Get inside the mind of a computer in Computational Thinking
This three-part series demonstrates the importance of properly planning and designing computer programs and code using computational thinking. Ideal for middle school students, the series explores computational thinking using relatable real-world scenarios before applying it to a computing context.
How do computers think?
Introducing the concepts of abstraction, decomposition, algorithm design and pattern recognition, this video gets inside the ‘mind’ of a computer to understand why computational thinking this is a crucial first step to designing a successful program. Students and teachers of middle school digital technologies will find this an approachable foundation to computational thinking.
‘How do Computers Think?’ Worksheets
Production Year: 2019
Audience: Middle School
Subject: Information and Communications Technology
See more content in Computational Thinking
How do Computers Think? is one episode in our three-part series taking students through the steps of computational thinking. See more videos in the series below:
Designing Programs with Flowcharts
Even the most experienced programmers use simple visual models and techniques to plan an effective algorithmic solution. In this video, students are introduced to the IPO model and flowcharts as two such methods to abstract unnecessary information in a problem, decompose it into smaller tasks, a recognize patterns and repetition, and program a series of simple steps for a computer to follow.
Designing Programs with Pseudocode
Using the analogy problem of washing dirty dishes, this video explores the IPO model and pseudocode as tools to guide computational thinking. Students of middle school digital technologies will understand how using pseudocode can be an accessible preliminary step in the design process before attempting to write a program in their chosen syntax.
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