Teaching Methods in Computer Science Education - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 107

Activity 48: Educational Usage of Games in Computer Science Education,
Group work
As mentioned, in recent years we see usages of computer games in educa-
tional context as well. This activity, which is carried out by teams, exposes
the prospective computer science teachers to this aspect of game usages in
computer science education.
The students are asked to find at least three educational programs in com-
puter science that are based on computer game development. Their task is to
present their review in a 15 min presentation. The presentation should include
at least 5 min of gaming.

7.2.2 The CS-Unplugged Approach

The CS-unplugged approach delivers the message that “Computer Science isn't
really about computers at all!” In this spirit, different groups around the world de-
veloped a series of learning activities that aim at teaching a variety of computer sci-
ence concepts, such as, binary numbers, sorting algorithms, data structures and data
compression, without connecting them directly either to computers or program-
ming. One of the main resources for such activities is the extensive free collection
developed by the Computer Science Unplugged team. 1 Additional groups around
the world adapted this approach for different populations. In all cases, the computer
science concepts are presented through engaging activities and puzzles by using
cards, crayons, and active playing.
The purpose of the Activity 49, that focuses on the CS-unplugged approach, is
to increase students' awareness to several facts related to the use of computers in
computer science teaching, such as, differences between teaching computer science
with and without computers, the variety of computer science teaching methods,
strategies for the selection of a suitable teaching method for the teaching of a spe-
cific computer science topic to a specific population, and the option to teach com-
puter science concepts independently of technology. These topics should be shortly
discussed in the MTCS course in between the stages of the activity.

Activity 49: Pedagogical Examination of the CS-Unplugged Approach
• Stage A: Experience a CS-unplugged activity
The instructor selects one of the CS-unplugged activities and invites
the students to experience it before addressing it from a pedagogical
perspective.
• Stage B: Exploration of the CS-unplugged approach

The students are asked to look at the CS-unplugged website, to select two
topics from this website and analyze, from a pedagogical perspective, the
suggested activities for the teaching of the said computer science topics.