Search Results (3)

Computational thinking (CT), an interrelation of skills and practices, is a crucial competency that empowers individuals to tackle logical problems, enabling them to overcome various challenges in their daily lives. To help Deaf students (those with hearing loss and using sign language for communication) enhance their CT, a STEAM learning program using a physical computing tool is proposed. The learning program composes four courses: learning concepts, implementing concepts, finding solutions to real problems and developing innovations. The program engaged Deaf students from 18 Deaf schools. It is geared towards boosting students’ CT and facilitating their capacity to devise technology-based solutions. The program measured students’ CT effectiveness based on the CT framework: concepts, practices, and perspectives. The measurement encompassed multiple-choice assessments for CT concepts, task rubrics for CT practices, and interview and invention observations for CT perspectives. The program concludes with participating in a science project competition, using a physical computing tool, called KidBright, to solve real-world issues by integrating science, mathematics, and art. After completing the learning program, Deaf students demonstrated an improved understanding of CT concepts, performing high-level CT practices, and expressing strong CT perspectives. These indicate that a STEAM learning program utilizing a physical computing tool can help Deaf students enhance their computational thinking. Full article

The concept of coding at school has enabled educators and parents around the globe to become interested in coding as, these days, coding is regarded as a gateway to computational thinking for children. However, coding education in Thailand appears to lag behind that of many other countries due to the lack of accessible coding learning resources suitable for students as well as the limited number of teachers with coding experience. Regarding these issues, we have developed an open-source hardware-based coding platform named KidBright, based on these requirements: 1. making coding simple for novice learners through the use of graphical blocks with Thai and English support; 2. inspiring young students to develop creative embedded applications with minimal effort; and 3. providing sustainable support for coding education. KidBright is proposed as a coding learning tool that can motivate children to learn to code and develop embedded system projects using its block-based coding environment, the KidBright IDE, in conjunction with its embedded device, the KidBright board. KidBright is distinguished from other embedded programming platforms due to the deployment of a dedicated software framework as the backend of the KidBright IDE. In this article, we introduce KidBright and present the design, architecture, and demonstrations of the software framework, the key roles of which are to conceal low-level hardware issues from learners and to enable makers to develop new command blocks and hardware peripherals in support of KidBright. We claim that, with this particular design, KidBright can help support coding education sustainably. In particular, we present how a small research team introduces coding to a large number of learners who have little or no coding experience, resulting in an impact on coding education in the country. Full article

To get insight into still elusive pathomechanisms of pediatric obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) we explored the interplay among GC-MS studied urinary metabolomic signature, gut liver axis (GLA) abnormalities, and food preferences (Kid-Med). Intestinal permeability (IP), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance were investigated in forty children (mean age 9.8 years) categorized as normal weight (NW) or obese (body mass index <85th or >95th percentile, respectively) ± ultrasonographic bright liver and hypertransaminasemia (NAFLD). SIBO was increased in all obese children (p = 0.0022), IP preferentially in those with NAFLD (p = 0.0002). The partial least-square discriminant analysis of urinary metabolome correctly allocated children based on their obesity, NAFLD, visceral fat, pathological IP and SIBO. Compared to NW, obese children had (1) higher levels of glucose/1-methylhistidine, the latter more markedly in NAFLD patients; and (2) lower levels of xylitol, phenyl acetic acid and hydroquinone, the latter especially in children without NAFLD. The metabolic pathways of BCAA and/or their metabolites correlated with excess of visceral fat centimeters (leucine/oxo-valerate), and more deranged IP and SIBO (valine metabolites). Urinary metabolome analysis contributes to define a metabolic fingerprint of pediatric obesity and related NAFLD, by identifying metabolic pathways/metabolites reflecting typical obesity dietary habits and GLA perturbations. Full article