Abstract Computational thinking is an ability that has been considered essential for people living in a society mediated by technology. This ability can also be helpful to people with little or no experience with technology, for practicing basic Computational Thinking skills may help understanding how a technological device works and can be used. However, to the best of our knowledge, little research has addressed Computational Thinking and its relation with Digital Culture, especially for reducing the digital divide. In this article, we draw on the notion of Mental Models to relate Computational Thinking and Digital Culture. We claim that practicing basic Computational Thinking skills when exploring simple prototypes favors building Mental Models that are useful to understand and progress in the usage of technologies, contributing to developing a Digital Culture. To situate our discussion, we present a case study that engaged adults, in their initial stages of literacy, in activities that grew from basic ones, with a low-fidelity ATM prototype, to more complex ones with a functional ATM prototype. Evaluation methods used were voting, feedback, structured observation and unstructured interviews. Results suggested our approach is promising as participants gained confidence and increased autonomy as the activities progressed, using the experience and knowledge they obtained from previous activities to perform the next ones.

Curriculum guidelines for Computer Science undergraduate courses from different institutions recognize computational thinking as a fundamental skill that all students must exercise in Computer Science courses. Unfortunately, the guidelines do not make it clear when and how these skills should be exercised. The literature recognizes the importance and relevance of computational thinking. However, there is still little evidence around which aspects should be considered to design activities to support the development of computational thinking. To address this problem, my research aims to investigate how to design and conduct activities to promote computational thinking in Computer Science courses. The expected result is to produce an approach to assist the design and conduct of computational thinking learning activities in Computer Science courses.

There is currently an existing gap between Computer Science Education (CSE/CSEd) academia and the industry (e.g., government, profit, non-profit organizations, and research centres). It was evident in the findings for our recent research, "Identifying Opportunities and Potential Roadblocks for CSEd Professionals," presented at the ICER 2021. We discovered that the industry is unaware of CSE as a discipline, and qualification requirements for jobs relevant to CSEd exclude CSEd expertise. On the other hand, our study revealed that graduate students are interested in industry jobs. Still, their advisors discourage them from considering such employment. This disarticulation negatively impacts students, academia, and industry. Graduate students are left with little or no information and guidance to develop their career pathways and use their learned skills. Innovative research from academia is developed as theory without application to the industry. Also, the industry does not benefit from the CSE research and expertise. This Birds-of-Feathers (BOF) will bring together academic faculty members, graduate students, and industry representatives to bridge the existing gap by discussing the challenges and potential solutions. For additional information, visit https://www.csedgrad.org/birds-of-a-feather.

The recent growth of computing education globally has resulted in a growing number of Computer Science Education (CSEd) graduate students. To support and make a global impact in computing education, there is a need for these graduates to be in a diversity of careers/roles both within and beyond academia. Currently pursuing a CSEd PhD requires a leap of faith that one can overcome issues not only associated with pioneering a new discipline within the host institution but also is often undertaken without knowing what career opportunities will be available upon graduation. Surveys conducted in Spring 2020 and 2021 with graduate students and advisors document these challenges [3].