Teaching about Image Representation: Experience in the Plugged Computing Project with the Pixel Application

• Larrysa Figueiredo UFPB http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9813-4207
• Matheus Barbosa UFPE https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8758-2389
• Emanoel Silva UFPB https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4980-614X
• Josinaldo Pontes Júnior UFPB https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4193-0557
• Ayla Dantas Rebouças UFPB https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2986-8754
• Ivonildo Pereira Neto UFPE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7415-2168

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/educomp_estendido.2021.14849

Abstract

In this work, we present the "Pixel" application, which was built based on the unplugged activity "Coloring with Numbers Representation of Images" from the book by Bell et al. (2011). The application has four levels. Throughout each one, we expect that the user can learn about image representation through information and some activities that exercise the content. It shows, for example, how a matrix can represent each pixel of an image and the importance of data compression. We believe that creating applications based on unplugged computing activities can make it easier for teachers to apply these activities and bring more children and young people to Computer Science. Moreover, it may help to disseminate these activities.

Link for presentation video (in Brazilian Portuguese): https://youtu.be/pb3wHlWUHIA

Keywords: Unplugged computing, image representation, computer science education, computational thinking

References

Tim Bell, Ian H Witten, and Mike Fellows. 2011. Computer Science Unplugged– Ensinando Ciência da Computação sem o uso do computador. Tradução coordenada por Luciano Porto Barreto (2011), 3–45.

Ivonildo Pereira Gomes Neto. 2019. Adaptação de Usabilidade no Aplicativo Computação Plugada com Foco em Crianças. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Licenciatura em Ciência da Computação) UFPB.

Matheus Oliveira. 2019. Avaliando um Aplicativo Android para Apoiar a Aplicação de Exercícios de Computação Desplugada. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Licenciatura em Ciência da Computação) UFPB.

Matheus Oliveira, Ayla Dantas, and Ivonildo Neto. 2019. Computação Plugada: Um Aplicativo Android Para Apoiar a Aplicação de Exercícios de Computação Desplugada. In Anais do XXVII Workshop sobre Educação em Computação. SBC, 493–502.

Jeannette M. Wing. 2014. Computational thinking benefits society. 40th Anniversary Blog of Social Issues in Computing 2014 (2014), 26.