Why are Computational Thinking Skills Important?

I encourage my students to use technology to enhance their problem-solving skills to find innovative solutions to real-world problems when we do inquiry based work. Students choose their own project topic about an issue that matters to them and they do their own research and come up with steps towards fixing it in their reflections they write. I encourage students to think beyond what is, to what could be by giving students technology to have freedom in the classroom to explore their interests and choose their own path. I simply provide a platform for them to do it and model it. From there, students use my scaffolding and modeling to do their own innovative problem solving work in the ELA classroom.

I encourage my students to use technology to enhance their problem-solving skills to find innovative solutions to real-world problems when we do inquiry based work. Students choose their own project topic about an issue that matters to them and they do their own research and come up with steps towards fixing it in their reflections they write. I encourage students to think beyond what is, to what could be by giving students technology to have freedom in the classroom to explore their interests and choose their own path. I simply provide a platform for them to do it and model it. From there, students use my scaffolding and modeling to do their own innovative problem solving work in the ELA classroom.

So, many things we do involve technology. Knowing how to navigate it is an important thing.
In middle school, we are helping kids to do simple things like email and saving a document to the cloud. These are some of the first steps. Sure they can remember a 24-digit hacker code for a video game, but can not remember the password for their email or to open a document through the cloud so it doesn't get lost. Therefore, helping them understand and want to explore problem-solving is the task at hand in our district. Things like research basics for credible sources, and how and when to restart your computer for critical updates. They give up so easily. They will say it isn't working. They have no idea how to problem solve for whatever is wrong. Twenty years ago, I feel we looked at our notes, asked other students, and tried with trial and error to figure things out. Today, they just say it isn't working. So, the internet can be great for finding solutions, but many of our students have lost the ability to know how to use it effectively, like going back and learning from previous work or cross references. So, we are working on the basics in order to help prepare them to find solutions to bigger problems such as world hunger. Without the basics, they will be unable to do the bigger things.

Devices are so capable and handy to be able to solve problems easier than ever now. Educating students in the basics of CT will prepare them for solving real-world problems more efficiently, such as how to manage global food supply by recording data of supply, availability, season and locations.

Technology is here to stay, and only going to get bigger and better.  I was shocked when I saw the slide: 2050 = $1000 Computer = processing power of all human brains on Earth.  I think we see this already happening with Chatgpt.  I have noticed that since COVID, students have had a harder time with Problem-Solving skills.  They want instant gratification.  I also see some that have had Creativity and Communication Skills lagging behind because they only play video games at home.  They don't play with real toys or talk and play with other kids face-to-face.  Technology is a wonderful invention, but our kids today also need old-school playdates, toys, and fun!

Teachers can encourage students to think beyond what is obvious and develop the skills necessary to solve complex problems using technology in many ways.  Teachers can teach students to think abstractly, identify patterns and generalize solutions to different scenarios.  Teachers can encourage students to think creatively by giving them open-ended problems that have multiple solutions.  Teachers can create opportunities for students to work in teams and collaborate with peers to find creative solutions. Teachers can encourage students to explore and investigate problems independently, guiding them to develop their critical thinking skills. Teachers can use real-world examples to demonstrate the practical applications of computational thinking. By showing how technology has been used to solve real-world problems, students can be inspired to think beyond what is obvious.  Lastly, teachers can provide opportunities for students to reflect on their problem-solving strategies and to identify ways to improve their computational thinking skills.

In my GT class, we talk a lot about creative thinking and innovation.  We talk about innovation as a way to take something that already exists, but change it to make it better.  We often use the SCAMPER method to take ordinary objects (paper clips or cereal for example) and try to add something, substitute something, change the size or shape of something, to create something new.  Incorporating technology, and asking students to think of ways technology could be used with an object to make it better, could be an important step to add to our process.  Technology is everywhere and it is important for kids to realize that using technology can help improve lives, and that they are the ones who can create the programs to do so.  

The world is far more interconnected than it ever was before and will only continue to advance.  With the the masses of the population being able to access information and communicate across the globe, using nothing but the cell phone in their pocket, advancements are happening at an extremely fast pace.  The students do not understand the importance of communication, they are missing out on working with a population that they may not know even exists.  This communicating can start small, inside their own school, and progress as they get more comfortable with receiving and giving feedback.   The ability to think of the future or as the video stated, "What could be", is also going to be vitally important.   Understanding that big idea thinking is the path to the next great innovation.   Students are many times bogged down by the limitations that they see in front of them.  By teaching and implementing computational thinking into their daily lives is the only way to break down the barriers that they see in front of them.