As we’ve gotten underway with May, most of us are looking forward to summer. Of course, that brings to mind The Summer of CS event happening in June. Did you know more than 700 educators statewide have signed up for computer science (CS) training starting in June and July? Some of those participants include you, our Bit Blast! readers. So thank you for participating. It’s going to be a great summer. If you missed the registration deadline and are ready to do some learning, check out the opportunities listed in our Deep Learning section below.
As a classroom teacher, my summers often had stretches of self-reflection and analysis of my daily practice and approach. These times were fruitful in my early years of teaching and became downright productive in my later years. Life-long learning, right? The past few years I’ve been learning more and more about assessment practices. What are we really measuring? Do those measurements reflect what I value as a teacher and content expert? What messages are we sending to students and parents? How can we be clear with students about what we measure? How does my daily practice indicate what is valued? Seems like a lot of questions. Maybe that’s why we call our work a practice.
If you’d like more up-to-the-minute computer science (CS) news and events, follow @MarkLantsberger on Twitter, where I share all things computer science in San Diego County for TK-12 educators. You can also find more information on the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Computer Science webpage. More direct inquiries can be made to Mark Lantsberger or Maria Hynes. If you have comments or suggestions for future issues, please fill out this Google form.
Know someone who might enjoy what you’re reading? Please share this link so others can sign up for future issues of Bit Blast!.
SDCOE Computer Science Coordinator
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Grading for Equity CS Workshop Offered This Summer! |
Do you often wonder at the end of a term, "That grade can't be right??!!" Have you felt that your final grades didn't truly represent what your students can do? Feel like your course could use an update?
The purpose of the Grading for Equity Summer Workshop — CS Focus is to provide a safe forum for educators to explore the history and research on grading, examine and discuss grading policies and practices, and design (or redesign) two units (weeks) of a course to incorporate equitable grading practices in their work.
Join us on Wednesday evenings from 3 to 5 p.m. June 21 to August 9.
There is no fee, but participants are required to purchase their own copy of Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. Audiobooks are NOT recommended. A companion Canvas course will be used for asynchronous interactions. Register today.
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Computer Science Professional Network for Elementary TOSAs |
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Don't miss the final meeting of the year!
SDCOE's professional network specifically designed for elementary teachers on special assignment (TOSAs) to further engage with CS is nearing the last meeting of the year. Register to attend. Math, science, STEM, and STEAM TOSAs are certainly invited, but a warm welcome awaits for visual and performing arts, English language arts, and general TOSAs as well as any others who support elementary educators in implementing CS and/or instructional coaching.
The network goal is to expand understanding and implementation capacity around the California computer science standards, learn from each other about successful (and challenging) practices, and explore/play with interesting technologies and ideas. Most importantly, have a space to share with people who are experiencing similar things as you. The final meeting for this academic year is May 22 from 4 to 5 p.m. If you are a district administrator or a classroom teacher, please consider forwarding this invitation to anyone in your organization who may be interested.
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Develop Your Daily Teaching Practice |
As a teacher, summertime is great for looking into ways to improve your practice. However, it can be challenging to align your own learning with current research in CS pedagogy. The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) offers a tool to help guide your professional learning progression. Even if you’re not currently a CSTA member, you can access standards for CS teachers to consider your growth strategies. CSTA+ members also have a new way to gain knowledge and skills through an online professional development course pilot program. Check it out!
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Get Your District Engaged with CS through SCRIPT |
Is your district considering beginning or expanding the computer science instruction being offered? That’s a big question for administrators. What do we want for our students in offering CS? What structures do we already have in place? What specialized needs does this type of instruction require? Do we have the capacity to do this? SDCOE can help you find your answers to these questions!
The Strategic CSforALL Resource and Implementation Planning Tool, or the SCRIPT, is a framework to guide teams of district administrators, school leaders, and educators through a series of collaborative visioning, self-assessment, and goal-setting exercises to create or expand upon a computer science education implementation plan for their students.
SDCOE can facilitate a multi-day visioning workshop using the SCRIPT when you’re ready and it includes support for a full year! Email Mark Lantsberger to start thinking about how to assemble your team.
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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 it in this Google form for possible inclusion in a future edition of Bit Blast!.
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Counselor for CS Spotlight: Brittany Oka |
Being a CS teacher can be a rather lonely and isolating experience. But did you know some of your best advocates may already be on your campus? School counselors speak to many more students than we do every week, and they often build trusting and lasting relationships very quickly. We’d like to point out a rock star from right here in San Diego County: Brittany Oka from Monte Vista High School in Grossmont Union High School District.
Brittany attended a Counselors for Computing offering and was quickly identified as a CS Champion. You can read more about her story on the CSforCA blog page. Way to go Brittany! We’re all rooting for you!
