Computing with Emil

Emil is a unique method of teaching computing in schools in years 1-5 – from early
primary years, for every learner in the class, for the joy of exploring, creating, and
learning. Based on our educational research and many years of working with teachers
and pupils in several countries, it implements the idea of modern computing education
as a complex and systematic learning process in regular and formal classes in primary
schools. Emil is amusing but not just for a while. Pupils gradually learn all the
important constructs of programming in a playful way.

Emil draws on international experience in teaching computing and programming,

grounded in recent learning theories. At the same time, it also meets the requirements of
the new and developing national curricula. Instead of merely teaching how to program,
Emil brings into the classroom exploration, algorithmic and mathematical thinking
development, problem solving, and collaboration between subjects. It teaches pupils to
live and work responsibly in a digital environment, to learn about the world and how to
change it. Computing with Emil offers an evidence-based complex method for several
primary years, comprising its own pedagogy, software programming environments,
workbooks for pupils, teacher materials, and professional development content.

COMPUTERS

Computers can do lots of jobs. They can do maths, store information, or play
music. You can use a computer to write or to play games. What do you know
about the history of computers?
The first computers were very big. They were the size of a room! They were so
big that people didn't have them at home. Early computers could also only do
simple maths, like a calculator. In the 1930s Alan Turing had the idea for a
computer you could program to do different things.
In 1958 Jack Kilby invented the microchip. Microchips are tiny but can store lots
of information. They helped make computers smaller. In the 1970s computers
were smaller and cheaper so people started to use them at home. In the 1980s
computer games were very popular. Lots of people bought computers just to
play games.
In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, which is a way to
organise information on the internet. Now people all over the world can look for
and share information on websites.
Today people can use smartphones to play games, email and go on the
internet. In the past a simple computer was the size of a room. Now it can go in
your pocket!
Fun facts

● More than 5 billion people use the internet!

● More than 300 billion emails are sent every day!
● The first computer mouse was made of wood!

The Pioneers of Computer Programming

Unlike some inventions—like the airplane (Wright Brothers) and telephone (Alexander
Graham Bell)— the creation of computer programs isn’t tied to any single name in
history. Instead, it was a halting, stop and go progress that eventually led to what we
think of as computer programming today, which is the ability to write instructions for a
machine in near-English language. Here we'll look at some of the pioneers in this field.

Babbage and Lovelace

Mathematics and algorithms are vital to computer programming; we will start with the
duo that is most widely credited for both the concept of computer programs and the
creation of the first one. Charles Babbage is considered to be the father of the
programmed computer. As a mathematician, he understood how all calculations were
made up of smaller parts that could be mechanized. To do this, the machine would
need an input device, a processor, a control unit and an output device. Babbage
conceptualized such a machine and named it the Analytical Engine. The conceptual
Analytical Engine became even more important in computing history when Babbage’s
friend, Augusta Ada King, wrote the first computer program for it. The algorithm-based
program she wrote for the Analytical Engine was intended to calculate Bernoulli
numbers and would have worked if the machine had been built. So, this is why Augusta
Ada King is widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.

Herman Hollerith

The first practical step toward a programmed computer was taken by Herman
Hollerith. Hollerith, and the Tabulating Machine Company he founded in 1896, has a
connection with computing history. Hollerith’s punch-card machines were definitely a
step in the direction of a programmed and automated computer, but they also marked
the birth of data processing. As if that major contribution weren’t enough, his company
also became part of the iconic IBM in the 1920s. As far as programming, the Hollerith
Machines provided a medium by which programming could take place.

The War Trio: Alan Turing, Konrad Zuse and John von Neumann

A German, a Brit and a Hungarian greatly contributed to the field of computer

programming, both in theory and in practice. The Brit, Alan Turing, came up with the
Universal Turing Machine, a conceptual machine that could be programmed and
reprogrammed to do different tasks. During the war he also designed many
single-purpose computers for cracking codes. The Hungarian, John von Neumann,
added a description of the architecture that would be needed to create a
stored-program computer, giving scientists and academics a to-do list. Then, Konrad
Zuse built the first programmable computer using a programming language of his own
called Plankalkul, which was written in binary.