Resources from Computational Thinking Webinar Series

There are so many CT resources. Our list for the Computational Thinking Webinar Series, below, is focused on resources for those starting out thinking about CT. Some are for young children and some are good for all ages.

Old-fashioned Games

Computer Science Unplugged a website with activities to help with computational thinking and computer science concepts. No device needed; all ages, but many activities are better for 9 and up.
Robot Turtles a board game for ages 3-8.
Tangram – a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes ages 9 and up
Breakout EDU Kit ages 11 and up
Binary Search “unplugged” game by Sarah Hampton

Apps

LightBot ages 4+
The Foos by codeSpark Academy ages 4+
Daisy the Dinosaur ages 5-7
Zoombinis ages 8-13
Human Resource Machine ages 12+

Online Resources

ScratchJr free visual programming language for ages 5-7
PBS Family Design Journal online activities for home for ages 5-7 using ScratchJr with English and Spanish versions
Creative Coding Experiences by PBS Lesson plans for ages 5-8
Scratch free visual programming language for ages 7+
Scratch online resources for parents
Creative Computing an introductory computing curriculum
Kodable a free and for pay resource to teach coding ages 4-10
Digital Tangram Puzzle
Kinderlogo (CD-ROM for Windows and Mac for ages 5-8)
Thinking Myself Games online game for ages 5-12
Code.org many resources for learning to code; lesson plans and teacher resources as well as resources for parents. For young to adult. Tip: you may want to google code.org and Computational Thinking for CT resources.
A CIRCLEducators blog post with recommended tools for high school students
MIT App Inventor ages 11 and up
Hopscotch ages 7 and up
Barefoot coding ages 5 and up
Computational Thinking Toolkit from ISTE ages 5 and up
Zoombinis Research Study for Teachers for 3rd to 8th grade teachers

Books

Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom by Marina Umaschi Bers
Mindstorms by Seymour Papert

Readings

CIRCL Primer: Computational Thinking
Edutopia Blog post interview of Mitch Resnick (creator of Scratch)
Blog post on dispositions in CT
Why every child should learn to code
Zoombinis article
Computational Thinking – The original 2006 paper on Computational Thinking by Jeannette Wing
Computational Thinking and Thinking about Computing by Jeannette Wing
CT in K12: A review of the state of the field by Grover and Pea
Give Ps a chance: Projects, Peers, Passion, Play
Computational Literacy Article by Vee

Videos

Marina Bers TEDx Young programmers — think playgrounds, not playpens
Pair Programming a useful technique to help students Pair Programming ages 7 and up

Robots

Bee Bot ages 3-5
Kibo ages 4-7
Smart Gurlz ages 6-11
Sphero Educational Robot ages 12 and up
Dash & Dot and Cue ages 5-15
Puzzlets for Dash ages 4-7


Angie Kalthoff’s Resources for Part 2 of the Webinar Series

Professional Development

Learning Creative Learnings
K12 CS Framework
Literacy book choices
Barefoot Resources
CoderDojo community-based programming clubs

Lesson Plans

Digital Dream Labs Coding Rotation Station Guide
K12 CS Framework
Kodable Lesson Library
Wonder Workshop Station Curriculum Ideas

Twitter Chat Hashtags

#CASCHAT
#CodeEdu
#Coding
#CompSci
#CSforAll
#CSinAll
#CSk8
#DashandDot
#EthicalCS
#InfyEdChat
#KidsCode
#KidsCanCode
#LearnToCode
#mnitem
#PiChatUSA
#squirrelschat
#TynkerChat

Lesson Plan Resources

Happy Maps
Move it Move it
Pair Programming YouTube video
Robot Turtles
Puzzlets
Bloxels
My Robotic Friends
Building a Foundation