Computational Thinking: videogames, educational robotics, and other powerful ideas to think with

Digital technology has radically changed the way people work in industry, finance, services, media and commerce. Informatics has contributed to the scientific and technological development of our society in general and to the digital revolution in particular. Computational thinking is the term indicating the key ideas of this discipline that might be included in the key competences underlying the curriculum of compulsory education. The educational potential of informatics has a history dating back to the sixties. In this article, we briefly revisit this history looking for lessons learned. In particular, we focus on experiences of teaching and learning programming. However, computational thinking is more than coding. It is a way of thinking and practicing interactive dynamic modeling with computers. We advocate that learners can practice computational thinking in playful contexts where they can develop personal projects, for example building videogames and/or robots, share and discuss their construction with others. In our view, this approach allows an integration of computational thinking in the K-12 curriculum across disciplines.