The Importance Of Paperts Ct
Paperts ideas are often framed like programming will teach students to think or be logical thinkers , similarly to what has been said for decades for the teaching of Math, Latin, or ancient Greek ). As seen, this may be true, but not because an automatic competence transfer happens , but because engaging in intellectually demanding tasks is important for students cognitive development . As already described in Section 3, during the 1980s, after Paperts proposals, some research about the cognitive effects of programming has been conducted, leading to mixed results . Papert himself acknowledges that what he calls the Latinesque justification for teaching something is not sufficient: one should always test if there are other ways to achieve the same goals . It should be clear from the previous sections, however, that he thought computers and programming have some peculiar characteristics that make them particularly useful for the training in logical thinking, but this happens only if they are used as constructionist tools: to create meaningful artifacts. Transfer is something that does not happen automatically, and needs an active and deliberate effort :
Want To Make Your Own Set Of Ct Bins
Materials to create your own set of Computational Thinking Bins are freely available under a Creative Commons license. New bins will be added over time, and we will regularly revise the instructions based on teacher and student feedback. Check back regularly to make sure you have the most recent versions.
If you have questions about how to assemble the bins or would like to share your experiences with them, please contact Dr. Brian Dorn
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What Is A Va Home Loan
VA loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs . The VA helps servicemembers, veterans, and eligible surviving spouses become homeowners.
Why does the VA offer this benefit? In its own words, to offer personalized benefits and services that honor their service enhance their lives.2
Homeownership is certainly one element of an enhanced life for many people, and VA loans go a long way toward creating solid homeownership opportunities. But you dont go to VA directly to get these loans.
Your everyday private lender, bank, or mortgage company offers these loans, giving you the best of both worlds: the ease and speed of working with a private company plus the backing of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The flexible VA home loan guidelines make homeownership attainable for active servicemembers, and surviving spouses who might not qualify for conventional mortgages.
- 0% down payment
- No monthly mortgage insurance
- Option to roll the VA funding fee into certain VA loan products, reducing the cash to close needed to qualify
Types of VA home loans
In this article, well be referring to VA purchase loans. But the VA backs other home loans as well, including cash-out refinance options and a streamline interest rate reduction refinance loan . You can also use a VA loan to renovate or repair a home.
Been thinking about adding solar panels to your roof or otherwise greening up your home? The VA gives loans for energy-efficient upgrades as well.
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How Va Loans Work
Knowing how VA loans work can help you through the homebuying journey.
VA loans are a type of mortgage loan available to U.S. military members, Veterans, and their spouses. They can be used to both purchase a house or refinance an existing mortgage, as long as the borrower meets the necessary military service requirements.
When compared to traditional mortgages, VA loans offer buyers a significant number of benefits, including:
- No down payment: Unlike other mortgage options out there, VA loans require zero down payment whatsoever.
- Interest rates are low: VA loans come with the backing of the U.S government, which lowers the risk for lenders, enabling them to offer lower interest rates than other loans typically have available.
- No PMI: Most other loans require mortgage insurance both upfront and as part of your monthly payment. VA loans have no mortgage insurance or down payment requirement, saving you significantly in the long run.
- Conventional loans often require credit scores in the high 600s or low 700s. VA borrowers can have credit scores much lower than this, as long as they meet other requirements.
- Closing costs are capped: The VA limits what borrowers can pay in closing costs, lowering the barrier to homeownership significantly.
VA loans also have no loan limits, allowing borrowers to purchase larger homes or homes in pricier markets.
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Disadvantages Of Va Loans
Every type of loan has drawbacks for some borrowers. Here are potential disadvantages of a VA loan.
VA loan funding fee: Although VA loans don’t require mortgage insurance, they come with an extra cost called a funding fee. The fee is set by the federal government and covers the cost of foreclosing if a borrower defaults. The fee ranges from 1.4% to 3.6% of the loan, depending on your down payment and whether its your first VA loan. You can pay the fee upfront or fold it into the loan.
Purchase loans only for primary homes: You can’t use a VA loan to buy an investment property or a vacation home.
Not all properties eligible: A VA-approved appraiser will evaluate the home you want to buy to estimate the value and make sure it meets the VA’s minimum property requirements. Some fixer-uppers may not meet the VA’s minimum standards.
