International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2018 and Coding Fair & Press Conference on Opening Up of CoolThink@JC Educational Resources
International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2018 and Coding Fair & Press Conference on Opening Up of CoolThink@JC Educational Resources
With the aim of showcasing the achievements and outcomes of implementing computational thinking education in Hong Kong, the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2018 and Coding Fair (CTE2018), organised by CoolThink@JC, commenced today (June 14) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). Over 1,000 world-renowned academics, frontline education practitioners, IT professionals, and teachers and students from local primary schools attended the event.
The four-day event was kicked off with an opening ceremony, presided over by Mr Nicholas W Yang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR; Mr Leong Cheung, Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, President of EdUHK; and Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, Vice President (Student Affairs) of City University of Hong Kong.
Delivering his opening remarks, Professor Stephen Cheung said, “Computational thinking education cultivates an innovative spirit, problem-solving skills and logical thinking, which are indispensable for students in the 21st century. Today’s conference provides an international platform for experts and academics from around the world to share their experience in promoting computational thinking education”.
“I am gratified to report that CoolThink@JC has been well-received by participating teachers, students and parents so far,” said Mr Leong Cheung. “The CoolThink@JC team is now seizing the opportunity to build upon the initiative’s momentum, and has kicked off efforts to work with the Education Bureau on in-service training for teachers on a large scale, with EdUHK on training pre-service teachers, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on developing teachers into master trainers, and with the Innovation and Technology Bureau on parent education at the popular InnoCarnival.”
Professor Yasmin B. Kafai, from the University of Pennsylvania, USA; Professor Judith Gal-Ezer, from The Open University of Israel, Israel; and Professor Judy Robertson, from the University of Edinburgh, UK, were invited as keynote speakers to share their thoughts on topics relevant to implementing and promoting computational thinking education. Academics from 15 countries or regions were also invited to share their research findings.
Another event highlight today was the Opening Up of CoolThink@JC Educational Resources Press Conference. CoolThink@JC believes that primary school education should be key in laying the foundation for computational thinking, which is necessary for active participation in a computing-rich society. CoolThink@JC uses coding tools Scratch and MIT App Inventor 2 to inspire students’ digital creativity and equip them with basic coding skills. With the knowledge gained in the past two years, CoolThink@JC is now opening up its coding curricular materials for schools that are interested in using them. The materials, which will be made available in September 2018, were co-developed by EdUHK and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and are currently used in 32 pilot schools.
All government schools, aided schools, and non-profit-making direct subsidy scheme schools are eligible to apply to use the coding curricular materials and join the CoolThink@JC InnoCommunity. Thirty out-of-network schools will be selected in 2018 to be members of this CoolThink@JC InnoCommunity and receive free access to instructional handbooks, classroom materials, an online learning platform and teacher training.
The four-day event also includes a Coding Fair at EdUHK, at which a series of coding/STEM workshops, parent seminars and interactive exhibition booths are promoting computational thinking education. Over 800 primary school teachers and students participated in today’s event. The public are welcome to join the fair on 16 and 17 June. Over 2,000 parents and children aged 4 to 14 are expected to attend the event.
For event details, please visit www.eduhk.hk/cte2018 (Conference) and www.codingfair.com (Coding Fair).
About CoolThink@JC
The CoolThink@JC Programme is a four-year initiative created and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and co-created by The Education University of Hong Kong, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and City University of Hong Kong. CoolThink@JC aims at inspiring students to apply digital creativity in their daily lives and preparing them to tackle future challenges in any fields. Promoting computational thinking education can empower students to move beyond mere technology consumption and into problem-solving and innovation. The Programme will train 100 teachers for the benefit of 16,500 primary 4-6 students in 32 schools. Funded with a Trust donation of HK$216 million, the Programme also supports pilot schools to equip their classrooms, develop an evidence-based curriculum, and provide corresponding training for school teachers.
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