It seems that colleges and universities are starting to address the problem of declining enrollments in computer science by reaching beyond the traditional pool of high school computing teachers.
I recently received a flyer from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ announcing an event they call “Tomorrow’s Information Technology Leaders”. This workshop is geared towards educators in the NY/NJ metropolitan area (although eastern Pennsylvania is also close enough to attend). The day contains a keynote by the CIO of IBM Research (talking about industry’s needs) with breakout sessions geared specifically towards CS teachers and guidance counselors. Yes, that’s right, guidance counselors. I was so excited to see that part of the program was for them that I ran right to the copy machine and then to the guidance department in order to recruit at least one of our counselors to come with me to the event.
Guidance counselors are incredibly important partners in the challenge of informing students about the opportunities that computing provides and its relation to other key academic disciplines and careers. High School students are surrounded by so many pressures and are pulled in so many directions that sometimes it is difficult for them to see appreciate how truly universal computer science is and the breadth of opportunities it provides. Informed guidance counselors can help attract students to our courses simply by including CS in their discussions with students.
If you are in the area, I would strongly recommend that you check out www.stevens.edu/undergrad/it for details of the Steven’s event and consider registering. Even better, convince one or two of your guidance counselors this day would benefit them as well. If you need to, you can entice them with the idea of a free lunch.
Leigh Ann Sudol
Publications Chair

There was something about this year’s Computer Science and Information Technology Symposium that made it feel really special but I cannot seem to put my finger on exactly what that was.
We have been doing the Symposium now for six years. Each year a dedicated group of fabulous volunteers gets together, and with help from our project manager, spends a whole year putting together a full day of professional development specifically designed for K-12 computer science and information technology teachers in conjunction with a national educational technology conference and each year, the Programming Planning Committee strives to outdo the results of the previous year.
There were definitely some changes this year though. First, the committee decided to provide more opportunities to allow teachers to choose the sessions that would best meet their needs. The number of breakout sessions was increased from three to four and an extra session was added to each breakout timeslot so that teachers had more choices per breakout. We also added a new two-part hands-on sessions on programming in .Net and another on wikis. The other important thing about the sessions this year is that the increased number of slots allowed us to create a better balance between CS and IT offerings.
Because presentations at CSIT are invitation only, the quality tends to be high, but several people have told us that this year they were outstanding. Ellen Spertus (sexiest geek alive) started the day off with a thoughtful and engaging presentation on the future of computer science education. Kevin Schofield (VP of Microsoft Research) gave us a wide-ranging and inspiring look at how computing is changing the world in key areas such as AIDS research. Jane Margolis also talked about her latest research focusing on encouraging more young women and minority students to study computing.
Another great thing about this year’s symposium is that this time we had a whole team from Microsoft in attendance, giving presentations, attending sessions, and just talking to teachers about what teachers and students want and need.
If you did not get a chance to be there, you can still benefit from the Symposium by downloading the presentations available on the CSIT2006 website. Just go to the agenda and click on the session title (there are still a few late submissions to be added).
The even better news is that you can start making your plans to attend next year! Microsoft has already generously agreed to sponsor us for another Computer Science and Information Technology Symposium next year in Atlanta in conjunction with NECC! We hope to see you there.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director

Sometimes I really wonder what people are thinking.
Last week I was having a great time going through the data from the CSTA Member Satisfaction Survey when I saw a comment that rocked me back on my heels. It said “NO MORE “EQUITY” ARTICLES!!! Its time to move on and focus on important issues.”
I was astounded. This was clearly someone who cares passionately about computer science education, someone who understands that it is important. Why would she or he not care that young women and minority students are rejecting our discipline en mass. Why would it not matter to this person, just in terms of his or her own job security, that a huge portion of the population believes there is no place in this discipline for them?
I am not going to repeat all of the statistics here. We all know that fewer women and non-Asian minority students write the computer science AP exam than write any other science AP. We all know that women are still highly underrepresented in computer science departments and in industry. And we all know that the gap between the numbers of skilled IT workers we are producing, and the number we need is continuing to grow to an extent that major industry players are starting to worry about this very publicly.
So what is it that has this person all riled up? Is it that she or he really thinks that equity doesn’t matter? Is it because he or she believes that computing is, and should always be, a boy’s game? Or is it that this person has just reached what I call “misery overload” (that state when you just cannot stand to hear about a problem anymore because you don’t believe that you can do anything about it)?
Believe it or not, this last possibility bothers me the most. As educators, we are incredibly powerful in terms of our influence over students. The day you stop believing in your ability and responsibility to engage and enlighten all students, regardless of their race or gender, is the day you should shut down the computer and walk out of the classroom. That is how I feel.
But what do you think? Should CSTA be doing equity work (it is certainly not the only thing we do, but we think it is important) or do you really not care?
I am puzzled and would very much like to know how you see this issue.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director

