Working our way through February, it’s time to appreciate brisk mornings and be thankful for a snow-free environment! The winter months also provide some wonderful times to be appreciative of our collective histories and inspiring accomplishments in computer science.
February is Black History Month. There are many computer science pioneers for us to celebrate. Sharing the stories of pioneering computer scientists can be very empowering for ourselves and our students. Being intentional about representing the diversity in our space helps youngsters get a full and proper understanding of what they could achieve. Find a nice infographic here, or learn further about Black pioneers in this interesting blog.
And in a similar spirit, Women's History Month is coming up in March. The Computer History Museum has some great resources for female pioneers as well. There are many computing champions. Let’s celebrate them all!
If you’d like more up-to-the-minute computer science (CS) news and events, connect with us on Twitter at @CSinSD. You can also find more information on the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) computer science webpage. 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.
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SDCOE Computer Science Coordinator
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Dr. Emily Thomforde Named Statewide Coordinator
The California Department of Education (CDE) has created a new position. Dr. Emily Thomforde has been selected as the first statewide coordinator for computer science! Dr. Thomforde holds her doctorate in artificial intelligence and has worked in program development as well as curriculum writing. SDCOE has worked closely with Dr. Thomforde on statewide projects. She brings amazing energy to our space and will be a great asset for our wider community. Let’s congratulate Emily on her new position and look for best ways to support her in this new role!
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SCRIPT Has Arrived in San Diego County
Does the implementation of CS in your district feel haphazard sometimes? Do you wish you and your leadership team had some time to really think through making CS a priority? Do you ever wonder if there is somebody who can help facilitate some future planning?
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 on the SCRIPT when you’re ready and it includes support for a full year! Email your inquiries to 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 them using this Google form for possible inclusion in a future edition of Bit Blast!
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Mark Dean
In keeping with Black History Month, we’d like to underscore a computer science hero you may not have heard of, but you should have. Mark Dean is one of the co-creators of the IBM PC, released in 1981. He holds three of the nine foundational patents for the IBM PC.
He studied electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee and continued his education to take his doctorate at Stanford. In 1995 he was named as the first African American IBM fellow, the highest level of technical excellence at the firm. Dean oversaw the Almaden Research Center in San Jose California. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997.
Currently, Dean has returned to his native Knox County in Tennessee and is the John Fisher Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He resides with his wife, Denise.
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Katie Bouman
With Women’s History Month just around the corner, we thought you’d like to know about a young shooting star, Dr. Katie Bouman. Dr. Bouman is a leading scientist in the computational imagery field. She worked at Harvard on the Event Horizon Telescope team and is credited with developing the algorithms which created the first images of “the shadow of a black hole.” She has since moved on to the California Institute of Technology, where she is an assistant professor and a Rosenberg scholar. At only 33 years old, we can look forward to more discoveries from Dr. Bouman as she continues her research on computer imaging using computer vision and machine learning.
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Sisters Rise Up
Spring is just around the corner, and you may be thinking about those upcoming AP exams. Here’s a fabulous tutoring/mentoring program offered by Dr. Barbara Ericson at the University of Michigan. The program is intended for high school-aged girls of color to assist in their preparations for the AP exams. Click here to fill out the interest form.
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CS foreach From UC San Diego
CS foreach would like to come help you and your students! The nonprofit student organization is focused on increasing access to computer science and technical education to students across San Diego County. They can help through various workshops on topics such as game development, Python, web development, or anything your students might be interested in. They also have mentors ready to meet with students to help them get started learning about computer science or preparing for their college careers.
CS foreach is run by college students who know very well the struggles of learning computer science and other technical fields. With that in mind, they want to be able to give back to the community and help teachers and students out in whatever ways they can. Reach out to the group through this form or email csforeach@ucsd.edu.
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Repl.it Update to Replit.com
Repl.it has moved! You can now find the in-browser development suite at replit.com. The team there has been updating the platform and the new Replit Teams for Education is getting some pretty solid reviews. Check it out!
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Coding Rooms Update
Another popular in-browser development platform, Coding Rooms, has seen some recent changes. Designed with the classroom teacher in mind, you’ll find great tools for tracking student progress whether you’re remote or in a classroom lab.
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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 Conference for This Summer is ON!
As a computer science teacher, you are often the only one in your building, or maybe even in your district. There is a whole community of computer science educators just like you out there. Connect with them at the CSTA 2022 Annual Conference set for July 14 to 17 in Chicago. Get registration information here.
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CSTA San Diego Monthly Meetings
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Summer of CS is coming
It’s never too early to think about how you could grow this summer. The Summer of CS returns in June with learning and networking opportunities for teachers, counselors, and administrators. Check the current list of offerings, and bookmark it, as these are still being updated.
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The New Space Race
In an interesting opinion piece, author Marcus Bright offers a viewpoint that “Computer science courses in high school should be the norm as opposed to an anomaly.” Read the thought provoking piece here.
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While this winter has posed many continuing challenges, many heroes should be lifted up. Not just in the computer science space like we’ve seen here, but in our own educational communities in San Diego County. Teachers, administrators, classified staff, students, and parents continue to show such amazing resolve and resilience.
Be sure to notice! Take a minute to show appreciation for the everyday heroes we all have in our midst! Until April... 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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