Coding at school with Free Software A. Formiconi

In recent years, digital technologies have been promoted as necessary skills for all citizens. Educational stakeholders have been focusing mainly on concepts such as computational thinking, algorithmic thought, robotics. Coding is the activity underlying all these domains. Coding initiatives have been carried out by educational agencies of most governments.

The achievement of skills for employing coding practices in meaningful pedagogical ways is a complex goal. The extremely fast technology pace and the intrinsic slowness of further training of very large numbers of teachers make the task of adequately educating new generations a tough challenge.

This course is about the use of a pedagogical sound programming language and free software tools for the reinforcement and complement of other disciplines: primarily math but arts and grammar as well. Both theoretical insights and practical examples are provided about first programming experiences, math elaborations, simulation of animal behavior, growth and fractals, physics problem-solving. The course addresses a very large range of users, from primary school to higher education level. Nevertheless, the course emphasizes the common thread connecting different levels of discussion.