Computational thinking in Egypt

Computational thinking
and the future of science
(and Egypt).
Mohamed Samy
Email: samy2004@gmail.com

The 21st
century

The face of science is changing

Biology → Genetics

Chemistry → Nanotechnology

Physics → Quantum mechanics

How about mathematics – a basis for all
sciences?

Mathematics → Computer Science!

Computer Science?

An important part of maths

Formalized in the 1930s (before the electronic
computer).

Maybe better called 'Algorithmic science'

Existed without a name for thousands of years,
ancient Greeks, Muslim mathematicians,
Indians...etc have been working with
algorithms.

It is about formalizing thinking.

Algorithms

An Algorithm is a solution for accomplishing a
goal that can be executed mechanically: We
use algorithms in all of life.

Algorithms
Algorithms (and computation) also exist in science:

Bio-informatics

Computational Physics

Computational chemistry

Computational botany

Currently in progress: Computational law, social
studies, history, economics, psychology...etc...etc.

Algorithms are here scientific tools, not just
computerized applications.

Algorithms exist everywhere...

Children games.

Primary School maths (e.g. multiplication/
division).

Cooking/ recipes

Social protocols.

Art (e.g Islamic decorations).

What do we want?
A: We have almost a century of CS research.
B: CS/Algorithms is becoming part of science,
business, art and life.

If we put “A” and “B” together, we realize that we
need to ask:

Why aren't we using CS in all those activities?

Why don't (general) universities include computational
aspects in their courses & research?

Why aren't we teaching algorithmic/CS concepts in
schools?

This – in essence – is Computational thinking.

Note: The following four slides were taken (with
permission) from a presentation: “Computational
thinking for everyone”, by Prof. Jeanette M.
Wing.
The presentation can be found here:
http://exploringcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Wing08.ppt

CT for Everyone Jeannette M. Wing 11
CT in Other Sciences, Math, and Engineering
Biology
- Shotgun algorithm expedites sequencing
of human genome
- DNA sequences are strings in a language
- Protein structures can be modeled as knots
- Protein kinetics can be modeled as computational
processes
- Cells as a self-regulatory system are like
electronic circuits
Credit: Wikipedia
Brain Science
- Modeling the brain as a computer
- Vision as a feedback loop
- Analyzing fMRI data with machine
learning
Credit: LiveScience

Geology
- Modeling the earth’s surface to the sun,
from the inner core to the surface
- Abstraction boundaries and hierarchies of
complexity model the earth and our
atmosphere
Credit: NASA
Credit: University of Minnesota
Chemistry [Madden, Fellow of Royal Society of
Edinburgh]
- Atomistic calculations are used to
explore chemical phenomena
- Optimization and searching algorithms
identify best chemicals for improving
reaction conditions to improve yields

Mathematics
- Discovering E8 Lie Group:
18 mathematicians, 4 years and 77
hours of supercomputer time (200 billion
numbers).
Profound implications for physics
(string theory)
- Four-color theorem proofCredit: Wikipedia
Credit: Wikipedia
Astronomy
- Sloan Digital Sky Server brings a telescope
to every child
- KD-trees help astronomers analyze very large
multi-dimensional datasets
Credit: SDSS
Engineering (electrical, civil, mechanical, aero & astro,…)
- Calculating higher order terms implies
more precision, which implies reducing
weight, waste, costs in fabrication
- Boeing 777 tested via computer simulation
Alone, not in a wind tunnel
Credit: Boeing

CT for Society
Economics
- Automated mechanism design underlies
electronic commerce, e.g, ad placement,
on-line auctions, kidney exchange
- Internet marketplace requires
revisiting Nash equilibria model
Social Sciences
- Social networks explain
phenomena such as MySpace,
YouTube
- Statistical machine
learning is used for
recommendation and reputation
services, e.g., Netflix,
affinity card

Meanwhile, in the US & UK...

In 2009 an event about computational thinking was
sponsored by ACM, CRA, CSTA, IEEE, Microsoft,
NCWIT, NSF, and SWE...

CSEdWeek is sponsored by ABI, ACM, BHEF, CRA,
CSTA, Dot Diva, Google, Globaloria, Intel, Microsoft,
NCWIT, NSF, SAS, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon

In 2010, the British Royal Society announced that it is
leading an 18-month project to look “at the way that
computing is taught in schools, with support from 24
organizations from across the computing community
including learned societies, professional bodies,
universities, and industry http://royalsociety.org/Education-Policy/Projects/

Comp. Thinking in Egypt
Basic assumptions

CT is an ongoing research work, there is no
“ready-made” CT plan that can be just applied.

We'd be joining an ongoing research effort
alongside the rest of the world – let's be players,
not spectators!

We can't just take the works of others and apply it;
experience doesn't come for free.

But we need to start implementing what we can
during all the research.

Basic assumptions

While CT research is being done, we need to
prepare society for it.

Not everyone understands the importance of
Computational thinking.

A lot of people will confuse it with computer
programming, or even operating computers.

We need social outreach.

Basic assumptions

CT has both research and educational aspects.

If we teach schoolchildren CS concepts first, we can use
them to teach geometry, Arabic grammar, science...etc

Bonus: unify concepts; avoid repetition.

Teaching algebra in schools was “impossible” centuries ago.

But how do we do that?? Needs research & lots of
experiments.

Existing research: Piaget, Constructionist learning,
SIGCSE...

Existing efforts: CS Unplugged, Computational fairy
tales...etc

Our basic plan

3 Stages:
 Research and outreach via the “CT/Egypt” Center.
 Test implementation.
 Adaptation at national level.
Research & outreach
Test impl.
Adaptation
“The future” Research Implementation
Research Implementation

Research & Outreach

Directions

Research education methods

Actual CT research in biology, linguistics,...etc

Outreach, outreach, outreach!

Approach

Engage all society, create a “gravity field”.

Use all possible expertise, inside & outside Egypt.

Encourage team members & others to do Ph.D
research in CT.

Take a scientific, deep approach as much as possible.

Research & Outreach

Practical, not just theoretical!

Experiment on real children at schools, training
centers.

Have reusable course materials, publish books,
papers, attend conferences.

Talk with forward-thinking university professors about
new CT courses in accounting, linguistics,
medicine...etc

Have a commercial arm to create products (possibly
license patents...) to further sustain development.

We shall not wait for research to end before
producing results.

Test implementation

We need to experiment on having a full school
curriculum based on CT concepts.

Either deal with a selection of the best schools in
Egypt; or possibly create a specialized school to be a
model for future schools.

The same for Universities

Carnegie-Mellon is already “computationalizing” their
business, social studies, art,...etc schools.

Learn from their models and others, apply our own
experiments.

Requests from Lemasr.org

Funding.

Media support (press, TV, conferences...)

Expert support (university professors, educators)

Later: expert support on how to approach “Egypt”,
in the form of universities, companies, the public
process...etc

A listening ear; already started :-)

Computational thinking in Egypt

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