I am nearing the end of my five year cycle for recertification, so I am reviewing what professional development activities I have participated in to see what qualifies for PDP’s (professional development points) towards my recertification.
Looking at the professional development I have achieved over that past few years, there is a quite a list, much of it thanks to CSTA. I have attended the CS&IT Conference (now the CSTA Annual Conference) for the last four years and have enjoyed an array of interesting and useful sessions on different computer science topics. I have attended SIGCSE, MassCUE, and ISTE. Multi-day workshops at MIT on Scratch and UMass Lowell on Appinventor and Finch Robots were especially exciting and integral to changes in my curriculum. My local CSTA chapter offers enriching activities and opportunities to network with colleagues regarding CS topics.
However, when I try to align these fantastic professional development opportunities to my Professional Development Plan, it becomes a bit challenging. You see, my certification is in Mathematics. Yet, I teach Computer Science and in fact, have not taught math in 10 years (thankfully!) but, I need 120 of 150 PDPs in my content area, math.
Now, one might argue that since CS often falls under Mathematics in many school districts, then CS professional development should fall under Mathematics content. In fact, that’s my game plan and I find myself looking for CS courses that have mathematical terms in the title that could count as math content.
The bigger issue here is that in my state, Massachusetts, there is no Computer Science license despite the fact that there are hundreds of CS courses being taught in schools across the state. This is indeed an issue in many states across the country. If we are to encourage students to pursue computer science courses and careers, we need teachers prepared to teach those students. It’s a chicken/egg scenario. We need the courses. We need teachers prepared to teach those courses. Computer Science licensure for teachers would be a helpful step. Right now teachers like me must waste energy on professional development that is irrelevant to their jobs in order to retain their license to teach.
Karen Lang
CSTA 9-12 Representative

A couple of undergraduate students here at Stanford have launched she++, an effort to get more women involved in computing at the undergraduate level.
The clever name certainly doesn’t hurt, nor does the location of their effort, being centered in Silicon Valley. But they are starting to get lots of folks to take note. They are running an annual conference, and have been drawing top women (and some men) as speakers/keynotes. They are completing the creation a video documentary, whose trailer is available at:

I also recommend taking a look at their website.
http://sheplusplus.stanford.edu/
Steve Cooper
Chair, CSTA Board of Directors

Most of us look at advocacy from a larger perspective. We think of it in terms of Districts, States, National, etc and we sometimes forget it is the little things that matter most sometimes.
Currently I am enrolled in a graduate course and the other teachers in my course questioned me when I mentioned that technology and computer science are not the same thing. I had the opportunity on a discussion board to explain the difference between the two. I also have had the opportunity to make mention about CS education through some of the assignments. I didn’t think of this as advocacy at first but then I began to think about the 32 teachers and their circle of influences. What if one of them was able to articulate the difference in her/his own school district? What if they began to think more about computer science and made a reference to it in their school? What if they just asked someone why they don’t have computer science courses?
We have recently had spirit week at our high school. One of the days was dress like a super hero day. I have made a joke in my programming course for a couple of years now that when we work with Greenfoot we “Save the World”. This is because there is an option to “save the world” once you have your objects placed in it. So on super hero day myself and the other CS teacher wore our Greenfoot shirts. Our motto was “we save the world one program at a time”. What happened is that we were able to tell other students not in our classes why we were wearing those shirts as super heroes. We also shared with some staff members about cs. While we received quite a few laughs we did get several – “that’s cool” comments. On an average school day we made a statement about computer science to other students and staff. Who knows, maybe we will get a few more students in our classes.
So these two things may be simple or silly but they both told people something about computer science. Also, both showed that I am completely sold on computer science education and am willing to tell anyone or interject it into any situation.
So if you inclined to worry about all the “big” advocacy items, find a way to just advocate in your own circle of influence and see where that leads.
Maybe we can all “save the world one program at a time”.
Stephanie Hoeppner
Ohio Cohort Leader

