) 2019 and get the opportunity to highlight how Computational Thinking can be taught through simple everyday activities.
“What did Tiny Thinkers do at ECC 2019?”
Our team was invited down to share more about the importance of Computational Thinking at a preschool level to the educators. We also conducted workshops for families with young children so they get to learn more about Computational Thinking and how it can be taught through simple activities like the ones in our Junior Computational Thinking (CT) kit!
Thinzar, our President, sharing about the importance of Computational Thinking at our workshops at ECC 2019
“How was the information sharing with the educators?”
Our partners, IMDA and Coding Lab, contributed to the sharing by presenting various research findings as well as debunking the elusiveness of Computational Thinking!
Afterwards, we presented our Junior CT Kit to demonstrate exactly what we have shared - that Computational Thinking need not be limited by age nor expert tools. Simple, everyday activities like the ones we have carefully curated for the kit are enough!
Our Chairperson and Coding Lab co-Founder, Candice Wang, stressing the importance of starting young
“What happened at the workshops?”
"Computational Thinking need not involve the use of digital devices or gadgets. Simply put, Computational Thinking is the process of applying logical thinking to break down (decompose) a complex problem, in order to develop a step-by-step solution (that may be executed by a computer) to solve the problem. This is extremely applicable in everyday life."
This is exactly what was shared to the families attending the workshops when they were introduced to the concept of Computational Thinking.
To demonstrate what we meant, we broke off into groups to take turns trying out the 3 available activities. This allowed them a glimpse of how simple activities can help with learning. At the end of the workshops, each family was given a Junior CT Kit so they can continue the learning at home!
Kids trying out Robo-Tibby, one of the activities in our Junior CT Kit!
For further details, take a look at Coding Lab's blog where they went into extensive detail on the happenings at ECC 2019!
Editor's note: Thank you to our partners, IMDA and Coding Lab for coming down and helping us out at the event! We are also glad to be featured in Coding Lab's blog post regarding our activities at ECC 2019.