ActionJoin goes back to the basic idea of a computer: an input/output machine.
The idea is to reflect the basic architecture of a computing machine - the core concept that is unlikely to change despite the accelerating progress in Computer Science.
With ActionJoin, a computer program is reflected as a sequence of actions representing computer operations that can make data connections to other actions on the sequence. Each action can have input and output connectors that the user will use to build interactions within the sequence.
Each action sequence is an input-output block providing a natural way to decompose or factor complex programming flows into units to manage complexity.
In Computer Science, computational thinking is the basic ability that allows people to create algorithms which in turn are the underpinnings of all software.
People exercise computational thinking while coding, but the concept is much broader than programming. Coding is only one tool to build algorithms/software just like the piano is only one instrument to produce music.
Many educational tools represent programming languages as colourful words, but that's akin to teaching someone music by providing them with a colourful piano keyboard. It may be a valid idea, but music shouldn't be confined to the piano, just as programming shouldn't be solely about coding. It's also inevitable that programming through code as the primary means to creating software will become obsolete.
That doesn't mean that they will disappear altogether any time soon. Instead, like machine code or assembly language, they will become a niche and most of the computing problems will be solved by building programs in new ways. That's why computational thinking is more important than coding alone. Coding is like playing a particular instrument, whereas computational thinking is like musical talent itself. Of course, to exercise one's talent, an instrument is indispensable, but practising only one instrument limits students' development.
ActionJoin is an open platform where imagination is the only limit. That said, we aim to provide tutorials that cover the curriculum requirements of different countries. We currently cover the British Computing curriculum and are working on other countries' needs.
In Computer Science, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, creativity and imagination are key. This is why the more you stimulate a student's mind, the better the outcome. That's why every tool should be complementary to others - not a replacement.
Computational thinking is like music — by forcing a pupil to play only one instrument, you effectively limit the development of their talent. Every pupil is different - one abstraction will work better for some, another for others - that's why we should provide students with a number of options to draw inspiration from.
