Developing E-Learning Modules to Prepare Elementary School Teachers in Programming Education

There is a high demand for young children to learn computer programming. According to the research by Code.org, 93% of parents want their child’s school to teach computer science curriculums; however, only 40% of schools currently offer them. Also, while 58% of new STEM jobs are in computing, only 8% of STEM graduates are in Computer Science. Providing positive computer programing experience to young children will increase the opportunity for them to opt-in to the Computer Science field in high schools and colleges. Therefore, it is important to introduce computer programming to Elementary school teachers so that they can integrate a programming curriculum in their classrooms.

The purpose of this project is to develop e-learning modules to prepare Elementary school teachers in Programming Education. The course module includes basic computer programming vocabulary, commands & sequencing, looping, conditionals, and best practice to teach computer programing in a classroom. The module also includes hands-on programming exercises using Swift Playground, which is an iPad app developed by Apple to provide engaging programming experience in a video game-like environment. Rapid prototyping is used for design and implementation of the module. In this presentation, we will introduce the rationale of computer programming in K-12 education. Secondly, key design implications will be discussed. Finally, the overview of the e-learning module prototype will be presented.