The current focus on national competitiveness issues has done much to raise the level of discussion about the ways in which computing expertise is driving innovation in the new combinatorial sciences. Very little, however, is said about how computing can continue to drive new discoveries in the humanities.
In his recent speech about national competitiveness, President Bush pointed to supercomputing and nanotechnology as examples of computing-related innovations that are contributing to advancements across the sciences.
Genetic engineering and biomedical engineering clearly stand as primary examples of the important contribution that computing is making to innovations in science. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find any major new scientific or medical breakthrough that did not involve the critical use of computing technology at some phase of the development and testing of new processes, compounds, medications, or equipment.
In a recent article in the Communications of the ACM (April 2006, Vol. 49(4)), however, Argamon and Olsen point to the potential for computing to revolutionize the humanities. In specific, they refer to the ways in which computer scientists can provide critical knowledge that will allow the new generation of knowledge browsers to make more effective use of digital libraries. Computer scientists, they argue, can work with humanities scholars to develop new query interfaces that would represent, not just words, but meanings in context.
Other areas of social research are also being enriched by computing. One of the big topics at the first annual Qualitative Inquiry Conference, for example, was how computer software can be used to support the collection, organization, and analysis of data in qualitative research. These researchers, who are often on the cutting edge of social research, are embracing the tools that will help them discover patterns that provide answers about the most complex issues of our lives, communities, and societies.
To often, when asked about why students should study computing, I find myself drifting into answers about opportunities to make important contributions in the sciences, but Argamon and Oslen have given me an important reminder about the importance of recognizing the potential role of computing across the full spectrum of human existence.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director

I have spent the last three days talking to reporters from the business and educational press about the new resources we created with IBM and it has been a really interesting experience!
Just to give you a little background, we began this project last Spring with funding from the IBM Foundation. IBM is very concerned about the dropping enrollment in computer science and when they asked CSTA what teachers needed most, we told them: “Good, classroom-relevant teaching and learning resources designed by people who have actually taught in K-12.” And so IBM not only gave us funding to create three new resources, they contributed three people for our team of six curriculum specialists.
The team met for four very intensive days this past August, where they reviewed an extensive collection of existing resources, chose three they wanted to create, and designed and developed them. After an intensive team critique of each resource (which led to a number of revisions) the resources were pilot tested in actual classrooms. More enhancements were then made based on teacher and student feedback.
As part of the roll-out for these resources, I have spoken to many reporters in the last three days, and I have learned three really intriguing things from them.
1. The crisis in computer science is finally becoming big news. Both the trade reporters and the education reporters know that there is a connection between K-12 computer science education and the high tech industry, and between the health of the high tech industries and national economic survival in the new global economy.
2. Reporters are really surprised to hear that people think there are no jobs in computer science.
3. Reporters are pretty sophisticated people and they understand the difference between doing something because it is the right thing to do and doing something to sell a specific piece of hardware or software to schools. What really interested them about this project was that nothing we created was tied to an IBM technology. It was about supporting K-12 computer science education, not pushing product.
So here’s to reporters who write stories about the importance of K-12 computer science education.
Here’s to IBM, for caring, for getting it, for helping us do something good and useful for teachers, and for being a great corporate partner!
And here’s to our new resources:
Project-Based Learning Module
This learning module provides teachers with an overview of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and is intended for use as a professional development resource. It includes two Powerpoint presentations, each offering a slightly different approach to the topic, and several additional documents and resources that include reflections, sample worksheets and templates, and links to additional readings and project samples.
Web Site Design Learning Module
This learning module introduces students to the principles of web site design and includes a series of four lesson plans and student activities handouts. It is intended for students with a level 1 or 2 basic understanding of the Web.
OO Design Using Pong Learning Module
This learning module features an object-oriented implementation of the classic video game, Pong. Students will design and implement Pong using object-oriented programming concepts. This resource is intended for use by beginning Java programmers, but includes suggestions for enhanced learning for more experienced students. Teachers should have experience working with an object-oriented Java program using multiple classes, such as College Board’s Advanced Placement Marine Biology Case Study.
You can now download each or all of them directly from the Recommended Resources section the CSTA website or from the IBM Academic Initiative website.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director

