You never know where a resource is going to come from. We have a retired guidance counselor that is back subbing in our building this month. He sought me out to ask if I had seen an interview by Charlie Rose with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. I had not, but the interesting thing was that he said Zuckerberg had talked about how everyone should take a programming class.
So I found the interview at:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11987 or at YouTube http://youtu.be/LFdUEkTzDeI
and at about 15:30 it gets to the part that will make every CS promoter’s heart flutter.
Zuckerberg talks about his number one piece of advice is that everyone should take a programming course. He also goes on to mention how almost all jobs in the future will require some level of programming. This is something that all of us believe but sometimes have a hard time convincing others about.
The great thing about this clip is that it is an unprompted promotion of CS Education by someone that the whole world knows about. The record number of people that use Facebook, who think it would be cool to work there, or who just like to watch the Facebook frenzy in the media, pay attention to what Zuckerberg says. Now I have a clip that I can show it to students, parents, or administrators that echoes my sentiments but comes from a media icon.
Besides this fantastic resource I now have, I have learned something else. I have learned that if you keep talking to others about CS Education then you are the first person that pops into their head when they hear anything about CS. It is just as important to keep pleading your case and talking to people because they have their own circle of influence, knowledge, and experience. You never know when something that they come across will help you. If I was not as vocal about CS Education then the guidance counselor would not have immediately thought of me when he saw the interview.
So keep on talking and promoting as you will never know what it will lead to!
Stephanie Hoeppner
Vice-President CSTA Ohio Chapter