.NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education

Steve Hodges; James Scott; Sue Sentance; Colin Miller; Nicolas Villar; Scarlet Schwiderski-Grosche; Kerry Hammil; Steven Johnston

doi:10.1145/2445196.2445315

.NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education

Steve Hodges, James Scott, Sue Sentance, Colin Miller, Nicolas Villar, Scarlet Schwiderski-Grosche, Kerry Hammil, Steven Johnston

School of Computing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system’s behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education
Editors	Renee McCauley, Tracy Camp, Paul Tymann, J. D. Dougherty, Kris Nagel
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages	391-396
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450318686
ISBN (Print)	9781450320306
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2445196.2445315
Publication status	Published - Mar 2013
Event	ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education - Denver, United States Duration: 6 Mar 2013 → 9 Mar 2013 Conference number: 44 https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/2445196

Conference

Conference	ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Abbreviated title	SIGCSE
Country/Territory	United States
City	Denver
Period	6/03/13 → 9/03/13
Internet address	https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/2445196

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10.1145/2445196.2445315

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Hodges, S., Scott, J., Sentance, S., Miller, C., Villar, N., Schwiderski-Grosche, S., Hammil, K., & Johnston, S. (2013). .NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education. In R. McCauley, T. Camp, P. Tymann, J. D. Dougherty, & K. Nagel (Eds.), SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 391-396). Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). https://doi.org/10.1145/2445196.2445315

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title = ".NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education",

abstract = "In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system{\textquoteright}s behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences.",

author = "Steve Hodges and James Scott and Sue Sentance and Colin Miller and Nicolas Villar and Scarlet Schwiderski-Grosche and Kerry Hammil and Steven Johnston",

year = "2013",

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doi = "10.1145/2445196.2445315",

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booktitle = "SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)",

address = "United States",

note = "ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE ; Conference date: 06-03-2013 Through 09-03-2013",

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Hodges, S, Scott, J, Sentance, S, Miller, C, Villar, N, Schwiderski-Grosche, S, Hammil, K & Johnston, S 2013, .NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education. in R McCauley, T Camp, P Tymann, JD Dougherty & K Nagel (eds), SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York, pp. 391-396, ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Denver, United States, 6/03/13. https://doi.org/10.1145/2445196.2445315

.NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education. / Hodges, Steve; Scott, James; Sentance, Sue et al.
SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education. ed. / Renee McCauley; Tracy Camp; Paul Tymann; J. D. Dougherty; Kris Nagel. New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2013. p. 391-396.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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T1 - .NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education

AU - Hodges, Steve

AU - Scott, James

AU - Sentance, Sue

AU - Miller, Colin

AU - Villar, Nicolas

AU - Schwiderski-Grosche, Scarlet

AU - Hammil, Kerry

AU - Johnston, Steven

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N2 - In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system’s behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences.

AB - In this paper we present the features of a new physical device prototyping platform called Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer along with our initial experiences using it to teach computer science in high schools. Gadgeteer makes it easy for newcomers to electronics and computing to plug together modules with varied functionality and to program the resulting system’s behavior. We believe the platform is particularly suited to teaching modern programming concepts such as object-oriented, event-based programming and it could be a timely addition to established teaching tools given the current interest in improving high school computer science education in some regions. We have run a number of pilot studies in the US and in the UK with students of varying age and ability. Our results indicate that the tangible and expressive nature of Gadgeteer helps to engage and motivate a diverse set of students. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level of polish and sophistication of the devices which were built. We hope to further explore the potential of Gadgeteer for teaching in future work and we encourage others to build on our experiences.

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BT - SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education

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A2 - Camp, Tracy

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A2 - Dougherty, J. D.

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Y2 - 6 March 2013 through 9 March 2013

ER -

Hodges S, Scott J, Sentance S, Miller C, Villar N, Schwiderski-Grosche S et al. .NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education. In McCauley R, Camp T, Tymann P, Dougherty JD, Nagel K, editors, SIGCSE 13': Proceedings of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education. New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). 2013. p. 391-396 doi: 10.1145/2445196.2445315

.NET Gadgeteer: a new platform for K-12 computer science education

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