Using Picture Books to Support Computational Thinking

"Spring Branch ISD was growing a robust computational thinking cohort before the pandemic. Following safety guidelines made it challenging for teachers and students to continue engaging with hands-on tools that support algorithmic thinking. We missed providing these opportunities for students to learn practical skills and looked for something to replace it. Librarians collaborated with the Educational Technology department to combine two great things: Books and Computational Thinking! In this session, participants will review basics of computational thinking and will take away a list of books with multiple “unplugged” activities that support problem solving and thinking like a computer scientist. Most activities require few additional materials - many of which you probably already have. If you are a beginner, these activities are a great jumping off point to get started with computational thinking. For the more experienced, you will be able to add unplugged activities to your toolkit."