Coding wp2-comparative study-mk

Coding wp2-comparative study-mk

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  ” Teaching Method andFlexible Tools COMPARATIVE STUDY MACEDONIA This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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  ” COMPARATIVE STUDIES 1.2 Generaldescription of “computational thinking and coding” Computer programming is the process of developing and implementing various sets of instructions to enable a computer to perform a certain task, solve problems and provide human interactivity. These instructions (source codes which are written in a programming language) are considered computer programs and help the computer to operate smoothly. Coding on a technical level is a type of computer programming that closely or exactly represents what happens at the lowest (machine) level. However, when most people talk about coding, they usually mean something at a higher, more human-readable level which could be anything from problem-orientated languages like Java, C++ or PHP. Often computer programming (when referring to software) and coding are used interchangeably and refer to more or less the same activities of writing the instructions (recipe) for the computer to perform a specific task following a logic. However, based on the definitions above, coding can also be seen as a specific sub-task of software computer programming which arranges the implementation of the algorithm in the target programming language. Programming/ computational thinking: “to be able to define a set of instructions to reach a given goal from a given starting point; to be able to write a concrete set of instructions for a computer to let the computer run a certain task.” (Belgium Flanders). Programming: “The ability to realise an algorithm in a computer programming language, that is to interpret the steps of the algorithm as instructions in a programming language, as a computer programme, to compile, run and debug the programme, as well as to identify and reuse common design patterns.”
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  ” 1.2 Application ofcoding in the educational system of the involved countries Each school has to develop the description of the current situation in its country: Basic information Please write here thepriorities forteachersand studentstraining, and otherrelevant policies in yourcountry/region aboutICT/informatics in generaland codingand computational thinking specifically thatyou as expertconsiderusefulto includein this research. We identified priorities and objectivesto be achieved in accordanceto the decisionsthatthe SchoolBoard of teachershas reached,taking into consideration teacher'sneedsand thedecisionsthatthe European Union hastaken in the last yearsin the field of the educationalprocess. We put a special emphasizeto establishing a solid frameworkfor European cooperation in ICTeducation and training,based on common objectiveswiththe basic aimto encourage innovativeideas of pupils and teachersand improvethe educationalsystemthrough various computertrainings,developing complementary instruments at European level and adopting itat the sametime to ournational curriculum.Having into consideration theprojectof the Macedonian Governmentfora computerforevery child, we recognized thefirst element of priority in the digital aspectwith specialemphasizeto the field of using computertechnology in learning foreign languagesat schooland choseour partnersaccording to the samepriorities. The
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  ” second element ofpriority wasbased on therecognition of the importanceof cooperation among European schoolswhich leadsto significantresultsin supporting of Nationalreforms,regarding the developmentof common European ICTtoolswhich will be able to promotethequality and promoting open educationalprocessready to adoptto the newchallengesof ournew,digital society,improving competencesof bothteachersand pupilsin a long termlearning perspective.The third priority wasto strengthen theprofile of the teaching profession in orderto promotedemocraticvalues,social cohesion,activecitizenship and integration of new modern approaches and practices,reinforcing transitionsbetween formaland non formal education,training and ICTcompetencesof young people,ensuring a better recognition of the gained competences. PORTALOF PRIMARY ANDSECONDARYSCHOOLSThis educational portal linksthe teachersandthe studentsfromall primaryand secondaryschoolsina virtual workingenvironment.The education portal wouldprovide on-lineresourcesforthe school directors, teachersandthe studentsandwouldenable themtoeasilyshare their experiencesandpractices.The educationportal will markthe beginningof anewqualityof the educationsystem inMacedonia,thus bringingitclosertothe moderneducationtrendsandpracticesinthe world. COMENIUS LOGO ANDTOOLKID IN PRIMARY SCHOOLSBecause of the
