For you digital natives who may wonder where this tech stuff came from or you immigrants who would like to relive the good old days, Walter Issacson is working on material offering a context or the tech tools we enjoy today. It is not clear how far he will take this work, but here is the first installment. If you came of age in the 60s, this should bring back the memories.
This article claims that 22% of classroom computers are now Chromebooks.
No other subject will open as many doors in the 21st Century, regardless of a student’s ultimate field of study or occupation, as computer science.
Statement from “Running on Empty” a frequently cited document lamenting the state of Computer Science in K-12 education.
I am reading to evaluate what I think of the new interest in “coding for all” (can I claim origination of this phrase if it should happen to become popular). There were no references in support of this claim so I am attempting to imagine what a course in computer science might be evaluated against. Would you propose Computer Science instead of Geometry? How about physics or chemistry? A related problem would be who would teach it? At the secondary level, those who teach math can typically teach more than one of the math courses. What combination with CS would be likely? Would it be assumed CS is all that someone would teach?
In a closed system, you really have to drop something to add something. Proposing what CS might replace and why would seem a practical way to move forward. Suggestions? Be brave now. I propose we add computer science and drop ……
The Twit podcast network is evaluating a weekly coding program – take a look. If the program attracts an audience, it is likely to be continued.
BlueHost offers some free server space to educators and students. I use BlueHost and pay for the server space, but this looks like an interesting possibility for those wanting to get online. I realize there are various ways to get blog space at no cost, but Spoke (the BlueHost program) does not limit you to blogging.
Here is a thoughtful piece on learning to code from a Stanford grad student.
I would suggest this additional reference if you want to get into this issue.