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Linking Our Youngest Minds To The Thinking Of The Future
Teaching young students computational thinking strategies goes far beyond increasing their comfort level with computers. Its much deeper and more profound. We live in a world with Smartphones and Smarthomes, and understanding how devices work allows us to approach technology as a partner to help us solve problems. Computational thinking allows students to be active, rather than passive, users of technology. The manner in which we understand the technology that surrounds us, and the way we ask questions about these devices, will become a significant differentiator in the 21st-century workforce. Those who can do it successfully and efficiently will be better placed for both professional and long-term life success. Preparation for this can and should start with our youngest learners.
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Computational Thinking In Science
A quiet but profound revolution has been taking place throughout science. The computing revolution has transformed science by enabling all sorts of new discoveries through information technology.
Throughout most of the history of science and technology, there have been two types of characters. One is the experimenter, who gathers data to reveal when a hypothesis works and when it does not. The other is the theoretician, who designs mathematical models to explain what is already known and uses the models to make predictions about what is not known. The two types interact with one another because hypotheses may come from models, and what is known comes from previous models and data. The experimenter and the theoretician were active in the sciences well before computers came on the scene.
Numerical results are converted to colored images that reveal where the stresses on the aircraft are greatest.
Image courtesy of NASA.
Scientists who used computers found themselves routinely designing new ways to advance science. They became computational designers as well as experimenters and theoreticians.
The two approaches are often combined, such as when the information process provides a simulation for the physical process it models.
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Paperts Computational Thinking In Context
Seymour Papert seems to be the first to use in print the expression computational thinking . Contrary to Wings use in 2006, however, this single occurrence of CT in Mindstorms is by no means an attempt to a definition: Their visions of how to integrate computational thinking into everyday life was insufficiently developed. It is used en passant, after many other computational something.Footnote 14 What is central to Mindstorms is not thinkingit is rather constructing, by computational means, concrete versions of abstract mathematical concepts or, it is building personal mental models to understand the worldcomputational environments are one of the most effective and economical ways to obtain such models in an autonomous manner. The appeal of the computer is that it provides a concrete reference for the abstract concepts to be understood.
Before zooming on Paperts view on CT, let us first introduce the issue of the possible transfer of skills. A naive reading of Mindstorms may give the impression that it backs the idea of the transfer of skills from CT to other disciplines. This seems even explicitly confirmed by Minsky , where he emphasizes his shared view with Papert: our conjecture that the ideas of procedures and debugging will turn out to be unique in their transferability.
To clarify this modality of interaction, it is now high time to come back to the quotation about CT, and to read it in its context:
Use These Tips To Have Students Learn Important Skills That Will Prepare Them For Life
Computational thinking has been trending, but what is it, really?
Simply put, computational thinking is a method of reasoning that teaches students how to solve real-world, complex problems with strategies that computers use. Computational thinking and the design thinking process are frameworks for problem-solving to help address the need for 21st-century skills across our nations K-12 school system. While computation governs the world around us, computational thinking as a teaching and learning framework is a new concept for many.
These skills are becoming progressively important due to the constant evolution of technology and its place in our economy. An increasingly automated workforce means students who have had exposure to tech-thinking will be more likely to succeed.
To help get students future-ready, Ive identified seven effective thinking strategies to equip young innovators with valuable problem-solving abilities. Using these tips, students will not only be learning important skills, but will be preparing for what lies ahead post-graduation.
1. Collect data The first step to solving any problem is to determine what you know. With computational thinking, this means figuring out from which sources youll collect data and deciding which data are the most relevant. For example, to solve a math problem, students might collect quantitative data about a phenomenon and use mathematical methods to decide how to approach the problem.
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Do We Really Need Computational Thinking
I confess upfront, the title of this Viewpoint is meant to attract readers’ attention. As a computer scientist, I am convinced we need the concept of computational thinking, interpreted as “being able to think like a computer scientist and being able to apply this competence to every field of human endeavor.”
The focus of this Viewpoint is to discuss to what extent we need the expression “computational thinking” . The term was already known through the work of Seymour Papert, many computational scientists, and a recent paper clarifies both its historical development and intellectual roots. After the widely cited Communications Viewpoint by Jeannette Wing, and thanks to her role at NSF, an extensive discussion opened with hundreds of subsequent papers dissecting the expression. There is not yet a commonly agreed definition of CTwhat I consider in this Viewpoint is whether we really need a definition and for which goal.