Although the number of corporations taking action to address the growing shortage of STEM) graduates, particularly in computing, some companies, such as SAS are asking themseleves a critical question: how can corporations provide schools with current information about STEM careers? What is the corporate role in priming the STEM “pump”? Here is a segment of a recent blog piece where Caroline McCullen of SAS addressed this question.
SAS took on this challenge recently by partnering with Reedy Creek Middle School to launch the first SAS STEM Career Day. By all accounts, this event stimulated interest in STEM, helped students think more broadly about their career goals and engaged students in activities that helped them see the relevance of what they do in school every day.
Before the event, students watched a video, The Choice is Yours. In the video, SAS computer programmers, engineers and statisticians enthusiastically describe their careers, reminisce about their favorite high school courses and talk about how their schooling prepared them for the work they do. The video generated rich classroom conversations, and when SAS volunteers arrived at the school later, students were already curious. Volunteers taught lessons that made the school-to-STEM career connection even more directly. They showed how computer programming provides the foundation for every product that comes from SAS.
Each lesson began with a video of SAS customers talking about how technology helps them be more successful. The use of SAS by the Orlando Magic, WildTrack (which tracks endangered species using digital images of their footprints), and North Carolina Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services (CJLEADS) provided relatable and compelling examples.
Based on the difference in the pre- and post-surveys, students not only learned about current STEM careers, but they really connected with the enthusiastic SAS volunteers who delivered the lessons. Students were asked if they felt school would prepare them for a STEM career. In the pre-survey, only 56 percent said “yes.” In the post-survey, it was 84 percent. They now know real-life STEM role models, and see more relevance in what they do in school every day.
We believe this event was well worth the time and effort involved. Our return on investment will emerge as more students see the relevance of computer science specifically and STEM, in general. This kind of activity could provide a valid role for any corporation wishing to increase the number of STEM graduates who will fuel a stronger economy for a better tomorrow. And yes, that is a challenge.
The complete blog piece can be found at:
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sascom/2012/12/10/the-missing-piece-connecting-school-work-to-stem-careers/
In my experience with CSTA, I’ve seen the profound benefit that companies can have when they engage with organizations such as CSTA and our more than 13,000 members to improve access to computer science education in K-12. Google, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAS are making major contributions.
But this leads us to ask, where is everyone else? Where are the companies that rely on the power of computing and the people who create the applications, run the networks, and make the systems secure?
It is an interesting question and one we should ask of every business leader we meet.
Chris Stephenson
CSTA Executive Director

Spring is the season of student teachers. Do you remember when you went out and worked with an older, experienced teacher to see what the job was really like? You probably started out sitting in the back of the room like a new student, taking notes and jotting down questions to discuss during the planning period. However, eventually, you would have taught a lesson all on your own. That may have been the day you decided that being a teacher was more than just a good idea, that it was your vocation.
I’m very curious how many computer science teachers did their student teaching in some other type of classroom, perhaps a math class or a business class, instead of a computer science class. When I was in college, I was discouraged from focusing on teaching computer science, even though I had already been hired as a CS teacher. In Pennsylvania, computer science is taught under either a math certification or a business certification, my district wanted me to get the business certification, and therefore I was expected to do my student teaching in a business class.
When you think about the 10,000 CS Teachers we want to have in classrooms in the very near future, it would mean we need each current CS teacher to host a student teacher. If you have never had a student teacher, you can get one by letting your local teacher prep college or university know that you are willing to host one. Many teacher prep programs now have a classroom component in several years, not just the last one. If we can get pre-service math and/or business teachers into our classrooms early in their post-secondary career, maybe we can convert some of them to be computer science teachers.
You are awesome! Share your classroom with an aspiring teacher!
Tammy Pirmann
CSTA School District Representative

In our most recent CSTA Central NJ Chapter meeting one of our members shared activities that her HS computer club enjoyed. Our chapter members were very excited about possibly duplicating the activity that Carolyn describes below. Maybe you will give it a try in your community!
My name is Carolyn Segreto and I am the Computer Science teacher at Brick Township High School. Two years ago three former AP Computer Science students of mine came to me and wanted to form a computer programming club, so that they could continue to program. We decided to make it a computer club so that any student that liked computers could join. We promoted the club through word of mouth, posters, and morning announcements and had a good showing at our first meeting.
The students wanted to do community service so we contacted the senior communities in Brick and invited them to a workshop to answer any questions that they had about computers. The students prepared a PowerPoint presentation about basic topics with computers (searching the internet, internet safety, E-mail, Microsoft Office, Facebook, etc.) After the presentation, we had a hands-on computer lab to answer any individual questions the seniors had about computers (since they all were at different skill levels). There was such an overwhelming response we had three more workshops just to satisfy the waitlist. Administration appreciates the community outreach and the seniors that come to our workshops have nothing but praise for our students.
What I found was that almost fifty percent of the club was girls who loved to cater to the seniors and help them with their computer questions. All of these girls eventually signed up for my programming classes. Since I have had the computer club, the enrollment for my programming classes has tripled and one third of my enrollment is girls. This is an incredible bonus!
Feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any further questions.
Carolyn Segreto
Computer Science Teacher
Brick Township High School 
Brick, NJ
732-785-3000 x6857
What involvement does your computer club have with your community? Share your stories!
Fran Trees,
CSTA Chapter Liaison

