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Though the first computer programmers were female, women currently make up only a quarter of the computing industry. This lack of diversity jeopardizes technical innovation, creativity and profitability. As demand for talented computing professionals grows, both academia and industry are seeking ways to reach out to groups of individuals who are underrepresented in computer science, the largest of which is women.
Women are most likely to succeed in computer science when they are introduced to computing concepts as children and are exposed over a long period of time. In this paper I show that computational thinking (the art of abstraction and automation) can be introduced earlier than has been demonstrated before. Building on ideas being developed for the state of California, I have created an entertaining and engaging educational software prototype that makes primary concepts accessible down to the third grade level.
Advisor: | Young, Michal |
Commitee: | Goode, Joanna |
School: | University of Oregon |
Department: | Department of Computer and Information Science |
School Location: | United States -- Oregon |
Source: | MAI 50/01M, Masters Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Elementary education, Educational technology, Computer science |
Keywords: | Computational thinking, Computer science, Computer science education |
Publication Number: | 1497132 |
ISBN: | 978-1-124-79427-3 |