Careers with Code Teacher Resource

Careers with Code Teacher Resource Code Careers

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Game-changing jobs of tomorrow

We’re excited to share this unplugged Computational Thinking activity guide as a supplementary resource to the US version of Careers with Code (www.careerswithcode.com). This activity is intended to take one hour to complete and is targeted for high school students.

The purpose of this is to provide a simple curriculum for using Careers with Code in the classroom, with a specific focus on: 1) Introducing concepts around Computational Thinking 2) Prompting brainstorms that utilize Computational Thinking to solve real-world problems Feedback on this activity and Careers with Code is welcomed: www.careerswithcode.com/feedback

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Careers with Code One Hour Curriculum Computational Thinking (20 min) Warm Up (5 min) 1. Educator introduces concepts and vocabulary – vocabulary is written on the board **Optional: Educator circulates a piece of paper with the vocabulary definitions and examples. Educator goes through the vocabulary words and definitions with the larger group. Then students match the vocabulary words with the examples as a check for understanding.

Programmer: A programmer’s job is to write sets of instructions for a computer to follow in order to perform a particular job.

Use: • Problem Decomposition – Breaking down a problem into smaller pieces Example: When you solve a math problem you’re always asked to “show your work”, which is a way to show how you’ve taken a large problem and broken it up into meaningful steps to solve it.

• Algorithms – List of steps you follow to complete a task Example: Google Maps gives you a list of steps to get from point A to point B, e.g. Turn right at Maple St. • Abstraction – Extract specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems Example: A tennis ball, a baseball and a basketball are all technically balls. However, all of the balls are used to play different games and are different sizes, colors, etc.

• Automation – Determine how to use a computer to efficiently solve problems Example: Once you learn how to ride a bike, it becomes second nature.

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Activity: Solve the problem (10 min) 1. Students read “What is computational thinking” on page 15 of Careers with Code. (1 min) 2. Students are asked to think about how Google Maps work (they can even look at the app on their phones, if they have it). (1 min) 3. Students are asked to write out the process of getting from their home to school, thinking about it from a CS perspective. (8 min) Use: • Problem Decomposition – What are the basic parts involved in getting from home to school? (You’ll get to the details when you write out the algorithm so think big picture and define what the basic parts are.)

• Algorithms – Write out a step-by-step list to get from home to school. (Think about the details, e.g. street names, left vs. right turns, methods of transportation, etc.)

• Abstraction – There are many ways to get to school. Consider at least 1–2 alternate routes.

• Automation – If you are a software engineer at Google working on Google Maps, you’d want to add these routes into the Google Maps app. Do you want all routes to be available? Or just the fastest route?

How can you make this process the most efficient?

Share out (5 min) 1. Ask 1–2 individuals to read out their process.

Take-away: There are many ways to solve a problem, but some ways are more efficient than others. It’s the same with coding. Algorithms can be written efficiently or can be a bit more complicated, but they might accomplish the same things. Good programmers are always looking for ways to make their code more efficient (cutting down the number of steps to solve the problem).

Notes:

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Careers involving Computer Science (40 min) Pre-Work for Educator 1. Divide your class into one of six groups listed below, in any way that works for you and your class.

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Have students choose a group ahead of time based on personal interest.

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Create the groups at random with even distribution.

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Have students choose their groups at the beginning of class.

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Other

Groups (Careers with Code categories are all listed on page 5) 1. CS + Art (page 22) 2. CS + Social Justice (page 25) 3. CS + Business (page 28) 4. CS + Accessibility (page 30) 5. CS + Sports (page 32) 6. CS + Health and Sustainability (page 34)

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Activity (40 min) Note to Educators: Choose Activity A or Activity B. Think about your group of students and what will work best for them. If your group of students are new to these concepts and/or work well with more direction, consider Activity A. If your students work well in groups and do well with open-ended activities, consider Activity B. Materials: markers, butcher paper, tape

Activity A – Working backwards – deep dive into the creation of an app Each group takes 5 min to read through their career section. (Career topics and page numbers are listed below.)

CS + Art – Read “Silicon Seamstress” (page 23) CS + Social Justice – Read “Coding for Good” (page 25) CS + Business – Read “Make your Mark” (page 28) CS + Accessibility – Read “Access for All” (page 30) CS + Sports – Read “Bring your A Game” (page 32) CS + Health and Sustainability – Read “Code the Planet” (page 34)

Think about the main story in your section and answer the following questions (20 min): 1. What big problem was the creator trying to solve?

2. What sparked her/his interest in the issue?

3. How did they break this problem down?

4. What type of technologies did they utilize? Coding, apps, social media, virtual reality, networking systems to connect with others, etc.

5. What is the outcome?

Each group should be prepared to share out (15 min total – 2 min per group, with wiggle room).

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Activity B – Solving with Technology Each group takes 5 min to read through their career section. (Career topics and page numbers are listed below).

As a group (20 min): Think about your area of focus and identify a problem or a gap. **Optional: Give a specific area for your groups to focus on to help start the thinking process.

CS + Art – Combine design (art, clothing, crafts, etc.) with an app. (page 23) CS + Business – Create a plan for providing every school-age student in your town or city with a laptop. (page 28) Social Justice – How can we help communities in areas with long-term food shortages? (page 25) CS + Sports – What type of technology can encourage youth to sustain a more active lifestyle? (page 32) Accessibility – How can we help those who are blind experience virtual reality technology? (page 30) CS + Health and Sustainability – How can an app help stop the spread of infectious diseases? (page 34)

How would you solve this problem or fill in this gap using technology?

rite a project proposal, draw out designs or processes, and be prepared to share (15 min total – W 2 min per group, with wiggle room).

Notes:

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