Computer Science mostly unplugged – 2nd grade

A 10 week course in Computer Science for 2nd graders both using a computer and not!

The truth is that computer science is not really about the computer. It is just a tool to help you see ideas more clearly. You can see the moon and stars without a telescope, smell the flowers without a fluoroscope, have fun without a funoscope, and be silly sans oscilloscope. Bueno, Carlos (2011-11-18). Lauren Ipsum.

Intro:For those of you who don’t know me I’m Deb, E and B’s mom.  I worked  with technology for 15 years.   I spent my time telling computer what to do.

Now that might sound odd, telling a computer what to do, but let me ask you who here thinks computers are smart?  Well they are not; they cannot do a single thing without a human being telling them what to do.  During the next 10 weeks we are going to learn a ton of things from the physical parts of the computer all the way to  programming .  I Think of this as an introduction to a new material just like blocks or paints that you will use to not just watch videos but make them not just play videogames but design them.  The first three weeks we are going to cover hardware

Week 1 Hardware – acting out parts of the computer
Week 2 Hardware – taking the computer apart
Week 3 Hardware – putting it back together
Week 4 and 5 – bee-bot and pro-bot
week 6 – pro-bot
Week 7 and 8 – scratch (intro)
Week 9 and 10 – scratch (all about me)