Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
}
TY - GEN
T1 - .NET Gadgeteer: A new platform for K-12 computer science education
AU - Hodges, S.
AU - Scott, J.
AU - Sentance, S.
AU - Miller, Colin
AU - Villar, N.
AU - Schwiderski-Grosche, S.
AU - Hammil, K.
AU - Johnston, S.
PY - 2013/3/6
Y1 - 2013/3/6
N2 - In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system's behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences. Copyright © 2013 ACM.
AB - In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system's behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences. Copyright © 2013 ACM.
KW - K-12 computer science education
KW - Microsoft NET Gadgeteer
KW - Modular hardware
KW - Prototyping platform
KW - Tactile learning
KW - Teaching
KW - Computer Science Education
KW - MicroSoft
KW - Equipment
U2 - 10.1145/2445196.2445315
DO - 10.1145/2445196.2445315
M3 - Conference contribution/Paper
SP - 391
EP - 396
BT - SIGCSE '13: Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
PB - ACM
ER -