To anticipate the conclusion, we probably need the expression as an instrument, as a shorthand reference to a well-structured concept, but it might be dangerous to insist too much on it and to try to precisely characterize it. It should serve just as a brief explanation of why computer science is a novel and independent scientific subject and to argue for the need of teaching informatics in schools.
It emerges, from these three examples, that CT is not a new subject to teach and what should be taught in school is informatics.
Va Loan Closing Costs And Fees
Although you can get a VA loan without a down payment, youll likely have to pay some closing costs. The good news is, the seller can pay up to 4% of your closing expenses. And you can roll some closing cots, including the VA funding fee, into the loan rather than paying it upfront.
Closing costs you may be responsible for:
- Loan origination fee
- Loan discount points
- State and local taxes
The total list of closing costs will depend on your lender and the terms you negotiate with the seller. For instance, its typical for a seller to pay for a termite inspection and broker fees on VA loans. You can also negotiate some fees with your lender.
If you cant afford your upfront closing fees, you may be eligible for closing cost assistance, according to the VA. Your lender or real estate agent should be able to refer you to any state and local assistance programs for which you might be eligible.
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Va Loan Interest Rates In 2021
Generally speaking, VA home loan interest rates tend to be lower than youll find with some other programs. According to Ice Mortgage Technology, VA rates have averaged more than 0.25% lower than conventional loans.
But mortgage rates are relatively low and will likely stay that way until the end of 2021.
The current VA home loan rates you see advertised or in the news dont represent what youll pay, however.
Lenders set interest rates based on your credit score and other factors unique to your finances. If youre wondering what rate you might qualify for, you can request quotes on VA home loan rates from several VA-approved companies.
Remember that rate isnt everything. When you request a quote, lenders will send you a loan estimate breaking down all the costs associated with borrowing from them.
Look not just at the interest rate but at the other fees theyll charge so you can choose the loan with the best overall value.
Why Integrate Ct In Secondary Education
Some secondary educators may understandably feel that, unless they are planning to get an endorsement in information technology education, computational thinking has little to do with them. However, teaching CT concepts in English, history, math, science, second languages, and other core and elective subjects is actually a great way to “support problem solving across all disciplines” Grover argues, “Like any skill, CT is best taught and learned in context, and embedded into class subjects.”
If CT education is embedded across multiple subject areas at the same school, it has additional advantages, such as helping students to “make powerful connections between their classes and beyond” and “have a rich toolkit to draw from that crosses traditional subject borders” when faced with problems that are difficult to categorize within a traditional subject area .
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Computational Thinking In Education: A Pedagogical Perspective
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Computational Thinking: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
Its a basic skill. Right along with the three Rs. President Obama, on his weekly address just over a month ago, announced the $4-billion Computer Science for All initiative. Reactions quickly spread to make clear that the important skill is not coding, its computational thinking. But what does this mean?
As its become a buzzword , lets have a conversation to clear up the rhetoric and get to deeper meaning. To me, as a computational scientist, the essence is what we can do while interacting with computers, as extensions of our mind, to create and discover. Thats not the popular message today.
The idea of computational thinking was popularized by Jeannette Wing in an article published ten years ago as a Viewpoint in the magazine of the leading society of computer scientists.1 She labels it an attitude and skill set that everyone can learn and use. The emphasis is on solving problems by exploiting the fundamental concepts of computer science: abstraction, decomposition, recursion, separation of concerns, and so on. In sum, Wing equates computational thinking with thinking like a computer scientist.
The Wing 2006 Viewpoint has been tremendously influential in the computational-thinking narrative . But it took us on a detour from the original, powerful idea envisioned by Seymour Papert more than 30 years ago.
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Graduate Certificate In Computational Thinking For Educators
A collaborative certificate between the University of Maine, the University of Maine Farmington, and the University of Southern Maine
The Graduate Certificate in Computational Thinking for Educators is a 100% online program that prepares educators to integrate computational thinking education strategies into learning environments and understand its cultural and contextual implications.
The program incorporates the International Society of Technology in Education Computational Thinking Competencies standards to engage learners in authentic and active learning. Students in this program will learn how to:
- Improve and expand their practice by understanding the core concepts of computational thinking
- Explore strategies to integrate computational thinking using multiple and effective instructional strategies
- Design, develop, and implement activities to support creative and innovative problem-solving
- Understand the impact of equity and access to computational thinking and computing resources and practices in a global society
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