Digital Materials to Support Learning Success Stories in Teaching Computing Science

Technology has a deep impact on everyday life of most people today, and computing science, information and communication technologies, and digital media are finding their way to education, too. The use of technology and digital materials is, however, a matter of ongoing debate, and educators are called upon to decide whether and when to use digital materials or not. At the department of informatics didactics in Klagenfurt, we developed our own teaching approach and do have a rich experience in the use of unplugged and plugged activities in the classroom. This paper gives some background information about our learning approach and shows, through three examples, how digital materials can be introduced successfully at all levels of education, from elementary up to university level. It also shows that digital materials, when used appropriately, allow for broader methodological approach and stimulates more differentiated way of teaching.