Mike Voll, Nick Pfeiffer, Olivia Hamm

TED-Ed Lesson

EDU 315-607

December 1, 2021

Computer Science

Have you ever used a computer to help you solve a problem? In this paper and the

attached TedEd lesson plan, we'll be talking about how computer science can help the students

succeed in the future. The history of computers goes way back. The first tool invented was called

the abacus which was a wooden rack containing rows of beads. Then came the mechanical

calculator which contained moving parts, gears, and used to add and subtract. The next big

stepping stone in creating computers occurred in the 19th century when a man named Charles

Babbage created a calculated engine that would be able to compute tables of numbers (WebFX,

2021). Each year the computer has increased in technology and to this day, is still improving.

This is related to school because teaching computer science is about giving students the thinking

skills that will help them become proactive learners and citizens. The most important part of the

computer experience is its ability to encourage and support creative expression and problem

solving. The main focus of this paper and TedEd lesson, is to give the basic overview of what

computer science is, its history, and how it is relevant today.

Computer science is an important element that strengthens existing education models and

prepares students for the future. The benefits of computer science education go beyond

computing; it has been shown to increase rates of college enrollment and improve problem

solving abilities. According to Vegas and Fowler (2020), “CS [Computer science] education

promises to significantly enhance student preparedness for the future of work and active
citizenship”. More universities and other institutions are recognizing how important computer

science education is, so students benefit from their knowledge and skills when applying to

schools and jobs. Computer science encourages higher level thinking. Such as computational

thinking, sequential thinking, and curiosity. Computational thinking creates a direct link between

the computing required to code and the computing that takes place in science and math courses.

Sequential thinking relates the ability to order events in a text to the chronological sequencing

that occurs when writing different codes. Curiosity, of course, is important because it encourages

students to question why and how something works in order to put it into a meaningful context.

(Hayden, 2016) There are however trade-offs or negative implications as well. For instance, not

all schools have the funding to offer computer science education to all students, if any at all. In

addition to this, not all teachers are properly educated to teach computer science education even

if they wanted to. There are also parents and educators who wonder if this will result in the

students having too much screen time, which is already a problem that children today tend to

face. Many parents may wonder what the significance to teaching computer science is and why it

is being taught over topics such as universal skills. In addition to this, parents as well as students

may find this to be even more irrelevant if the students don’t have an interest in becoming

computer programmers. While these trade-offs are relevant and important to consider, once

students start participating in computer science education, they will realize how it relates to their

other courses and the world around them. Most recently, with COVID-19, computer science has

been much more relevant in people’s lives. For example, people have become more aware and

have used apps that were created and used during the pandemic. Specifically, apps that deliver

important information, such as COVID-19 symptom trackers, restaurants and grocery that offer

curbside service, and locations for peaceful demonstrations (Valenzuela, 2020). Teachers can use
these examples to teach their students how apps are created and used in order to share important

information with other people.

While preparing this TedEd lesson, there are a few things that we learned from our

research that we think have some implications for further discussion and some recommendations

for addressing this topic. Firstly, after doing our research, we have some ideas for addressing

problems this topic brings up but also some ideas for how to use this topic to create more interest

and further enhance the education experience. If we are to teach about computer science and the

ways in which computers can be helpful tools in our society, we also need to teach and raise

awareness about the dangers of computers and the internet so students know how to be safe

online and keep their data secure. This can open up discussion about what all computers are

capable of and how to ensure that our personal information stays safe. However, students should

not be afraid of computers. Fear of computers comes from misunderstanding them and how they

function. With increased education about them, students can learn how they can be useful tools

and how to safely use these tools. Secondly, after looking over articles and doing some research,

there are a few things that we think need to be researched more to provide more clarity and

understanding. Questions like: how much of our daily lives should computers be a part of? Or

how are computers and their potential being regulated for the safety and security of their users?

Finally, because we are talking about students and young learners, how much should students

and developing minds in general be exposed to or use these tools before they become detrimental

to their development and wellbeing? These questions still need to be researched further before

we fully understand the impact of computers and their science in our lives.

Here is an overview of the TedEd lesson we developed to teach young students about

computer science. The video we will use provides the basis and fundamental information for
the lesson. In this lesson, students will learn about the basics of computer science; what it is, its

relevance for today, and its possible implications for the future. They will learn that tools like

computers have actually been around much longer than you may think. The lesson will discuss

things like safety and data and will end by looking towards the future and how we can use or

want to use computers to help us learn, adapt, and explore our world and possibly beyond. As

part of the lesson, there are three discussion questions. First, students will talk among themselves

about which of them has a computer, or knows where they have access to one. Second, they will

discuss all the things that they think computers can do. Thirdly, they will be asked to come up

with some things that computers can not do. The next part of the lesson will give the students a

chance to look at some other resources that expound on the topic of computer science. This

website gives facts and more resources about specific topics related to computer science.

Students can explore and learn more about topics like tasks that computers can do, languages

computers speak, and all the different parts of computer science. On this fun website, students

can create their own games and learn the basics behind computer language, coding, and

programming on their own. Students can create games and animate characters while they learn

the basics of how to "speak" computer language. And using this resource, students can learn

computer skills and can follow their interests exploring parts of computers and how they work.

Enhancing computer skills not only grows their knowledge of how they work but can help

students become more efficient users of computers. After this, students will participate in a

whole group discussion to dig deeper into the topic of computer science. They will discuss how

computers have helped make our lives easier or better. They can think about all aspects of life

from their phones, to calculators, to laptops, applications, driving, shopping etc. Another way to

discuss this question would be to ask the students to think about their daily routines then count
how often computers are part of their routines. The second question students will discuss is what

might be some bad things or down sides to computers and their ever-growing use today. Students

should think about topics like privacy, data, regulations, and whether data that is uploaded can

actually be deleted. Then, as the final part of the lesson, we will draw some conclusions about

computer science. We know that computer science is an ever growing field with an interesting

history. It permeates every part of our lives whether we want them to or not. There are vast

possibilities where computer science can be used. The fact that computers will be a central part

of our lives in the future and if that makes us feel a certain way about them. Finally, computers

are constantly helping us to explain, explore, and discover new things every day.

References

Computer science facts for kids. wikt:abstract. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://kids.kiddle.co/Computer_science.

Computer Skills for Kids. Maryville Online. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
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systems/computer-skills-kids/.

Hayden, E. (2016, December 1). Coding for kids: The benefits of starting computer science
education young. Coding for Kids: The Benefits of Starting Computer Science Education
Young | Rasmussen University. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
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Monterosa, V. (2020, October 14). Linking literacy and Computer Science in elementary
school. Edutopia. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
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school.

Valenzuela, J. (2020, September 9). 3 ways to integrate computer science in other classes.
Edutopia. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-
integrate-computer-science-other-classes.

Vegas, E., & Fowler, B. (2020, August 4). What do we know about the expansion of K-12
Computer Science Education? Brookings. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-do-we-know-about-the-expansion-of-k-12-
computer-science-education/.

What is computer science? TED. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from

15, W. C. on J. (2021, August 4). The history of the internet in a nutshell: From 1960s to
now. WebFX Blog. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-
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