The CSTA Equity Fellowship is a selective, year-long program designed to develop leadership in equitable teaching practices and advocacy. The program will both provide leadership development opportunities to the fellows and identify opportunities for the group to develop ongoing, peer-to-peer professional learning experiences focused on addressing issues of equity in the computer science classrooms for all CSTA members. Apply today!
Teachers regularly go above and beyond for their students — and that’s even when the world isn’t facing a pandemic. Over the past few months, we’ve heard stories of teachers calling internet providers to fight for access for their students and we’ve seen teachers sharing successes and tips to help facilitate the shift to online learning. It’s incredible to see computer science educators come together to support each other and the students they teach.
Apple Inc. said it was working with 10 additional historically Black universities and colleges to become "hubs" that will teach computer programming and app design skills in their regions. Apple started a community education initiative last year to provide iPads, Mac computers, teaching curricula and access to its staff and engineers for schools that serve under-represented minority students.
If this summer looks a little different for your family, you are not alone. Many summer camps have decided to cancel due to social distancing recommendations — meaning fewer learning opportunities for students and added responsibilities for parents.
Coding is more fun when it flies! Learn how to program in Blockly and Python with CoDrone Mini, Robolink's newest drone. Go at your own pace with virtual 1:1 classes, or join one of our virtual group classes. CoDrone Mini also comes with standards-aligned curriculum for use in classrooms!
When online learning students in Kansas' rural Ulysses Public Schools can't access a website a teacher has sent them to, they can use software installed on their computers to send an immediate request for approval to the district's IT team. The IT team received about 25 to 50 such requests a day in the days right after the shift to remote instruction, says Dennis Gonzales, the technology director. IT staff granted access through the Impero software once they confirmed the teacher had provided the link.
As the clock starts to click down on summer vacation, many educators are still left wondering exactly what the 2020-21 school year will bring as a result of the pandemic. Will things finally settle down and allow schools to return to normal? Will we see a spike in COVID-19 cases, thus leading to significant changes to school operations? Can teachers ever get "comfortable" with their situation, their schedule, and their routines?
"Are we ready for machines smarter than we are? Perhaps, as you struggle to use your latest phone software, you're thinking 'we already have those.' But what about machines that are smarter than any of us?"
Plenty of discussions about the use of artificial intelligence talk about how AI could help educators by shrinking the amount of time they have to spend on the trivia that pervades their work and freeing them up to focus on the job of teaching. In the latest CoSN IT leadership survey, more than half of respondents (55 percent) said that AI would have a significant or even transformational impact on teaching and learning within the next five years, if privacy issues can be addressed to everybody's satisfaction.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned schools about an increase in ransomware attacks during the pandemic, with attackers exploiting Remote Desktop Protocol connections that allow school employees to log in to district servers remotely. While the FBI's alert is worrisome in its own right, it's not the issue that keeps K-12 cybersecurity expert Doug Levin up at night.
An April 2020 overview of K-12 job losses notes that, more than 10 years after the Great Recession, employment in public schools hasn't fully recovered from 2008’s Great Recession. The research further indicates that without support from the federal government, the revenue shortfalls related to the current crisis will be dramatically worse.
Since 2017, CoderZ has been providing students and educators with virtual coding competitions that provide the opportunity to build STEM-related skills. Now it has opened registration for its all-new CoderZ League: the Virtual Cyber Robotics Competition (formerly the Cyber Robotics Coding Competition or CRCC). This cloud-based robotics tournament expands the scope of its predecessor, engaging students in grades four through 12 in STEM, coding and tech literacy.