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  ” lack of educationalsoftware inMacedonianandAlbanianlanguage, the e-School.mkprojectidentifiedToolKidsoftwarerepresentsa comprehensive educationalresource centerandresearchtool forthe needsof all primaryschool studentsfromgradesIto IV.Thissoftware representsthe startingpointforthe future developmentof similar software bylocal capacities.One of the maine-School project activitieswastranslation,localization,andadaptationof the software package titledìToolKIDî,basedonComeniusLogo,foruse byK-4 children.Thiseducational software,togetherwithfourmanualswas donatedto100 primaryschoolsthroughoutMacedonia.Besides,a large numberof teacherspassedthe trainingforusingthissoftware. Thisprocesscontinues.[2] Figure 5:The entryscreenof ToolKidThe ToolKideducationalsoftware couldbe useful inall subjectsof K-4 education(mothertongue,mathematics,nature andsociety,society, art educationandmusiceducation).Itorganizationissuchthatenable studentstoacquire firminformaticsliteracyandculture.The primary educationisthe rightplace where the studentsneedtoobtainbasic informaticsknowledge.The curriculumneedstofollowthe informatics knowledge trendsandtobe redesignedincompliance withthem. In thispackage are includedprogramsprovide all activities implementedinnational school curriculumforworkingwith computersinprimaryschool.The software programsincludedin package are classifiedin7maingroups:Educational games,Drawing
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  ” Programs,TextPrograms,SoundPrograms,AnimationandVideo, MultimediaPrograms,AlgorithmicandProgramming.The resources createdwithone program,like backgrounds,animation,images; soundscan be usedinother innative andeasywayby children.Itis importantandcreative forthemwhentheyare goingto work on it. The current state inthe informaticseducationof inMacedoniadoes not correspondwiththe objectivesMacedoniansocietyhas.Inthe time whenall governmenteffortsleadstothe buildingof information society,the numberof classesforthe subjectinformaticsislowest comparingwithanyothersubject.Inparticular,underthe current curriculum,the informaticsistaughtwith2 classesperweekinthe 6th grade and 1 classper weekinthe 7 grade of primaryschool and between2and 6 classesinall for yearsof secondaryschool .In 2010/11 the Ministerof Educationbroughtamendmentstothe curriculumof the eightyearsprimaryeducation.Bythisdecision,the newsubjectProgramming wasaddedtothe listof electivesubjectsin VIIand VIIIgrade with2 classesperweek,i.e.72 classesperyear.This supplementisessential forthe educationininformatics,because pupilsinprimaryeducationwillbe introducedtothe basicsof programming,asone of the mostimportantparts incomputer sciences.Moreover,thissubjectwillstimulate the algorithmicthinking of students,asa creative componentthatsuccessfulexpertspossess. Additionally,thiswayof thinkingandreasoningshouldbe encouraged
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  ” at a youngerage,sotheefforts are towards the inclusionof programmingearlierasanobligatorysubjectaswell asthe inclusionof elementsof logical algorithmicthinkinginthe lowergrades.According to the newcurriculumforthe nine-yearprimaryeducation,elective subjectsininformaticsare offeredfromthirdgrade. The subject“Work withcomputer”isa facultative forthe pupilsinIIIgrade andelective in IV or V grade.In the last three yearsof primaryschool pupilshave the opportunitytoelecttwosubjectsrelatedtoinformaticsandcomputer sciences,ProjectinInformaticsandProgramming. Inthe Secondary schools, the contentforthe mandatorysubjectInformaticsinthe first yearand the mandatorysubjectInformaticsandelectivesubject InformationTechnologyinthe secondyearof studieswasratherthe same as the contentof subjectsinprimaryeducationandonly involvedteachingcomputerapplicationsforwordprocessing,work withspreadsheets,basicgraphicsandpresentations.Becausechanging the curriculumismuch more complex process,the firststepwas directedinmodificationof the contentof these subjects,incorporating topicsfromotherareas of computerscience.Aftermodifications,one half of the newcurriculuminthe firstyearismostlyconcentratedon deepeningthe knowledge gainedinprimaryschool aboutoffice applicationsandInternet.The secondhalf introducesprogramming(in C++). Since the programmingisthe hardestpart and mostof the studentsare introducedtoitfor the firsttime,itisdividedintwo
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  ” parts,one inthe firstsemesterandtheotherinthe secondsemester. Topicsthat are treatedinthe firstyearare: Hardware (6 classes), Software (6classes),Programfortextprocessing(6classes) , ProgramminginC++ (36 classes) ,Programfor spreadsheet calculations(10classes),ComputernetworksandInternet(8classes.) In the secondyear,the emphasisisagainplacedonthe programming, and there are othertopicscoveringdifferentareasof computer science.The topicMultimediaandcomputergraphicsisprevalentin numberof classes,asthe topicwhichwouldbe interestingfor studentsandwill awakentheircreativity.The topicsinthe secondyear are Databases(12 classes),Programming(22classes) ,Multimediaand computer graphics(24classes),HTML(14classes).Therefore,exceptthe setof keyconceptsthatare essential if schoolchildrentounderstand the networkedworldinwhichtheyare growingupourchildrenneed to learna newwayof thinkingaboutproblem-solving- computational thinking,understandthe difference betweenhumanandartificial intelligence,learntothinkingrecursively,beingalerttothe needfor prevention,detectionandprotectionagainstrisks,usingabstraction and decompositionwhentacklinglarge tasks,anddeployingheuristic reasoning,iterationandsearchto discoversolutionstocomplex problems.
