Learn computer science like a language

An Israeli high school student from Albany, Gili Rusk developed Codester: an innovative application for learning the principles of programming through games, Rusk won the science fair in her area of ​​residence and will participate in the ISEF competition that will be held in May in Los Angeles

 Update: Gili Rusk came fourth in the category in which she competed in the finals of the ISEF competition.

"Despite dramatic changes in recent years in computer technologies, teaching the basic concepts of computer science to students in elementary schools is still a serious challenge. To meet the challenge, Gili Rusak, a high school student from Albany, New York, recently developed Codester, an innovative Android application that serves as a tool to encourage learning the basic principles of computer science. The application teaches the beginning user the basics of programming thought. In an interview with local television, Rusk said that the basic knowledge of computer science is essential today for employment in any profession.

Unlike other educational software such as Scratch and Lego Mindstorms, the Codester application is special in that it is designed for mobile platforms and allows users to learn a variety of basic computer science concepts at a fast pace.

"The effectiveness of Codester was tested by running lessons for students in grades 32-43 and grades 80-72. The students were challenged and developed logic skills while playing the app. With the help of surveys, feedback from parents, and tests, the understanding of order of operations, iterations, reuse of code, decision making and logic was tested. The participants showed a better understanding of the concept of code reuse: XNUMXst-XNUMXrd graders improved their understanding by XNUMX% at the end of the game and XNUMXth-XNUMXth graders improved the figure by XNUMX%. In addition, the software and the tablet platform were attractive to users; XNUMX% of the students stated that they enjoyed using the tablets and learned new subjects, and XNUMX% said that they would almost certainly continue to study with Codester. These data show an increase in students' interest in computer programming, both among boys and among girls."

"The results correspond to the purpose of the app: to teach young people that computer programming is a challenge as well as fun, thus encouraging them to learn computers."
The future goal of the research is to integrate learning computer languages ​​into the curriculum starting from first grade.

Rusk won first place at the regional science fair in Albany and will represent her district at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) competition that will be held this May in Los Angeles under the auspices of Intel worldwide.
For details

To download the Codester application in the Google store for free