From “Tech Geeks” to “Collaborative Makers”: A New Agenda for Children’s Programming

• In Event: Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: STEM Education in K-12 and Higher Education

Abstract

This conceptual paper argues that recent developments in K-12 programming education signal a new agenda in which learning to code has shifted from being a predominantly individualistic and tool-oriented approach to one that is decidedly culturally grounded in the creation and sharing of digital media. Drawing from examples of our and others’ research using the programming language Scratch, we highlight three dimensions of this new agenda: (1) from writing code to creating applications, (2) from composing from scratch to remixing others’ work, and (3) from designing tools to facilitating communities. Discussion turns to how educators can leverage programming for more meaningful technology integration in classrooms to the extent that code essentially represents the “stuff” of a new literacy.

Authors

• William Quinn Burke, College of Charleston

• Yasmin B. Kafai, University of Pennsylvania