Teaching Impacts of Technology: Relationships from Coursera

In this course you’ll focus on how “smart” devices have changed how we interact with others in personal ways, impacting how we stay connected in our increasingly mobile society. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.

This course is part of a larger Specialization through which you’ll learn impacts of computing concepts you need to know, organized into 5 distinct digital “worlds”, as well as learn pedagogical techniques and evaluate lesson plans and resources to utilize in your classroom. By the end, you’ll be prepared to teach pre-college learners to be both savvy and effective participants in their digital world.

In this particular digital world (relationships), you’ll explore the following Impacts & Technology pairs --

Impacts (Keep me connected in a mobile society):, personal relationships, facebook, circle of friends

Technology and Computing Concepts: algorithms, software engineering evolution, heuristics, computer runtime, big O notation, P vs NP

Impacts (Making geography-based connections): findings friends, maps, geolocation

Technology and Computing Concepts: data and binary, image encoding, pixels, how color pickers work, filters, blurs

In the pedagogy section for this course, in which best practices for teaching computing concepts are explored, you’ll learn about the current CSTA K-12 CS Standards and practice using them to review and apply to lesson plans, as well as how to apply the ICAP framework to connect your students’ engagement to active learning outcomes, such as through peer instruction.

In terms of CSTA K-12 computer science standards, we’ll primarily cover learning objectives within the “impacts of computing” concept, while also including some within the “networks and the Internet” concepts and the “data and analysis” concept. Practices we cover include “fostering and inclusive computing culture”, “recognizing and defining computational problems”, and “communicating about computing”.

What's inside

Syllabus

Course Orientation

Welcome! Are you interested in teaching about the impacts technology has on our relationships? To learn more about the computation and computing concepts that underlie those technologies? We'll be using a problem-based approach to explore interesting ways to teach concepts of networks and the internet, data and analysis, and even algorithms and data representation. Finally, we'll evaluate, critique and improve/personalize two lesson plans -- one of your choice and one on pixels. Specifically, we'll be looking to improve these lesson plans by increasing the amount of interactive learning time for students.

Keeping Connected in a Global Society

How has your ability to connect with friends and family changed since social media has become so ubiquitous? What different groups of people are you connected to? Besides looking at the impact of social media on our lives and society, we'll also take a detailed look at the history and development of the Facebook newsfeed algorithm -- learning a bit about software engineering , user experience, and heuristics. From interacting with a Facebook visualization tool we'll be curious to investigate what causes programs to take a long time to run and how computer scientists categorize how long it will take for programs to run.

Making Geography-based Connections

With so much more knowledge being collected about our physical location, we have new ways we can find friends and support relationships among those "close" to us. We'll look at several apps that leverage this and dive into digital image representations needed to support filters like those found in Snapchat.

Impacts of Computing and Supporting Interactive Learning

This week we'll introduce the Computer Science K-12 Framework and the Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards which are starting to frame state K-12 Computer Science standards in the US. We'll guide you in finding and developing a lesson plan for a particular grade band around a resource for learning about the impact of technology on culture. Next we'll learn a bit about further differentiating and defining "active learning" using the ICAP (interactive, constructive, active, passive) learning framework and see how Peer Instruction can be used to scaffold interactive learning experiences.

More lesson plans for interactivity: Impacts and Encoding Images

This week is all about giving you the time and excuse to develop lesson plans you can use (and/or share with colleagues!) We'll be improving lesson plans (including the one you created last week) to increase the amount of "interactive" learning in them. Additionally, we'll try to align these lessons with CSTA standards -- recognizing that these may have been produced before the CSTA standards existed. However, the process of seeing how they fit (or don't fit) with the standards may help give us ideas on how these lessons could be modified.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Explores how social media and mobile devices impact personal relationships and how 'smart' devices have enhanced our global connections

Suitable for educators seeking to teach the impacts of computing concepts at the K-12 level

Covers a range of computing concepts, including algorithms, image encoding, and data analysis

Provides guidance on using the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and the ICAP framework for effective teaching

Involves hands-on exercises, such as evaluating and improving lesson plans

Requires prior knowledge in computer science

Career center

Learners who complete Teaching Impacts of Technology: Relationships will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Computer Science Teacher

This course will be quite interesting to take as a Computer Science Teacher. It will help you to teach the CSTA K-12 computer science standards, which are becoming increasingly important in the US. The course will also give you practice using the ICAP framework to connect your students' engagement to active learning outcomes, such as through peer instruction. This can be a valuable tool for making your lessons more effective and engaging.

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Software Engineer

This course is also a helpful fit for the career Software Engineer. Many of the concepts taught in this course, such as algorithms, software engineering evolution, and heuristics, are essential for Software Engineers to know. This course will also give you practice using these concepts in real-world scenarios, which will be valuable experience for your career.

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Data Scientist

Data Scientists will also benefit from taking this course. The course will help you to understand how data is collected and analyzed, and how to use this data to make informed decisions. This is a valuable skill for Data Scientists, who use data to solve problems and make predictions.

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Web Developer

This particular course may be useful for a career as a Web Developer. It will provide you with a foundational understanding of the technologies used to create websites, such as algorithms, data and binary, and image encoding.

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UX Designer

This course covers such topics as user experience and heuristics, which are important for UX Designers to know. This course will also give you practice using these concepts in real-world scenarios, which will be valuable experience for your career.

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Product Manager

Product Managers may find this course helpful in their career. It will help you to understand the impacts of technology on society and how to use technology to create products that meet the needs of users.

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Technical Writer

Technical Writers will find this course useful as it will help you to understand the technical concepts that you will be writing about. This course will also give you practice writing about technology in a clear and concise way.

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Computer Programmer

This course may be useful for those interested in the Computer Programmer career. It will help you to understand the fundamentals of computer programming, such as algorithms and data structures.

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Information Technology Specialist

Information Technology Specialists will find this course helpful as it will provide you with a foundational understanding of the technologies used in the IT field, such as networks and the Internet, data and analysis, and algorithms.

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Database Administrator

This course could be helpful for Database Administrators, as it will provide you with a foundational understanding of the technologies used to manage databases, such as data and analysis, and algorithms.

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Network Administrator

This course provides a foundational understanding of the technologies used to manage networks, such as networks and the Internet, and algorithms, which may be helpful to Network Administrators.

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Systems Analyst

Systems Analysts may find this course helpful as it covers topics such as data and analysis, and algorithms, which are important for this career.

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Cybersecurity Analyst

This course may be of some use to Cybersecurity Analysts, as it covers topics such as networks and the Internet, and algorithms, which are important for this career.

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Business Analyst

Business Analysts may find this course to be moderately helpful as it covers topics such as data and analysis, and algorithms, which are useful for this career.

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Project Manager

This course could be helpful to Project Managers, as it covers topics such as algorithms, and data analysis, which are useful for this career.

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