"Come code with codester"
Gili Rusak, Darren Lim · 2014
Despite dramatic changes in technology over the past several years, educating young students in computer science at the elementary school level remains a challenge. Tackling this issue, we created 'Codester,' a novel Android application, as a tool to engage learners in the basics of computer science and to teach them computational thinking. Unlike other educational coding programs such as Scratch and Lego Mindstorms, our app is unique because it is mobile and allows users to learn a variety of concepts at a rapid rate. By running user studies for participants in grades 1-3 and 4-6, we quantified the effectiveness of Codester. Students were challenged and developed logic skills throughout the sessions. Using surveys, pretests, and posttests, we found an improvement in the five main computational thinking concepts that Codester teaches: sequencing, iteration, code reuse, decision-making, and logic. The participants especially showed an increased understanding of the code reuse concept: grade 1-3 students improved by 32% at the end of the program; grade 4-6 users improved by 43%. Additionally, the software and the tablet platform were attractive to the participants. Eighty percent of students stated that they enjoyed using the tablets to learn new material, and 72% said that they would like to continue learning with Codester. These figures show a promising increase of interest in coding and thus match the goal of our app: teach youngsters programming in a fun and challenging way. Please see www.codesterapp.com.