Early last week, a former colleague posted this cartoon on social media. It struck me because there had always been discussions on what should be included in a computer science curriculum and how the curriculum content could associate with projects students were doing from other classes, but I had never seen an opinion that seemed to diminish the impact of learning to code.
This week’s first reading by diSessa made me think of this post. From the potentially infrastructural nature of computational literacy to the capacity to enhance the capabilities of the mind through the use of external materials (in this case, a computer, programming languages). It seemed to give a counter-argument to my colleague’s post - or potentially those ideas were exaggerated in my mind because I was slightly irritated with the cartoon.
While it was inspirational to read the social aspect (a la Kafai) and overall importance of computational literacy there seemed to be a heavy importance placed on programming and the specific use of a computer in order to achieve the intellectual capabilities or computational thinking skills noted by diSessa. Yes, the author does note on page 23 that it was important to specify the technology/material used - especially to differentiate between types of literacy. However, for me there is still a separation between computational thinking skills and computational literacy. Sure, in order to achieve computational literacy you will need significant computational thinking skills, but I believe you can achieve most, if not all, computational thinking skills described by Grover and Pea without using programming languages or even a computer.
In the same way that artificial intelligence researchers are using computer science tools in order to move closer to an end goal of creating a machine that can think and reason as a human, I see computational thinking as developing a logical framework in which a human calculates or develops algorithms influenced by how a computer receives, manipulates and outputs data and information.
The cartoon, and your post made me think of an ongoing discussion in my Math Literacies class. The question on the table is whether or not being mathematical literate includes using math to better the world or your place in it. In fact, one author we read, exhorts that mathematical literacy is only achieved when it allows a student (in this case a marginalized, impoverished student) to change their status in the world. Now having thought about this in math, it's a piece that appears to be missing from the CT and CL literature we've read.
ReplyDeleteAs it seems to you, it seems clear that computational skills are critical to future agency of individuals. But I wonder if there's a larger purpose or if there should be? Why do we think CT and CL are so important? Is it because it will advance our prosperity as suggested by the cartoon? Is it because we'll get left behind the forefront of society if we don't learn CT (as suggested by Vee)? Or is it something bigger or different and more community based?