I feel very fortunate that I am a member of CSTA. My membership has made me aware of many professional development opportunities. I am been notified via email, CSTA website, and CSTA Voice regarding professional development opportunities that have been low cost or no cost. My students have been the ones who have gained through my attendance at such events as CS4HS, Alice Symposiums, CSTA CS & IT Symposia, Media Comp Workshops, UC Irvine Southern California Computer Science Conference, and more recently the Microsoft Pre-Conference Game Development Workshop. Each time I attend a conference, my goal is to apply something from the workshop in my classroom and to show the other teachers that attend my local chapter’s meeting what I have learned.
For example, as a result of attending a TECS workshop during July 2006, I was introduced to Alice 2.0. I decided that my programming students needed to start with Alice because they begin AP Computer Science with no programming experience. It was a success. I feel that this has been one of the reasons I have been able to attract students to my class even with the increase in credit requirements for graduation.
Additionally, a recent conference I attended gave me insight into some resources that are available that make game development possible for beginning programming students. After the AP test on Tuesday, I plan to offer some beginning exercises in game development as one option for a project that I received at the conference. I also plan on demonstrating the lessons to teachers that attend my chapter’s meeting in two weeks.
Another professional development opportunity that I look forward to is the CS & IT Symposium. I want to encourage anyone that has been thinking about attending the CSIT09 to register and attend. This year’s schedule looks better than ever with many sessions that can inform and enhance your teaching resulting in enhancing your students’ educational experience. You can view the sessions and register for CSIT09 at:
www.csitsymposium.org
Myra Deister
CSTA Board Member