Focus on Computer Science Education
Codio begins work with US Computer Science Teachers through the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) partnership just as the White House announces a new Computer Science for All (CSforAll) initiative nationwide!
Learn about President Obama’s initiative to “empower a generation of American students with the computer science skills they need to thrive in a digital economy”.
Recap of White House Briefing on CSforAll initiative
A spirited live session from the Briefing Room at the White House brought together a large number of computer science educators, influencers and policy makers. The presenters- including educators, students, the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation among others- announced new initiatives to push forward what was passionately referred to as the new “movement for computer science education” in US schools. In addition to the announcement by the NSF of $25 million in funding to new computer science projects at 40 institutions, and the development of a national interagency working group comprised of 15 different federal departments, CSNY also announced the development of a CSforAll Consortium aimed to “help connect members of the national CS education community, provide an avenue for disseminating their work, and track our collective progress toward the goal of providing every student with the opportunity to learn CS”.
The Momentum is Now
Megan Smith, US Chief Technology Officer, concluded the hour-long session with poignant statements highlighting the contributions of women to computer science historically, and stating that we need to be sure to “keep equity at the heart of what we do”. She called for “all hands on deck” to make coding something that is “super cool and everyone does it”.
The momentum is clearly here- and, don't forget, the initiative WAS also mentioned in the beginning paragraphs of the President’s State of the Union address this year.
This writer, for one, is “on deck”!
Codio is proud to welcome Eliza Griscom, Senior Education Community Manager and team lead of our support for teachers based in North America. Eliza brings many years of computer science education to Codio. She has been a computer science teacher at the middle school and high school level. She has also been a course developer and instructional designer at the HiEd level. She is a National Coalition for Women In Technology “Aspirations in Computing” Educator Award winner.
