1. Computer science education for elementary school students: Curriculum development and implementation Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai Sridhar Iyer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Bombay. His research interests include: eLearning technologies, networking protocols and multimedia tools for distance education, wireless networking and applications. He can be reached at sri@iitb.ac.insri@iitb.ac.in Farida Umrani is a post-doc fellow at Department of Computer science and engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She can be reached at farida@it.iitb.ac.in farida@it.iitb.ac.in Malathy Baru is a project manager at the Computer science and engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She can be reached at malati@it.iitb.ac.inmalati@it.iitb.ac.in Computer education provides unique opportunity for boosting natural ways of learning. Integration of ICT into the school curriculum is instrumental in developing a culture of thinking, lifelong learning and social responsibility. However, less than 10 % of all the schools have a computer. Contact Details Introduction Objective: Develop Computer Fluency % of schools having computers in urban areas % of schools having computers in rural areas Source: Mehta, A. (2005). Elementary education in rural/urban areas: Analytic tables. Where do we stand? Research gap Curriculum For each standard, syllabus is defined by: i. giving the topics that should be taught (“what”). ii. the reasons for doing so (“why”). iii. a plan (“how”). Three aspects addressed : Concepts: Learning computer science concepts that are generally useful in many areas as well as some concepts that are specific to computer usage/functioning. Usage Skills: Developing hands-on skill in the use of various hardware/software and programming packages/languages. Social Aspects: Understanding ethical and security related issues of computer and Internet usage.  Spiral organization of the curriculum.  Detailed syllabus available online.  Download curriculum from: http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~sri/ssrvm/ Actions Taken 1.Developed curriculum for elementary & middle school. 2. Teaching material: a)Prepared teacher’s handbook for levels I –IV. b) Textbook – Computer Masti - for Level I – printed. 3. Pilot test in one school (July, 07 – April, 08) – to assess impact of the curriculum and teaching material. Teaching Material FOSS used : Edubuntu operating system and Open source educational games. Creative commons license. Team comprised people from varied disciplines. Link to download Book I: http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~sri/ssrvm/Computer-Masti-Book- 1.pdf Field Survey Field work for 10 months. Participants of study – 105 students of class 1 -5 - divided into mixed-sex groups of five to eight students. One session per week of 30 minutes for each class, 4 laptops provided hands-on experience to students. Students were taught basic computer skills, ergonomic/ safety values, applications such as paint, word processor, media player. Exercises in algorithmic thinking and logical reasoning through computer based and paper-pencil activities. Class III and IV - Scratch - a tile-based visual programming with intuitive user interfaces - was taught. Sample content from Computer Masti Moz, the teacher Illustration of what activities can be done on computer Worksheet sample: Search for computer parts Structure of each lesson Absence of clearly defined computer science curriculum, inappropriate teaching resources computers may be used only as entertainment devices algorithmic thinking, organisation skills. programming skills important life skills Clearly defined computer science curriculum, appropriate teaching resources COMPUTER FLUENCY Computer ethics, health & safety - share resources, exercises to prevent computer use hazards, Internet safety. Computer skills - skills that are currently essential, e.g. basic OS features, Internet. BEHAVIOURAL AFFECTIVE Computer science fundamentals - how/why applications work, programming, modeling, abstraction, ability to navigate information structures and limits of IT. General mental capacitates - algorithmic thinking, abstract reasoning, organization and problem solving skills, information handling (what-if analysis, know-why, know-how), collaboration COGNITIVE appreciate and enjoy the process of enquiry, learn to learn positive attitude towards computers/Internet, information process Less than 55-10 10-2020-4040-60 ` Field Insights Elementary school students are avid learners and explore the various computer applications with minimal assistance. Computer-based activities interest the students and can be used for developing skills in other subjects. Collaborative learning enabled students to proactively explore various applications. No gender differences are observed in computer proficiency and usage, likely reason - controlled exposure in the school setting ensures equal opportunity to use the technology. Confidence of teacher with the technology has a positive impact on confidence of students. Plans for Further work Students with their CS Projects Rural/ adult adaptation for Information Literacy. Multilingual content – translation in vernacular languages. Lesson Content Rural-Urban Digital Divide