VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

codeva

VSTE Outreach Welcomes CodeVA

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Join VSTE's Outreach Committee, led by Board Director Chanel Alford for an at-home, 40-minute virtual Guided Tour, led by members of CodeVA's Professional Learning and Eureka Workshop engagement teams. They'll share exciting updates about CodeVA's flagship programs for educators and students, exciting new offerings rolling out this spring and summer, and upcoming events open to all Virginia educators and students.

CodeVA seeks to revolutionize learning with Computer Science in every classroom, and to pioneer and innovate CS learning for students, beginning with their teachers. We care about equity, access and inclusion, as key success measures in this effort. We're eager to learn how we can best support your work in CS, no matter where you're starting from or what grade or subject you teach. We're all in this exciting evolution together!
Bring your favorite drink of choice and join us on Thursday, February 17th at 7PM!
Attendees will be eligible for free CodeVA Swag!

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlf-ivpzgjGtesWCK_PHJI9IVH4NsFDZR6

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

3 Things Virginia Elementary Teachers Might Not Know About The New Computer Science Standards

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There are new computer science standards for Virginia. Many teachers are nervous, but also excited to prepare students for the future. Below are a few takeaways from the recent presentation from CodeVA’s Rebecca Dovi which was posted on Youtube.

#1 The Need, and Virginia taking the lead!

It is really important to start with how Virginia has the highest number of jobs in computer science and cybersecurity in the U.S! Depending on the time of year there can be between 40,000-44,000 open computer science jobs, and 37,000-40,000 open cybersecurity jobs in Virginia. Wow!

#2 The strands for the new standards

Elementary teachers already have a lot to teach. The good news is that as the standards were developed into strands, the focus was to tie them into existing content that is taught in classrooms currently. An easy example is how Math teachers can incorporate instruction on programming loops when they are teaching about patterns.

#3 So how will all of this be implemented?

There will not be another standardized test! Whew! School divisions will have a number of choices. It is important to note that this is the first big change in terms of adding to public education since P.E. was added a century ago. That being said, you will see these standards implemented alongside of core instruction where they fit.

Don’t Fear!

Again, the standards for elementary are designed to go along with the core instruction that teachers are already trained to do. Coaches, like me, are thrilled to help teachers get started.

In addition, CodeVa, an educational non-profit, provides training and outreach to support computer science in Virginia. You can learn more about CodeVA by visiting their website.

Written by Tim Bakner. Tim is an Instructional Coach with Virginia Beach City Public Schools. He uses student-centered and teacher-centered approaches in instructional coaching to transform education in K-5. Tim has written curriculum for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, is recognized as a leader in his division for developing and providing teacher professional development, and is a frequent presenter at the VSTE Conference.

You can follow Tim on Twitter @timbakner or visit his website at timbakner.com