Editor’s Note: This special blog piece was written by our Board member, Patrice Gans, who teaches at an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut, five miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School and deals with her experiences during the terrible events that resulted in the deaths of so many students and the educators who gave their lives to protect them.
I live and breathe technology. I have a laptop computer, iPad, cellphone, digital camera, flip camera, and a wide assortment of flash drives. The first thing I do in the morning is check my e-mail, twitter and Facebook accounts. I always believed that technology would never leave me wanting for information.
On Friday, December 14, 2012, when an unimaginable horror was unfolding less than five miles away at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I sat huddled in a classroom with a fellow teacher for 2 and a half hours, clueless. When our head of school announced the lock down at 9:35 am, the first thought I had was “Why?”. Assuming it was only a drill, I followed standard lockdown procedure and made my way across the hall to a more secure location, where I closed the door behind me, and waited quietly for the drill to end. However, it was only after I heard numerous sirens passing by the school that I began to believe that something may have actually happened and that our practice was real.
Then, as the time stretched from a half hour to an hour, I became convinced that something awful must have occurred. I had no idea where to turn for answers. I could not pick up the phone and call someone, nor could I turn on the television. My only recourse, as I sat crouched below the glass wall in a locked classroom, was to turn to my iPad for an answer. I eagerly surfed the web searching for answers. I was convinced that technology would quickly yield them and provide me with a course of action. However, I felt powerless. No answers were to be found.
I am not alone in believing in the power of technology. Most people share my perceptions and cling to the assumption that technology provides us with instant access to information that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age#cite_note-1). From what I saw on the 14th of December, stories were not hard to come by. But as the scene began to unravel at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I slowly came to the realization that accurate information was not readily forthcoming. Rumors quickly filled the school, fueled by smart phones and unlimited internet access. It was more frightening than comforting.
As an educator, I want to teach my students the importance of effective digital information literacy skills. Thankfully I am not alone. Many organizations recognize the need for students to be able to navigate the digital landscape intelligently. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills includes information, media and technology skills as some of the key elements in their Framework for 21st Century Learning.
A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project entitled How Teens Do Research in the Digital World also supports the critical nature of incorporating digital literacy into the K-12 curriculum. Two main points from the study’s summary confirmed my recent experience with technology.

Three weeks have passed since that fateful day. Students and teachers have returned from holiday break, and life is slowly returning to normal. We find ourselves with many questions and few answers. When the event first occurred, the abundance of misinformation was staggering and crippling. I found myself obsessed with finding out what had really happened. Now that some time has passed, I can go back and sort through the media frenzy and re-examine the information with a clear head. At the same time, I can put to use the critical thinking skills that I stress in my classroom on a daily basis.
As a teacher in Newtown, CT, the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School hit home. As I try to come to terms with the horror, I find myself looking for a way to move forward. If nothing else, my experiences, during the lockdown and its aftermath, reinforced the importance of acquiring reliable information. I saw firsthand how important good information is to the understanding of a situation and the ability effectively deal with a crisis. Now is the time to take that lesson and pass it on to my students. Using technology is not enough. They must critically examine information and use it to make educated and informed decisions. Crises and emergencies demand accurate information, and I want to make sure my students are prepared to obtain it.
Aside: An excellent resource for teaching information literacy Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org)
Patrice Gans
CSTA K8 Representative