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  ” Strategies Please, describehere how these policies are developed and implanted in your country/region Everyschool triesto promote innovative approaches andprograms incorporatedin everysubjectwith30percent, whichaddressthe pupils,byusingICT-basedmethodologies.Italsocatersstudents’ needsof adoptingnewandeasierwaysof linguisticandlanguage learning,takingintoaccounteachothers'diversity.Recentlyavailable communicationtechnologies,particularlyassociatedwiththe Internet but alsowithtabletsandsmart phones are being integratedinto the conventional modalitiesof the teaching/learningprocess.Teachers can benefitfromthe studentsabilityinusingcomputersandInternet devices since modernstudentsbelongtothe 3rd generationof digital natives inorderto developstudents' skillsinspeakingEnglish,to developandimprove theirinformationprocessingskills byintroducing codingactivities andtocriticallyinvestigate the Internet,so both teachersandlearnerscan take advantage of technologyandof the newlearningopportunitiesofferedbyit. There are manythingsthat movedthe thingsinthe rightdirectionin
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  ” the last twoyearsinMacedonianeducation.The new computersand computerequipment,andbroadbandfastspeedInternetare now realityinthe mostof the Macedonianschools.Thisisa resultof the outstandingeffortsof the Government,aswell as,previousand currentprojectsin the fieldof ICTinMacedonianeducation.The large- scale computerizationof the Macedonianeducationisacrucial part of the processof creatinganddevelopmentof the Macedonian InformationSociety.The situationwithsoftware isquitedifferent. There isan evidentlackof educational softwareonMacedonian language.The ToolKidpackage isagood example of suchsoftware,but itstarget groupsare justK-4 teachersandstudents.The educational portal is alsoveryuseful,butitneedsfurtherdevelopmentand improvements.Thissituationisagreatchallenge foruniversity teachers,primaryandsecondaryteachers,andbusinessITsector. Teachers,parents,students,educational authorities,managersof the ICT projectsineducation,are the mainactors inthe processof computerizationof the Macedonianeducation.Theyare facedwith manychallenges:creationof educationsoftware anddigital educational material,properimplementationof ICTineducationfor learning,teaching,managingandadministering,trainingsforteachers inthe frameworkof theirprofessionaldevelopmentandcontinuous education.We needthe synergyof all actors,mentionedabove,in orderto followthe wayof the developedcountries.