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Find Learning Opportunities or Lend Your Expertise with the San Diego STEM Ecosystem |
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The San Diego STEM Ecosystem hosts a directory with a wide variety of learning opportunities from frequent programs, activities, workshops and events, to online opportunities and scholarships for all ages and interests. Their partners contribute to opportunities daily. Check the website frequently for updates! There are many ways to get involved for learners, educators, informal educators, and industry professionals from the STEM fields.
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Expanding Student Outreach with the AspireIT Toolkit |
Are you aspiring to build a program for K-12 students to help broaden participation in computing? Are you an educator looking to connect with others to share resources and best practices? Are you focused on advocating for broadening the participation of girls, women, and other underrepresented populations in computing and technology but don’t know where to start? The National Council of Women in Technology (NCWIT) AspireIT Toolkit helps anyone interested in designing engaging and inclusive computer science experiences for K-12 students, with a focus on broadening the participation of girls, women, and other underrepresented populations.
The toolkit is rooted in three core values — peer mentorship, inclusivity, and hands-on engagement — to foster effectiveness and lead to the greatest impact for participants and their communities. Find everything needed to engage students in your programming, raise awareness about the importance of computing education, and connect with others who share similar passions. Access the AspireIT toolkit.
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This section contains information about CS community groups and their gatherings.Share an upcoming event or happening with Bit Blast! by filling out this Google form.
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CSTA Members Can Sign Up for the California EdCamp This Month |
The California CSTA collaborative is hosting a state-wide meet up this month and you should join in! There are planned flash-talks from several of the county chapters followed by an EdCamp styled session to talk about what is interesting to the attendees. Join the virtual event Thursday, May 18, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at no cost. Non-members are welcome but are encouraged to become a CSTA member for free! Register for CSTA CS EdCamp. |
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Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Annual Conference |
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CSTA's Annual Conference is a chance for computer science teachers to come together to find strength in their local community through networking events, engage with learning session they actually want to attend, and to identify ways to impact students and teachers outside their classroom. The three-day virtual conference has over 150 sessions of education to broaden your knowledge of computer science education, inspirational keynotes and sessions to reinvigorate your passion for teaching, and countless moments of fun and connection along the way. If you are looking for new and exciting ways to engage with your students in your classroom, you don't want to miss out on this great experience. |
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The OpenAI Debate Looms Large for Educators |
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At SDCOE, we’ve been fielding a lot of questions about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in classroom settings. Many of these questions are from administrators and department heads around the concerns of cheating. And for good reason!
For instance, the graphic in this section was generated by an AI and a simple prompt of “AI thinking." I’m not certain if you’ve had a chance to explore the latest version of ChatGPT, but what it produces is at least interesting if not good. But be aware, Math and CS people, this is not just a worry in the ELA and history/social sciences realms.
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The other image is a screenshot of ChatGPT’s partial response to a simple query (in plain English) to create a program that implements a mergesort algorithm on a 10-element, integer data set in Java. Professional software engineers have “reused” pre-written code for a long time and generative models have been around for a while in the professional sphere. The above example is a very high-level task in an Advanced Placement Computer Science A course and ChatGPT created it in about 40 seconds. Now you may be feeling the panic of world studies and literature teachers! And don’t feel left out math and science folks. Here’s a fairly recent article about AI tackling the Science Olympiad. This issue certainly isn’t just for essay assignments.
Which all brings us back to the original questions about cheating and what can we do about this thing? I think this article by Erik Olfgang is an easy place to start. Thought provoking, yes? But my favorite recent perspective comes from Mitch Resnick. Dr. Resnick is the creator of the Scratch programming platform and a passionate educator. The article is a bit long, but it truly captures the creative mindsets that teachers and students can use regarding AI and how we can continue to grow inquiry, investigation, and play in our classrooms (secondary teachers... play is still important to your students too!).
What if AI could help students launch into creative ideas to build new things? Maybe we teachers would have to learn alongside; learn the new questions to ask. Are we assessing fund of knowledge? Or how much a student has learned? Life-long learning, right?
To be clear, this is not the AI from The Terminator, The Matrix, or 2001. We are not in a current threat of extinction! For a broader picture of where we are and where it may be leading, we recommend The Big Nine by Amy Webb; a much longer read.
These worries of cheating and students just “skating by” were asked when Google was invented, or essay files could be copied from one computer to another, and when the calculator came along. It seems to me that teachers of the past figured out how to ask better questions and reassess what they were assessing. It’s a challenge, but maybe ChatGPT could help out?
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BitBlast! wishes you a fabulous summertime. We hope that you have some recharge moments and extra time with family and friends. Self-reflection can be recharging as well. We’re looking forward to seeing many of you along the way during the Summer of CS events. Until next time, 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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