Getting people to think about computation is just as important as teaching coding. At work I started a coding basics series for creative designers for our own digital transformation strategy. I realized that if I don’t explain to people about computational thinking then then coding won’t make much of a difference to them. This talk will review how a group of designers with zero coding experience were brought into computational thinking and how that enabled them to use coding in their projects.
Outline:
* What is computational thinking * Why understanding computational thinking can help coding problem solving * How to bridge the gap of learning to code for creatives like designers * Establishing the thought process of sequential problem solving * Prepare people to understand how to abstract problems down into steps * Use visual aides and diagrams to help visual learners understand key concepts of computational thinking * Leading from abstractions to problem solving with simple patterns *With patterns people can build the basis for creating algorithms * Case study of how HMC Architects used computational thinking and learning * Company wide training for designers of diverse backgrounds * Goals of creating training to learn to code while being mindful of different learning styles * The results including how people were able to get a handle on coding due to computational thinking * Review Key points and lessons learned