K-8 Computer Science Cohort Playdate
I just got back from the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Conference where computer science was a big topic. I have been involved with VSTE for many years and looking back I can see that in 2017 there were 5 CS-related sessions, in 2018 there were 11 and this year there were 21. I helped organize one of these sessions - the K-8 Computer Science Cohort Playdate. The K-8 CS Cohort is on a mission to integrate computer science into the curriculum. This group came together at the CS Institute this past summer and includes teachers and technology coordinators from public and private schools around the state. The group is being facilitated by Jennie Chiu of UVA Curry School of Education and myself. We’ve been sharing ideas, having playdates to try out different learning platforms and experimenting in our classrooms.
The cohort session facilitators included:
Jennie Chiu - UVA Curry School of Education
Kim Wilkens - St. Anne's-Belfield School
Jo Crowder - Albemarle County Public Schools
Goldy Purcell - Campbell County Public Schools
Karen Canfield - Campbell County Public Schools
Kim Arrington - Campbell County Public Schools
Anne Deane - Tandem Friends School
Michelle Dunphy - Prince Williams County Public Schools
During the session, we shared out examples of CS integration work we’ve been doing in elementary and middle school, before, during and after school. We also brought lots of fun CS-related learning platforms for participants to try out like micro:bit, Hummingbird robotics, Spheros, drones, Ozobots, Turing Tumble, BeeBots, Strawbees and Binary Bracelets.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to share the CS work are doing at St. Anne's-Belfield School, to be a part of a community of educators passionate about CS education and to see the ripple effects we are having in CS education throughout the state! You can find resources from the session at bit.ly/k8cscohort. If you interested in joining the cohort, you can contact me and mark your calendar now for the 2020 CS Institute the week of July 6.
