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Re:Khan Academy: Computer Science by pbhjpbhj on Tuesday November 01, 2011 @07:44PM (#3184697)
Do you know of a basic introductory course using Scratch so I don't have to ad-hoc it so much? We're supposed to be building a game but I need something, like KhanAcademy, that I can give my primary-aged son space to explore by himself without me hovering over him.
Re:Khan Academy: Computer Science by hsshah on Wednesday November 02, 2011 @03:46PM (#3188621)
You may want to refer to the curriculum link I posted in the thread below. I don't think it is sufficient for what you are looking for. In fact, these days I am spending time on developing such a course (actually it is more than just programming; it includes intro to hardware and communications). Happy to share it with you when it is done. Also, would be open to receiving suggestions for it (based on your experience)
Re:Khan Academy: Computer Science by wiredfool on Wednesday November 02, 2011 @03:05PM (#3188414)
I'm pretty much winging it with the Middle Schoolers. Normally I throw a quick demo up on the big screen, talk about it for a couple of minutes pointing out what it does that they were struggling with in the last class.

Then they work on doing something interesting while I answer questions and ask "What happens if...".

Re:Khan Academy: Computer Science by hsshah on Wednesday November 02, 2011 @03:42PM (#3188600)
In case you are interested, there is a curriculum that ScratchEd team has developed. http://scratched.media.mit.edu/resources/scratch-curriculum-... Personally, I also "wing it". I encourage them to come up with ideas for games, animations that implicitly requires them to cover all aspects of "computational thinking". It's implicitly because I don't want them to think of this as too academic; let them have fun while learning (for a change!)
Re:Khan Academy: Computer Science by wiredfool on Thursday November 03, 2011 @12:49AM (#3190342)
Looks interesting -- they posted that a week or two after I was searching. We're heavily into animations and games right now, including one where the student is building up space invaders, one complication at a time.