Computational Thinking Education through Creative Unplugged Activities

Unplugged activities are well known in the computer science education. Creativity and computational thinking have been extensively researched and classified in last decade. In this paper we are focusing on creative unplugged activities and their potential in the classroom. We propose a model consisting of four types of creative unplugged activities that are used in CS education and present the results of an international online survey in which 360 educators participated in 2018. The survey found out how far the model is supported by educators, the extent to which creative activities are used in the classroom, what intentions are being pursued and what educational potential is seen in the four types of activities. Based on results of the survey we present ideas and methods on how to include and integrate creative unplugged activities into CS education and some possibilities on how to change such tasks to be more creative.