Computational thinking is a critical thinking skill that, according to some, is a required skill for success in the 21st century! Many students are only trained to become users of a computer, rather than developers. We think everyone should know how to make the computer work for you!

The key goal of the K-12 Computational Thinking Program is to encourage educators and students to adopt the practice of computational thinking through the development of computational models. Students develop a mindset that computational thinking and computational modeling are tools for solving problems and developing models of STEM concepts. Increasing the computer literacy of the K-12 students in Iowa requires them to move beyond just being a computer user. To encourage them to engage in computer program development, students and teachers will be introduced to the Scratch™ programming language (freely available from Scratch™ .mit.edu) as an easy to use, yet powerful way of applying computational modeling.

By developing programming skills, more students will likely find interest in computing careers.