A teacher in Virginia uses a micro-controller to connect a computer to a keyboard, allowing kindergarten students to play notes鈥攁nd close a circuit鈥攚hen they high-five their classmates.
In Colorado, a teacher asks 7th graders to code a random number generator that teaches them programming skills by playing rock, paper, scissors.
These are just two examples of teachers using physical computing, an instructional strategy that tries to teach students about computer science and computational thinking through physical tools and hands-on activity.
Physical computing has established a presence in a small number of schools around the country. In many cases, there鈥檚 just one teacher or administrator who鈥檚 trying it, but supporters of the concept believe its role will grow. At the same time, they acknowledge that there are obstacles to implementing these types of programs, including concerns about the cost of applying it in classrooms, and the training educators need to make it happen.
Other types of hands-on, STEM-focused activities, like maker spaces, have grown more popular in K-12 districts, libraries, and other settings over the past few years, and some educators say they share many of the same goals as physical computing.
Similar to other hands-on or project-based learning programs, physical computing is meant to encourage interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial thinking and foster student creativity.
The goal is to allow students 鈥渢o experience how interactivity happens,鈥� said Rashmi Pimprikar, program director of STEAM and computer science initiatives for the Boston public schools. Students using the strategy 鈥渃an solve problems, express themselves and create using technology.鈥�
In September, the , one of the biggest ed-tech associations in the country, held a webinar that called for schools to use physical computing as a strategy for making computer science more accessible to students.
Many toys and products have come onto the market to address physical computing needs, through some combination of computer science and hands-on instruction. Those tools include programmable robots and coding and circuit tools.
The hands-on approach to teaching computational thinking is a good way to 鈥渃heck off鈥� the competencies that students should learn as part of the Computer Science Teachers Association and the , said Pimprikar, who led the ISTE webinar on physical computing.
Some of the expectations laid out in the CSTA and NGSS standards that connect to physical computing, she said, include problem decomposition, developing models, creating and testing computational products, solving computational problems, collaboration and communication.
鈥楳ore Than Just a Computer鈥�
To meet those standards, students 鈥渘eed more than just a computer,鈥� said Anna Otto, computer science and online learning coordinator for Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado, which is incorporating physical computing into its 7th grade computer science curriculum. Otto said the district knew they needed to use the concept to meet the standards outlined in their curriculum.
One educator who has turned to physical computing to introduce her students to computer science is Meredith Cosier, a visual arts and STEAM teacher in Fairfax County, Va.
Cosier teaches her Bucknell Elementary kindergarten students about circuits by making music with their hands and a board. The Makey Makey board is a micro-controller that can be connected to a computer and interact with Makey Makey apps available online.
In Cosier鈥檚 lesson, the Makey Makey micro-controller is connected to a computer, which is then connected to Makey Makey鈥檚 piano app. A metallic set of clips, which creates electrical connections, is attached to the micro-controller, and students hold onto the other end. When students high-five, they close the circuit between the board and their body, and a note plays on the computer. Cosier explains to them that the circuit closes because a current of electricity is running through their bodies.
The challenge for Cosier is that 鈥渨orking with an abstract idea doesn鈥檛 have a singular solution.鈥� She doesn鈥檛 make models when she asks them to create something, because she doesn鈥檛 want to give them a solution.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to help the students without telling them what to do,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a struggle to keep it open-ended.鈥�
Kimberly Sheridan, an associate professor of educational psychology at George Mason University in Virginia, said physical computing is appealing in that it can help students bridge the gap between the digital and physical world.
But it鈥檚 no sure thing that physical computing will actually improve students鈥� understanding of computational thinking and computer science, said Sheridan, who has researched the impact of maker spaces on student learning.
For instance, when students are told to 3-D print something that someone else has already made, the potential for learning is minimal, she said. But if they鈥檙e taught to design an object in 2-D with the goal of having it function properly in 3-D, that can lift their academic understanding.
The risk in using some tools is that they鈥檝e 鈥渂een made so user-friendly that it鈥檚 hard to get kids to the next level of computational thinking,鈥� Sheridan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good for engaging kids initially, but we need to be able to move them to advanced content, where they are really thinking computationally and problem-solving.鈥�
While today鈥檚 students are often referred to as 鈥渄igital natives,鈥� Pimprikar argues that much of their interaction with technology is superficial--focused on using it to play games or check social media.
Physical computing asks them to become designers, not just users of technology, she says. It forces them to develop prototypes of products and go through multiple testing to get to the final product. And it reinforces computing practices through open-ended exploration where 鈥渃reativity can grow and flourish,鈥� Pimprikar contends.
Physical computing, which is about the interaction between the person and the machine, also has the potential to make students think differently about technology and make better choices about using it, argues Tom Igoe, a professor from New York University and co-founder of a software and hardware company, .
鈥淥ur lives are affected by digital technology, but we don鈥檛 always see how we are impacted by it,鈥� Igoe said. 鈥淲hen you have a better understanding of the technology, you make better choices on how to use it.鈥�
Closing the Skills Gap
But even supporters of physical computing see obstacles to its growth in K-12. One is that many teachers aren鈥檛 trained in how to teach computer science or computational thinking, and so they鈥檙e likely to need a lot of professional development to close that gap.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 feel comfortable teaching it, then it鈥檚 going to take a long time,鈥� said Cosier, the teacher from Virginia. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not for the novice...You have to self-educate, and really see the benefits of bringing it into the classroom.鈥�
Making a commitment to teaching physical computing also carries a pricetag, as the Adams 12 Five Star district, outside Denver, discovered. The district implemented a new 7th grade computer science curriculum this school year, and to meet the standards, they purchased physical computing devices, like the micro-controller Micro:bits. It cost roughly $30,000 to purchase Micro:bits for the 11 middle schools in the district, Otto said.
鈥淵ou have to find ways to get creative with funding,鈥� Otto said. 鈥淥ur district saw the value in teaching this and shifted things around in the budget and made it happen.鈥�
The Colorado district was also helped by a partnership with Colorado-based electronics retailer Sparkfun Electronics. The company provided the district with tools it develops, Micro:bits, and offered continuous professional development for teachers.
Students in the Adams 12 Five Star schools are now using to learn about coding and other physical computing concepts.
The device is a small micro-controller board with 25 LED lights arranged in a square, two buttons, sensors, wireless communication, and a USB interface. It can also be connected to online apps where users can program the device.
Using the programmable LED lights, students learn how to use and code buttons on the micro-controller by using 鈥渋f, then, else鈥� statements to trigger the display of rock, paper, or scissors with the lights.
After programming the lights, students also code a number generator that makes the Micro:bit randomly select rock, paper or scissors when it鈥檚 shaken. For example, if 1 stands for rock, 2 for paper, and 3 for scissors and the program randomly selects 2 when the Micro:bit is shaken, then the LED lights will display paper. When the students are done programming, they pair up and play the game with the Micro:bits.
鈥淔or kids, physical computing is an engagement piece,鈥� Otto said. 鈥淪eeing their projects come to life is exciting for them. It helps them understand the power of computer science and how things work in the real world.鈥�
Photo: Students in Kathleen MacLean鈥檚 class at Rocky Top Middle School, in the Adams 12 Five Star school system, work together to plan their code for the micro:bit using paper coding blocks.鈥� The project is one of the school鈥檚 attempts to use physical computing concepts. Courtesy of Anna Otto.
See also: