Playful Tools to Foster the Development of Computational Thinking in School-Age Children in the Andes of Peru

This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a computational thinking workshop for children in the Andean regions of Peru, using playful tools such as Lightbot and mBlock. The objective was to strengthen skills such as algorithmic design, decomposition, debugging, loops, and pattern recognition. The participants were children aged 8 to 11 years, who engaged in activities aimed at developing these abilities. Descriptive analyses and statistical tests (Student's t-test) were applied to identify gender-based differences. The results showed that both girls and boys performed similarly, with no significant differences, suggesting that these tools promote gender equity in rural educational settings. Furthermore, according to the Peruvian educational evaluation scale, the skills of loops and debugging were identified as needing greater reinforcement, as they were concentrated in the lowest performance category (Category C). The study concludes that this type of workshop can help reduce the digital divide and strengthen 21st-century skills in vulnerable contexts, contributing to a more inclusive and contextualized education.