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  ” Links Sources :websites, e-mails, studies ,etc Janceski M. and Pacovski V., Macedonian experience, needs, challenges,Selectedpapersof the InternationalConference Olympiad in informatics-Country experiences and developments, Zagreb, Croatia, pp. 66−78, August 2007. [2] USAID Macedonia press releases http://macedonia.usaid.gov/english/EDU/Macedonia_Connects.htm http://macedonia.usaid.gov/english/EDU/E-schools_eng.htm http://macedonia.usaid.gov/English/EDU/pep.htm [3] M. Kon- Popovska, M. Janceski and M. Jovanov, ìICT trends and challenges for researchin Macedoniaî in Proceedings of the III Balkan Conference in Informatics (BCI 2007) WorkshopîBridging the Digital Divide in South_Eastern Europe (SEE), Sofia, Bulgaria, pp. 35-111, September 2007. [4] Portal of primary and secondary schools in Macedonia http://schools.edu.mk
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  ” questionnaire to teacherswho have used the coding Please, collect at least 5 questionnairesubmitted to teachers who implemented computational thinkingand coding activities Questionnaire no. 1 General information 1-Name, Surname: ElizabetaFilipova 2- Name Of The School: Tode Hazi Tefov 3- What level of education DO you teach? a) Primary education;First stage of basic Education b) Lower secondary education;Second stage of basic education c) (Upper) secondary education 1. Does your school offer IT / Informatics / coding lessons? a)Yes b) No If your answer is yes, CE? Informatics lessons 2. When schools participatedin the development of the code, how would you judge the involvementof the following actors? very important important not very important not important at all Headteacher 5 School board/council 5 Teachers 5
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  ” Parents 4 1 Students5 3. What level of educationare these lessons? a. Primary education;First stage of basic Education b. Lower secondary education;Second stage of basic education c. (Upper) secondary education 4. Please describe the content that you teach I teach English (vocabulary and basic grammar for younger learners) 5. Are your students interested in ITC/Informatics/Coding lessons? A. Yes B. No Questionnaire no. 2 Lower secondary education; Second stage of basic education
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  ” (Upper) secondary education 1-Name,Surname: Nikolinka Ilieva 2- Name Of The School: Goce Delcev 3. Does your school offer an AP ComputerScience Java Course? a) Yes b) No If your answer is yes: 4. What is the number of pages of the code? a) Less than five pages b) Between five and 6 pages c) Between ten and twenty pages d) More than twenty pages 5. Do you think it is useful to teach students create games by using Java? a) Yes b) No 3.1 Interpretation questionnaire to teachers who have used the coding
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  ” Searching and sharingof good practices Please, describe 5 good practices with selection of innovativetools for students and teaching methods for teacher 2.2 Primary education; First stage of basic Education 2.3 Lower secondary education; Second stage of basic education 2.4 (Upper) secondary education NAME of the PROGRAM/PROJECT 1. Microsoft Visual C++/C # 2010 Express Edition RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTION Visual Studios PARTNERS Kids, teenagers, parents and teachers 1.SHORT DESCRIPTION: This program allows you to make a model(Form) of a program and then give commands to it so it can be used in practice. Its smart system allows it to adapt to mathematical problems such as making a calculator or many different things. Name of the method/tool: The name of the method that I used is called event click which allows you to do one code for every number/click on the program essentially getting smarter with the studio and create newer ways of coding than just making one for all of the buttons. We focus on Microsoft Visual C++/C#2010, the programming language and online community developed by Microsoft. It makes it easy for young people to create their own interactive maths projects - like maths games, maths calculations through discovering ne ways of codes - and then share their results with others in an active, online community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QirqrcOVeXU First what you need to do is get some buttons, label, Text Box etc then
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  ” rename the buttons.After that you need to start the codes by making an event click for the operators and for the Arithmetic keys. Then you open the key you want to start coding and start the line of codes. Which is the student' s role? Pupils have fan with games that offer many possibilities for solving mathematical problems through the language of coding Which is the teacher's role? GUIDE – FACILITATOR WEBSITE www.microsoft.com (Visual C++ Restributable) CONTACTS FOR INFORMATION Visual Studios @GooGle
