Using Sensor Technologies to Introduce Secondary Education Students to Computational Thinking and Computer Science

This workshop will explore using school-based sensor technologies to bring computational thinking into middle school science and integrated STEM courses. Participants will learn how to introduce students to sensor technologies and support their understanding of how to use sensor technologies to "make the invisible, visible." We will use the sensor technologies to conduct a variety of short, real-world investigations, such as measuring air quality and noise levels using the available sensors. Teachers will largely play the role of students as they learn to program the sensor technologies, gather and analyze data, and create displays to share their findings. The workshop will use an open-access, one-week sensor immersion curriculum, and ideas for improvements will be solicited from by the group. No prior experience using sensor technologies or programming is needed.