Keystone's Computer Science Teacher Newsletter
Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities
Join us for the next CS Networking on Mar. 5
So much is happening in Computer Science! Join us to keep up-to-date with current and proposed legislation, professional development opportunities, network with other Keystone AEA schools, and learn what others are doing to increase Computer Science opportunities within their schools.
Mar. 5; 3:00 - 4:00
May. 7; 3:00 - 4:00
Coming Soon!!
CS Professional Development opportunities in June 2024!
Watch for emails and social media posts about upcoming CS PD opportunities in June! The 9 AEAs have joined to offer several computer science learning opportunities, many available virtually. We anticipate offering CodeJoy (micro:bit, Finch, Hummingbird), Sphero (Indi, Bolt), Code HS (MS & HS), and CMU CS Academy, among many others! Space will be limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Since there isn't state funding for CS PD this year, the AEAs are covering much of the cost of the outside PD providers. Please watch for more information!
Central Plains CCSC conference
Apr. 5 & 6, 2024
The Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) is offering a 2-day workshop in Lamoni, Iowa. The keynote speech will be given by Dr. Monica McGill, who founded and leads CSEdResearch.org. CSEdR
Presentations for and by K-12 educators include:
- "Engaging Middle Schoolers in Game Programming: A Scratch-Based Workshop Experience"
- "Cyberpalooza: Experiences Presenting Cyber/CS Subject to High School Students"
- "Teaching Functional Programming in F# to Grade 9 and Grace 10 Students"
- Presentations relevant to all levels of computing education, including inclusive teaching practices and the impacts and applications of Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, etc.).
- A workshop covering the use of GitHub Classroom for distributing, collecting, and autograding assignments.
More details can be found on the conference website and the tentative schedule. Registration for K-12 educators is just $55 (63% discount) and includes a banquet and a lunch.
6th - 8th grade Physical Computing with Robotics
Explore ways to integrate robots into the 6th - 8th grade classroom to engage students in learning Computer Science. We will explore robots that are available for checkout through the Keystone Media Center such as Finch, Micro:bit, Hummingbird, Edison, Root, and Sphero.
Date: Apr. 8, 2024
Time: 9:00 - 3:00
Location: Keystone AEA, Elkader
Registration Deadline: Mar. 25, 2024
Iowa Classrooms+Workplaces Summit
April 10, 2024 – Iowa Events Center
The Iowa Classrooms + Workplaces Summit will focus on work-based, career-connected, experiential and community-applied learning through partnerships with leaders from business and industry, education, nonprofits, elected officials, students and others. The STEM Council’s own Emily Abbas with Bankers Trust will be the Master of Ceremonies. Registration is required for planning purposes.
-
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
-
Location: Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, IA
-
Time: 9:30-3:30pm
CSTA Annual Conference 2024
The CSTA 2024 Annual Conference is set for July 16–19, 2024, in Las Vegas!
Attendees will leave feeling refreshed and excited to start the 2024–2025 school year, armed with new lessons and tools to implement in the classroom. Hear from our inspirational keynote speakers — to be announced soon — and experience the hands-on classroom experiences you’ve been missing.
Registration for CSTA 2024 includes:
- Full access to all programming Tuesday, July 16 through Friday, July 19, 2024.
- An invitation to the Welcome Reception on Tuesday, July 16.
- An invitation to the offsite reception on Thursday, July 18. Details will be announced at a later date.
- Access to all session resources and slide decks.
- Access to general session recordings.
- Access to the Exhibit Hall.
Ready to register for CSTA 2024? Don't forget to click "Member Registration" and log in using your CSTA+ membership credentials to secure the member rate!
More Information & Register here
Teacher Opportunities:
Teacher Ambassador Applications are open!
Apply to be an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher Ambassador! Ambassadors will embark on a two-year, paid professional development experience designed to increase access to computer science and technology for all students and teachers.
Discover eligibility details and what it means to be an AFE Teacher Ambassador below. The deadline to apply is Mar. 25, 2024.
Student Opportunities:
Amazon Opportunities:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most transformative technology of our generation. If we are going to unlock the full potential of AI to tackle the world’s most challenging problems, we need to make AI education accessible to anyone with a desire to learn. Because of this, Amazon has announced 3 new initiatives:
- Eight new and free AI and generative AI courses
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) Generative AI Scholarship, providing more than 50,000 high school and university students globally with access to a new generative AI course on Udacity
- New collaboration with Code.org designed to help students learn about generative AI
Potential Legislation changes to add CS graduation requirement
On Feb. 14, 2024, Iowa's Senate File Bill 2332 was introduced which would change graduation requirements in Iowa schools. The newly introduced legislation states:
"high school graduation requirements for all students in school districts and accredited nonpublic schools that include at a minimum satisfactory completion of four years of English and language arts, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and three years of social studies, and, beginning with students in the 2028-2029 school year graduating class, one semester of computer science, or the trimester or quarter equivalent."
National Robotics Week
Save the Date: Apr. 6 - 14, 2024
What will you or your school be doing for National Robotics Week? Want to find some ideas on what to do? Check out the National Robotics Week website for resources to start planning.
CS Curriculum Options
Looking for curriculum options? These resource documents were recently released from the Iowa AEA Computer Science consultants. They provide a curated list of options for various grade levels.
K-2 Computer Science Curriculum Resource List
3-5 Computer Science Curriculum Resource List
Middle School Computer Science Curriculum Resource List
High School Computer Science Courses
Computer Science Clubs/Competitions
Connect with Other Computer Science Teachers
Facebook Group: Iowa Computer Science Teachers
#CSforIA