Are international students brilliant innovators that should catch a ride on the STEM and CS train in U.S. colleges?
I am Computer Science teacher in an American school in Latin America whose mission is to prepare students for college, mainly colleges and universities in the United States. I had the opportunity to attend a college fair that took place at my school at the beginning of this school year, and was very surprised by the general consensus from the colleges, that most Latin American students prefer majors in the Humanities, Business and Social Sciences areas rather than the STEM or CS areas. Most of the colleges that visited us were small private U.S. colleges that are not strong in the Computer Science or Engineering areas, but still, the comments I received were very eye opening. Apparently our students are either not interested in these areas or think these majors are too hard to achieve when English is not your native language. I also found out from the same source that most of the colleges that have good Engineering and/or Computer Science departments are not interested in recruiting or at least not going out of their way to recruit foreign students as they have an abundance of applications from local students. Therefore the need for active recruiting no longer exists.
Unfortunately whatever the reason, it seems that our Latin American students are not informed or do not have many opportunities to dive into these areas of study since there is no need from these big name universities and colleges for foreign students to opt for these majors. This makes me wonder if the picture is similar around the world or if it is unique to Latin America. With these questions in my mind, I decided to do some research and this is what I found.
According to the Institute of International Education on a Press release published on November 2011, International enrollment from foreign students in U.S. colleges has increased by 5 percent in all areas, now the top three places of origin for these enrollments are: China, India and South Korea. There are only four Latin America countries mentioned which are: Mexico as #9, Brazil #14, Colombia #21 and Venezuela in position #23. Most of the countries in between are either European or Asian. In the top 10 areas of choice for enrollment Mathematics, CS is in 3rd place with 9% compared to a 22% in Business and Management. These numbers are very important as they show the preferences of International students currently studying in the U.S.
According to the white paper prepared for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, updated in July 2012, the need for Hispanics to earn a degree in STEM is growing. These are some numbers that have been published by them: “The number of students (both Hispanic and non-Hispanic) enrolling in STEM fields is on the rise. Enrollment in STEM fields from 1995-1996 to 2003-2004 increased 21 percent, compared to an increase of 11 percent in non-STEM areas. During that same time, the percent of Hispanic students enrolling in STEM fields increased by 33 percent, representing nearly ten percent of students in STEM fields” (United States Government Accountability Office, 2005). At the same time, however, disproportionately low numbers of Hispanics currently persist in STEM (Oakes, 1990; Young, 2005). Although Hispanic students have been shown to be equally likely as white students to major in STEM, they are significantly less likely to earn a degree or certificate in a STEM field (Chen & Weko, 2009). According to recent data from the Higher Education Research Institute (2010), 16 percent of Hispanic students who began college in 2004 as STEM majors completed a STEM degree by 2009, compared to 25 percent of white students.
One of the most interesting parts of this paper is the reflection towards the reasons influencing Hispanic students in deciding whether they want to pursue and earn a degree in STEM. This is their reflection:
Academic Experiences
Mathematical and science training at the elementary and secondary levels has been shown to influence the academic preparation of students as well as their interests in high school mathematics and science coursework and in pursuing a STEM career (Eamon, 2005; United States Government Accountability Office, 2005). Further, there is evidence that the number of mathematics, science, and English courses taken by high school students serves as a major predictor of choosing a STEM college major (Astin & Astin, 1992; Simpson, 2001).
Cognitive Factors
Students’ self-efficacy has been shown to be the strongest predictor of the consideration of mathematics as a career choice (Post-Krammer & Smith, 1986). Leslie, McClure and Oaxaca (1998) found that the probability of choosing engineering or science increases with students’ perceptions that they possess a solid science/math background and in the belief that he or she has the ability to perform well in those courses.
Socio-Cultural Factors
Peer influence has also been shown to inspire students’ decisions to major in a STEM field. Astin and Astin (1992) found that the most consistent environmental influence on a student’s choice of major is the number of friends and peers that students possess or knew that were seeking a degree in that field of study.
Factors Specific to Latinas
Gender serves as one of the most powerful and robust predictors of choice of college major for minority students, as female minority students are much more likely to pursue liberal arts, health, public service or business degrees than STEM degree programs (Simpson, 2001).
Now these are not new factors, these are factors that are in the minds of students every day. In conclusion, if we can encourage K-12 institutions to reinforce their CS and STEM related courses then students will be more willing to pursue a degree in these areas. If our Latin American schools have strong CS and math courses that can compete with the ones offered by U.S. schools then our students will feel that they have broader career choices. It is also very important that U.S. colleges strengthen their success and achievement statistics by allowing more International students, specifically Hispanics that show a great interest and possess a high degree of talent for CS or STEM to be recruited by their institutions. The best comparison I can make is to U.S. sports teams that make their institutions more successful by adding international players to their rosters. The variety of experience and knowledge leads to an increased success rate.
Michelle Lagos
International Representative
Sources:
http://cra.org/uploads/documents/resources/taulbee/CS_Degree_and_Enrollment_Trends_2010-11.pdf
http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2011/2011-11-14-Open-Doors-International-Students
http://www.hacu.net/images/hacu/OPAI/H3ERC/2012_papers/Crisp%20nora%20-%20hispanics%20in%20stem%20-%20updated%202012.pdf

