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Computational thinking is a phrase that has received considerable attention over the past several years - but there is little agreement about what computational thinking encompasses, and even less agreement about strategies for assessing the development of computational thinking in young people. We are interested in the ways that design-based learning activities - in particular, programming interactive media - support the development of computational thinking in young people. Over the past several years, we have developed a computational thinking framework that emerged from our studies of the activities of interactive media designers. Our context is Scratch - a programming environment that enables young people to create their own interactive stories, games, and simulations, and then share those creations in an online community with other young programmers from around the world. The first part of the paper describes the key dimensions of our computational thinking framework: computational concepts (the concepts designers engage with as they program, such as iteration, parallelism, etc.), computational practices (the practices designers develop as they engage with the concepts, such as debugging projects or remixing others' work), and computational perspectives (the perspectives designers form about the world around them and about themselves). The second part of the paper describes our evolving approach to assessing these dimensions, including project portfolio analysis, artifact-based interviews, and design scenarios. We end with a set of suggestions for assessing the learning that takes place when young people engage in programming.

"Economically disadvantaged students, who often use the computer for remediation and basic skills, learn to do what the computer tells them, while more affluent students, who use it to learn programming and tool applications, learn to tell the computer what to do. Those who cannot claim computers as their own tool for exploring the world never grasp the power of technology...They are controlled by technology as adults--just as drill-and-practice routines controlled them as students."Source: Toward Digital Equity: Bridging the Divide in Education

"The Computer History Museum offers many online exhibits on a variety of topics related to the history of computing. Some online exhibits like Visible Storage and Mastering the Game complement physical exhibits you can also experience when you visit the Museum in person. Other online exhibits are available only through the Internet and extend the reach of the Museum to virtual visitors around the world."

Fascinating read: There is a war coming: Cory Doctorow on the future regulation of general purpose computation - video http://t.co/kSaGMef4

The battle against copyright is only the beginning... the war will be over how much we understand and care about computers themselves and the kinds of "spyware" they run to lock us out of our own property... (I'm looking at you iPad)

"While there's no doubt that information technology can have its downsides for our day-to-day behaviour, there is very little evidence that computers are damaging our brains - any more than writing made us more forgetful. In fact, computers might just make us a bit smarter."

Database of lessons for teaching computational thinking in a variety of areas of the curriculum across age groups.

Randomly interesting - the origins of computer symbols we are all familiar with today.

"Computer Gamers Help Push Frontier Of Brain Research"

" Time is always scarce, yet more things are coming our way.  Would I be comfortable that schools produced a student did not know cursive but could effectively communicate using a computer or mobile device? Probably. Would I be comfortable if a student knew cursive but had no idea how to communicate over a computer? Nope.  Would I prefer they could do both? Absolutely."

ISTE has helped transform teacher preparation programs through its standards to integrate technology into learning, teaching, and leading. The refreshed standards-Technology Coach, Technology Director, and Computer Science Educator-are pending NCATE approval. These build on the original Technology Facilitator, Technology Leader, and Secondary Computer Science Educator standards.

Australian parenting site makes recommendations about preschool computer use

"We all know that we can share via iTunes over USB to any Mac/PC with a recent version of iTunes. Well would you believe the same thing works without a cable and it doesn't have to be the Mac/PC that manages the devices. It means that any teacher can access all the students files on a device that has been "Saved to iTunes".  You can even pick up the work, mark it and hand it back to the iPad whilst the iPad is still being used by the kids (unbeknown to the user!). As consumers we can sync over wifi and share files via iTunes. You can do this with a class set of iPads by attaching each device once to the teacher's computer and checking the "sync over wifi" option and "enable". Don't sync -just unplug each device. Provided you are on the same network, you can then open and close files on the class set from your computer."

"Sugar is a learning platform that reinvents how computers are used for education. Collaboration, reflection, and discovery are integrated directly into the user interface. Sugar promotes "studio thinking" and "reflective practice". Through Sugar's clarity of design, children and teachers have the opportunity to use computers on their own terms. Students can reshape, reinvent, and reapply both software and content into powerful learning activities. Sugar's focus on sharing, criticism, and exploration is grounded in the culture of free software (FLOSS)."

Interesting vision for the next 10 years

It is predicted that by the end of this year, female gamers will outnumber men for the first time. However computer games are also increasingly being seen as a way for older people to keep mentally active.

As mathematics educators at all levels consider effective implementation and instruction related to state or Common Core standards, a frequently asked question is, "What does it mean to be fluent in mathematics?" The answer, more often than not, is, "Fast and accurate." Building fluency should involve more than speed and accuracy. It must reach beyond procedures and computation.

With more schools opting for 1:1 student-to-iPad access, there exists a tremendous opportunity for a transformative shift in classrooms where students are empowered to navigate their own learning. While we've witnessed many effective approaches to incorporating iPads successfully in the classroom, we're struck by the common mistakes many schools are making with iPads, mistakes that are in some cases crippling the success of these initiatives. We're sharing these common challenges with you, so your school doesn't have to make them. 1) Focusing on content apps 2) Lack of Teacher Preparation in Classroom Management of iPads 3) Treating the iPad as a computer and expecting it to serve as a laptop. 4) Treating iPads like multi-user devices 5) Failure to communicate a compelling answer to "Why iPads?"

increases a child's memory capacity, computer and simulation fluency, helps with fast strategic thinking, hand eye coordination, benefits children with attention disorders, helps particular skill development