As a classroom teacher, autumn has always felt to me like a time of settling in and matching pace with the rhythm of daily and weekly classroom life. It’s also a great time to look out for new things to learn. New things we find in our students, new things we find in our peers, and new things we can find professionally. We got some great opportunities to share this month and I hope you can avail yourselves of them. Let’s match the rhythms of the season and do some learning right alongside our students!
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SDCOE Computer Science Coordinator
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CSforCA Data Tool Update
The Computer Science advocacy group CSforCA, in partnership with the Kapor Center in Oakland, have updated their data tool. This tool can help administrators understand the current enrollment of high school students in computer science as well as demographic indicators of who is taking these courses. A fun tool for asking deeper questions. You can access the tool on the CSforCA website and you’ll find it at the bottom of the page.
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Code.org Releases Annual National Report Card
Code.org released its annual report card! You can get information for CS advocacy as well as look over state-by-state comparisons. Yes, we have much more work to do. However, our state (and county) has made some real progress over the past five years. Let’s keep CS growing!
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Autumn of CS Admin Workshop
The UCLA CS Administrator Workshop is being offered this fall on Oct. 25 and Nov. 15. This is a fantastic opportunity for district teams who are considering equitable implementation of CS but want deeper insight into the process of doing that successfully. Bring your team to gain deeper insights and start the deeper conversations about what CS can look like in your community! Learn from CS administrators and educators from across the state. Find more information on the flyer and registration page.
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The California Science Educators (CASE) conference is nearly here! Happening Oct. 8 to 10, this virtual conference is spotlighting intersections between traditional science fields and CS. This is truly a great opportunity for better understanding how the study of both fields are complementary to students. Be sure to check out the Sunday session with SDCOE’s own Crystal Howe and Mark Lantsberger. You can find more information and register here.
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California STEAM Symposium
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The California STEAM Symposium is also just around the corner. Happening October 21 to 23, this CDE- sponsored virtual symposium covers all things STEAM including CS! Administrators, check out the session with Mark Lantsberger from SDCOE alongside Roxana Hadad from UCLA’s CenterX. Look over the offerings and registration here.
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SDCOE Equity Conference 2022
The conference will be in person Jan. 20 and 21 at the San Diego Convention Center. Early registration is $350 per person, $325 per person if you register as part of a group, $150 for students, and no cost for parents who are part of a school site team that registers under the group rate.
Educators across our region and state have taken steps to learn how to become allies in their schools to help make their community safer and more inclusive. Let's continue to learn how to engage in effective, systemic change and better respond to the linguistic, cultural, social-emotional, and mental health needs of all students. Join us and come away with renewed purpose and practices you can implement the next day!
Present at the Equity Conference
Share your story with others at the 2022 Equity Conference. The call for presenters is now open through Oct. 31.
Lighthouse Awards
SDCOE is celebrating San Diego County equity champions in the community and the classroom with the annual Lighthouse Awards given to honorees at the Equity Conference 2022. Nominees should actively promote the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion by positively enhancing or contributing to the overall environment and achievement of students. Nominate someone by Dec. 7 for the Turnaround School Site Leader, Turnaround Teacher, Turnaround Support Staff, Equity Champion, No Place for Hate Leader, and new this year, the Student Equity Leadership Award for a student or student group.
Call for Youth Poetry
Please encourage your students to share their talent in writing and performance art by submitting an audio or video recording of their original poem or spoken word. The recording may be played during the Equity Conference in January. Submissions should be sent by Nov. 12 and connected to at least one of the conference learning themes:
- Student voice and agency
- Culture and language diversity
- Family and community engagement
- Mental health and wellness
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion
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This section spotlights CS educators, administrators, and organizations making a difference for their students. If you have a CS hero in your system, tell us about them using this Google form for possible inclusion in a future edition of Bit Blast!.
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UCSD and SDUSD Offer 3rd and 4th Grade CS Units
In a joint effort between UCSD and SDUSD, 3rd and 4th grade units in CS have been developed. The 3rd grade units are: CS + Fables and CS + Data. 4th grade has CS + Community, and CS + Technology is slated to arrive in April. These units do a really great job of capturing the integration of CS and other critical content such as mathematics and English language arts. The units are shared under Creative Commons license and are free for everyone to use. Lead developers Dr. Beth Simon and Dr. Emily Thomforde are both doctors in computer science and very passionate about early education in CS as well as stalwart advocates for CS education statewide. You really should see these units -- look here to start.
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Unruly Splats can make code move
Unruly Splats is a classroom ecosystem that combines the power of block based coding and pressure sensitive sensors to help kids “actively play” with code. The tools are designed for late elementary and middle school students and. . . it’s a ton of fun! Check out their offerings here.
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This section contains information about CS community groups and their gatherings. If you’d like to share an upcoming event or happening with Bit Blast!, please fill out this Google form.
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CSTA Happy Hour Series returns
After a summer hiatus, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) chapter of San Diego is getting back into full swing! The first of the 2021-22 Happy Hour Series takes place virtually from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21. Join in with fellow CS teachers for fun and informative learning, community, and support. All grade levels are welcome! If you’d like to know more about the San Diego chapter look here and if you’d like to join look here.
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News From the State
The state budget is calling for $15 million to help in-service teachers get their Supplemental Authorization in Computer Science. This is a welcome move from our legislature and a strong signal that our state is moving forward with equitable CS education. While the exact structure of this funding still hasn’t been released yet, keep an eye on this space for further details and assistance with the process. Let’s strive for 6,000 new CS teachers across our state!
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Think Again by Adam Grant
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This month, we’d like to recommend a New York Times best seller. The book has nothing to do with computer science. This book has nothing to do with education. This book has everything to do with computer science! This book has everything to do with education!
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist who teaches at the Wharton School and his book will provide many opportunities for rethinking your opinions as well as decisions. According to Grant, “[we] shouldn’t always believe everything [we] think.” The book brings forth an advocacy for questioning pretense and a constant evaluative curiosity as a stance. You’ll find this an intriguing book that's well worth reading!
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As we work deeper into the year, let’s not forget to look out for each other. Our situations at sites and districts are still very challenging in many ways, and many of us are working through issues in our home and personal lives as well. COVID is still a rough beast out there. I invite you to be on the lookout for anyone having a tough day. Offer support with kindness. Kindness is one of the things that costs nothing, but can mean everything. Be well.
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If you have any questions or comments about the Bit Blast! newsletter, please contact Mark Lantsberger.
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Get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at SDCOE and in our districts across the county.
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