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  ” 2.NAME of thePROGRAM/PROJECT CSUNPLUGGED RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTION CS Education Research group PARTNERS Many computer advisers and contributors SHORT DESCRIPTION: Each Unplugged activity is available to download in PDF format, with full instructions and worksheets. Background sections explain the significance of each activity to computer science, and answers are provided for all problems. All you need for most of these activities are curiosity and enthusiasm. There are photos and videos showing some of the activities in action, and also collected links to other useful resources. The activities are primarily aimed at the five to twelve year-old age group, but they are by no means restricted to this age range: It is used to teach older children and adults too, with little modification. Students will: Recognize situations where they can create programs to complete tasks, predict moves necessary to get teammate from start to finish, Convert movements into symbolic instructions and relate algorithms as programs to teammates. Unplugged presents fundamental concepts in Computer Science such as algorithms,artificial intelligence, graphics,information theory, Human Computer Interfaces,programming languages, and so on. We want to emphasize that programming is a means, not an end. The activities tend to be kinaesthetic, often on a large scale and involving team work. The activities tend to allow students to discover answers for themselves, rather than just being given solutions or algorithms to follow. A constructivist approach is encouraged (where the teacher uses the scaffolding provided by Unplugged to ask questions that
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  ” lead them todiscover the knowledge themselves), as we want students to realize that they are capable of finding solutions to problems on their own, rather than being given a solution to apply to the problem. For example, students don’t really need to be able to convert numbers to binary, but it is valuable for them to discover the patterns such as the doubling value of bits, patterns when you count in binary, and how the range increases exponentially as you add bits. WEBSITE http://csunplugged.org/activities/ CONTACTS FOR INFORMATION admin@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz 3.NAME of the PROGRAM/PROJECT THINKERSMITH’S RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTION CSED Week site PARTNERS Teachers, students and parents Short description: Students will learn to convert real-world activities into instructions , gain practice in coding instructions with symbols , gain understanding of the need for precision in coding , gain practice debugging malfunctioning code . Students will be able to understand the usefulness of functions and parameters (grades 7+). Using a predefined “Robot Vocabulary” your students will figure out how to guide one another to accomplish specific tasks without discussing them first. This segment teaches students the connection between symbols and actions, as well as the valuable skill of debugging. Students will learn how to convert real-world activities into instructions and the need for precision while coding. After practicing robotics with symbols and plastic cups, children convert oursymbol instructions to pseudocodes using the “While -Do
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  ” -End While” loopingstructure for the repetitive actions our robots needed to execute. WEBSITE http://www.thinkersmith.org/ CONTACTS FOR INFORMATION info@thinkersmith.org 4.NAME of the PROGRAM/PROJECT CODESPARK RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTION Codespark Organization PARTNERS Computer science teachers and professors from Harvey Mudd, Princeton, and Lincoln Public Schools. Short description: The codeSparkcurriculumis based onthesamefoundational research thatScratch and ScratchJrarebased. web and mobile gamesthat teach kids how to code,even before they knowhow to read and write effectively .CodeSpark’s games were developed for kids 4 to 9 years old, and with a goal of not just web and mobile gamesthat teach kids how to code,even before they know how to read and write effectively. CodeSpark Academywith the Foos is basically an extended versionof The Foos Coding,which includes puzzlesand exercisesthat let kids design, program and sharetheir own games,or “remixes”of games thatother kids creaCodeSpark makesits gamesavailable for freeto public schools,libraries and nonprofits.Individualusers,typicallyparents who want their kids to play the gamesat home,can buy and download codeSpark games for phones and tablets. The Foos is the mostuseful way for kids to learn codingand computer science.
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  ” WEBSITE thefoos.com/hour-of-code/ CONTACTS FOR INFORMATION support@codespark.org 5.NAMEof the PROGRAM/PROJECT CODING WITH PAPER RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTION Fractus team PARTNERS Computer advisers, parents and teachers Short description: While most apps and tutorials do require internet connected computers or mobile devices, it does not mean that schools without this level of technology cannot get involved. In fact, coding with paper can be an even more engaging and meaningful way to introduce students to early programming concepts. The activities teach students the connection between symbols and actions, as well as the valuable skill of debugging. If time allows, there is an option to introduce functions at the end of the lesson. A heavy emphasis is for the children to start thinking algorithmically and to start “thinking in code”. Being able to do so, and being able to execute code in their head, is one of the core learning objectives and something that they will find useful throughout their programming journey. Fractus Learning is a global team of expert educators, leaders, makers and creators working passionately to share the best techniques, tools and toys for meaningful learning.From coding and robotics, to board games and books, they work directly with educators, advertisers, entrepreneurs and developers to promote the latest and greatest products and practices impacting learning today. WEBSITE https://www.fractuslearning.com/2014/11/18/coding-with-paper-printable- game/
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  ” CONTACTS FOR INFORMATION https://www.fractuslearning.com/contact/