This is an exciting time for CS education. There seems to be a growing national consensus that achievement in the sciences is critical both for the next generation of students and the future well-being of our country. Hopefully, CS has a place at that table. Thanks to a variety of efforts from corporations like Microsoft and Google and professional associations like the ACM and CSTA, computer science education seems to be gathering steam and legitimacy in the public sphere. Our collective efforts for advocacy, curriculum development, research about learning, and good teaching are having an impact.
But excitement is tightly coupled with an element of anxiety. What is there to be anxious about? A grassroots effort with a growing head of steam on its way to the mainstream can only sustain momentum for so long. At some point, at some unpredictable and probably imperceptible moment in the future, the steam will taper off, the effort will slow and we’ll be left with whatever we created along the way. I think we’re approaching that moment. It might be a few years away, maybe more, but we’re way closer to that moment now than we were five years ago. There is so much swirling around CS education now, the proverbial iron is hot, and we need to make sure we strike.
I don’t intend to be ominous. I’m neither futurist nor soothsayer. But CS has picked up steam before, in the 80s, before my time as a teacher. Computers and computer programming were the wave of the future! (See: Pappert) What happened? By the early 90s, computing was on its way out of the schools. We lost ground. The steam wore off. Computer science receded to the fringe. We can argue about why that happened, but I’d rather make sure that this time, while we’ve got a head of steam, we leave behind some structural or institutional permanence, so that the when the steam tapers off, as it inevitably will, there will at least be some more significant residue of good, rigorous, computing education in all schools.
One way to ensure some permanence, in my opinion, is to empower teachers, not just vogue curricula. Current CS teachers must be involved in helping us move toward the future. And right now, sadly, though perhaps predictably, the voices of people with the most vital information about the state of computing education, we the teachers, are out of the loop. I would like to change that.
And I would like you to help me.
I’m working with the Center for Elementary Math and Science Education (CEMSE) here at the University of Chicago to ensure that teachers’ needs and voices will contribute to the information used to by the decision- and policy-makers who are doing much of this new K-12 CS curriculum development. Our project at CEMSE is to collect data on the landscape of computer science teacher professional development in high schools. A large part of that is to develop a robust understanding what teachers are experiencing in schools.
We have created a very brief (10 min or less) but very important survey that I’d like you to fill out that will help describe what’s really going on in schools. This information will be widely disseminated, it will be used, and it will matter. So please join me in collecting this information so that teachers’ voices will be heard and we can contribute to making a lasting impact on the present CS Education movement while it’s gathering steam.
Oh, did I mention that we’re giving out $50 gift cards? For every 100 people that complete the survey, we’ll pick two at random from amongst all respondents to get a $50 card. So the earlier you complete the survey, and the more teacher friends you get do it, the more chances you have to win!
So, help us support you the right way. Thanks for your time. Yours in solidarity,
Baker Franke
Computer Science Teacher
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Center for Elementary Math and Science Education

It’s no doubt that most of us have become dependent (if not addicted) to technology. We rely on our cell phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, and Internet searches each day. In fact, sometimes our work requires such communications. What is it like to go without?
If you live in NJ, you probably experienced this first hand. Sandy visited us on October 29th — an unwelcomed visit by most in this state and surrounding areas. We were left without power for a week or more (some are still without power). And we found out just how well we deal without technology. Some were lucky enough to power up with generators but Internet was mostly out of the question. No power–no cable–no Internet. Even if you had power via a generator, that power didn’t do anything for connecting you with the outside world. Our cell phones most of the time worked (if you could find a power source to charge them) so texting was a means of communication. Using your phone for Internet access was slow, at best. It seemed like everyone was trying to connect through Verizon! Some in my area have no cell reception and rely on VoIP for their phones. They were truly unable to communicate. So what do you do? You spend time with your family and your neighbors. It was candlelight parties with grilled food and great conversations!
Think about the times when you go out to a restaurant and people who are there to spend time with their companions pull out the cell phone and start texting. Think about your commutes using public transportation. I’ll bet you pull out the cell phone or the Kindle or your laptop. Think about the times you browse to find the best deals for items you need (or want). Think about Cyber-Monday.
In our culture we rely on communication through some form of technology. But, do you really realize just how much you rely on and use technology? Try one of these two exercises with your class:
Spend an Entire Day Without Technology
As a class, define what “technology” actually means for this exercise. After the day is complete, have the following class discussions (or have the students record answers in a journal):

Explore Your Digital Footprint
In Blown To Bits, Chapter 2, Abelson, Ledeen, and Lewis discuss the data trails we leave every day. They define electronic footprints as data trails we leave intentionally; and electronic fingerprints as data trails of which we are unaware or unconscious of leaving.

During the holidays, spend some technology free time with your family and friends.
Fran Trees
CSTA Chapter Liaison