What is it?
Why is it important? There were an estimated 570,000 open computer science jobs last year and only about 50,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year. The average computer science job has a starting pay of $65,900 with a mid career salary of $110,000, making it one of the highest paid fields. In addition to the income benefits and availability of jobs in the field, the ability to program is quickly becoming an essential skill. With the rise of automation, many manufacturing and other blue collar jobs will become white collar jobs that require computer programming. This shift won't happen all at once so we need to be preparing our students for a world that may ask for coding skills, rather than or in addition to word processing and spreadsheet skills as it stands today. Even if students don't end up needing to be able to code for their careers, coding requires an abundance of critical thinking and creative thinking and, if students are working together, collaboration and communication skills. All of which are vital skills for a successful person to have in today's ever-changing world. How will we participate?This week is a time to focus on computer science through class discussion and special projects. See if there is a way to integrate coding into your content area or lesson you are teaching that week. Robots that I have are Spheros and Dash and Dot and are a great special activity for this week. There are many videos online you may use to introduce and reflect on the experience. The media specialists at the middle and high school will also be coordinating this at their respective schools through science or math classes. Below is a link to a guide for where to start in grades K-5. Hour of Code Guide Continue the excitementAn hour of code is a great start to introducing your students to computer science, but much like a foreign language, the earlier and more often it is practiced, the easier it is to make it "stick." Use the following tools to help our students become literate in computer science after they have had a tasted during "Hour of Code."
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AuthorKyle McClure is an Integration Specialist in Buhler, KS. He specializes in iPads and GSuite for education. Archives
November 2018
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