It's time to get really excited. This coming Monday, September 13th from 5PM - 7PM we're kicking off our chapter meeting calendar. We have so much to share with you! We're continuing to push legislative issues on your behalf, planning out a campaign of mentorship and Praxis preparation, and we're even offering 10 Connecticut schools scholarships to help launch their CS Ed Week programs.
Join us for the start of a great year!
In this Bulletin: Learn about our September meeting!
π September Meeting Hype! π
We're kicking off the school year with a focus on "Mentoring" and TEAM Module #1 - Classroom environment
What can you bring???
We'll be sharing out photos (or your webcam!) of great parts of your physical classroom space. What part works? What part is great for classroom management? For informal formative assessment? For classroom morale? SHARE IT OUT during our Cookie swap!
What else can you share?
We'll be opening the meeting with short stories of how your mentor changed you for the better. Do you have a good mentoring story? Share it out in our opening moments!
Praxis Subject Area: Algorithms and Computational Thinking
TEAM Module Show & Tell - Module 1 - Classroom Environment (Share out photos of your Classroom - likes/dislikes/best practices)
Special Guest - Carly Weiland Quiros
Carly is the Director of School Services and TEAM Field Staff for EdAdvance in Litchfield, CT. She's our PD leader for our upcoming FREE PD on Initial Support Teacher Training. We'll hear from her and her plans on how she can take you and both improve your practice and become a strong mentor for the future of our CS classrooms.
Prompt n Perfect Praxis Prep
We'll also be addressing the "Algorithms and Computational Thinking" segment of the Computer Science Praxis exam. Hang out with us and learn how to tune your mind for this very important section of the exam!
CT CSTA GRANTS available
for CS ED WEEK!
To further support our pledge to promote good teaching and equitable access of Computer Science to our state we're offering 10 Connecticut schools $100 to fund their CS ED Week programs.
CS Ed Week is December 6 - 12, 2021.
What is CS Ed Week?
CS Ed week is our special week to promote Computer Science Education across the U.S.
Itβs a great time to educate your school and your district about Computer Science Education.
Itβs a great time to connect with your school, district, town and state officials about the importance of CS Education.
How to apply: Complete the following application document and submit it via this Google Form.
To promote this in the meeting we should have members mention things that they have done in the past.
An hour of code activity after school with a pizza party and raffle prizes.
Department head PD activities for CS Ed week so they could promote CS week via their curriculum.
Turn your library into a multi-media center with awards, raffles, and technology demos!
Create a Home Room / Advisory activity with raffles for completed challenges!
π Our Meeting Calendar π
This year our theme is all about building community, leadership, and uplifting our educators. Each meeting will have time for the Computer Science Praxis preparation, sharing out of best practices in the five TEAM modules, and more! Take a look below at a VERY brief view of what we've put together. Each meeting will also have a guest speaker, product demo, or the like.
Praxis Subject Area: Computing Systems and Networks
TEAM Module Show & Tell - Module 5 - Professional Responsibilities (Share out that cool website, PD, you've found! Self-nominate for a CT CSTA position!)
Upcoming Events
π¨βπ¨βπ§βπ¦ Free PD! Initial Support Teacher Mentor Training with CT CSTA! π¨βπ¨βπ§βπ¦
We've been speaking about how our chapter leaders won a grant to fund a Computer Science cohorted PD for teachers to earn their State of Connecticut Initial Support Teacher Training qualification. This is a great opportunity to become a stronger, more reflective teacher and do it with fellow content area educators!
This will also be a focus of our first chapter meeting! If you're on the fence our trainer will be present to ask any questions you may have!
For more information or register check out event page and check out our summary document on how to earn your $25 stipend.
REPLIT.com IDE is now on the Connecticut BOE site as an approved software for K12.
What is it? It's an IDE that allows you to teach 70+ different programming languages on a Chromebook.
Want to learn more?
Replit is a zero-setup, collaborative, browser-based coding editor (IDE) with support for 50+ languages, including Java, Python, HTML/CSS/Javascript, C, C++, and more. It works on any device including PCs, Macs, phones, tablets, and Chromebooks. Teachers and students can simultaneously edit a file and have conversations in the code, just like Google Docs. And Replit offers free hosting for projects and web applications. Replit is the easiest tool for students to learn programming and computer science, and teachers love it because they can focus on teaching, not troubleshooting students' environments. On top of the core features, Replit Teams for Education offers workflows for individual and group projects, autograding, private code to prevent plagiarism, and extra FERPA/COPPA/privacy regulation compliance. At Replit we are deeply committed to expanding access to CS education, employ educators, and regularly meet with our community to help set our product roadmap.
Happy coding!
TAKE INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM COMPUTING
September 19, 2021-April 10, 2022
This is a first-of-its-kind Introduction to Quantum Computing course designed to make quantum computing accessible to high school students.
Quantum computing will impact industries from healthcare to finance to cybersecurity, and we want today's high school students to be prepared to lead the next computing revolution.
