In this session we will discuss approaches to teaching algorithmic principles in first year classrooms (and beyond). In the first part of this session, we will engage with 2-3 short activities that can be used to spur discussion with students about the “hidden” ways algorithms influence our encounters with information and our approaches to decision-making. The second part of this session is dedicated to discussing and brainstorming additional activities to bring into our respective classrooms.

Participants will leave this session with at least 3 ideas of activities they can use to start discussions with students in their classroom, but may potentially brainstorm many more with their co-participants.

On this session, we will look at several examples of creative interactive (mostly-text-based) writing platforms. We will play a few examples, talk about applications, and explore the backend interfaces of tools like Tiny Choice & Twine, considering pedagogical and creative endeavors to undertake with each.

Participants will leave the session with the beginnings of a small, playable game written in Tiny Choice that can serve as a basis or model for future projects.