Since our keynote address at SIGCSE in Houston last month, Chris and I have had an influx of people — both at the K-12 and at the post-secondary level — contact us to find out how they can best help CSTA and its mission to strengthen K-12 computer science education.
As we pointed out in our talk, one of the biggest problems facing K-12 computer science teachers is that they are typically a “department of one” in their schools. They have no community of colleagues with whom to share ideas. They feel that they are the lone voice for computer science in not only their schools, but often in their districts as well.
If you are a college or university educator, here’s one way you can help out your colleagues in K-12. Get in touch with the computer science teachers at your local schools. Invite them to an evening get-together where they can meet their fellow teachers in computer science.
When planning a local meeting, here are some ideas to help get you started:
1) Keep the meeting short. K-12 teachers are extremely busy people. After they go home, they’ll probably spend an hour or two grading papers or preparing for the next day’s classes. Use their time wisely. A good meeting will last about an hour, ninety minutes maximum.
2) Have some sort of presentation. This doesn’t need to be long (thirty minutes tops) or even extremely formal (but it should be prepared in advance rather than off-the-cuff). For example, you might share a nifty assignment or an interesting teaching technique, tour the university computer science research lab, or demo some captivating samples of student work. As your meetings progress over the year, get everyone involved and let the ideas flow from *within* your community!
3) Allow time for everyone to get to know each other. While you should spend a couple of minutes on formal introductions, the vast majority of this time should allow for people to network and just chat. It’s also good to have some of this informal time at both the beginning and end of the meeting (the time at the beginning accommodates those late arrivers who get stuck in traffic; the time at the end allows for discussion of the presentation).
4) Provide food! Not only is it a good attendance motivator and helps to relax people, but it also provides dinner for those busy, busy teachers (see #1 above).
Let us know how CSTA can help you facilitate this process. Strengthening our interactions as a community of computer science educators will not only benefit all of us individually, but will improve computer science education as a whole.
Finally, write and share your stories! Your successes will inspire others.
Robb Cutler
Chair, CSTA
P.S. And if you’re a K-12 teacher reading this, contact a computer science professor at your local college or university. Tell them about this article and ask them to help!

On Thursday, February 2nd, Junior Achievement and the U.S. Department of Education will kick off National Job Shadow Day 2006 and Cisco is planning a major effort to provide important information about the wide variety of opportunities available in the IT industry.
Cisco Systems is hosting a series of Groundhog Job Shadow Day events across the United States to help young people learn about career opportunities in IT and more than 3,000 students will participate in actvities hosted on Cisco and Cisco Networking Academy campuses.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy is expected to add 1.5 million computer and information related jobs by 2012, while the country will have only half that many qualified graduates. The growing demand for IT staffing has prompted industry leaders to take proactive measures to ensure a talent pool of IT proficient candidates who are ready to contribute to the global economy.
Cisco kicks off its Job Shadow Day on February 2, in five key sites across the country. Participating cities include Chicago, Atlanta, San Jose, and Raleigh. This is Cisco’s fifth year participating in Groundhog Job Shadow Day. The company’s goal this year is to host students at more than 100 sites across the United States colleges and high schools participating in the Networking Academy program.
If you would like more information about this program, contact Mike Kelly at [email protected] or call (831) 440-2403.

Yesterday’s GW Hatchet, an independent student newspaper serving The George Washington University community in downtown Washington, D.C. carried an interesting article about the link between the university’s Computer Science Department and the U.S. Olympic swim team.
Author Leah Carliner describes an application developed by Professor James Hahn, Chair of the Computer Science Department and graduate students Samir Roy and Jean Honorio that captures a swimmer’s movement underwater in three dimensions. This application allows swimmers and their coaches to observe every motion made underwater in order to improve strokes.
While it is not long on technical details, this article provides a nice link between computer science research and practical applications in the real world that might be of interest to students.
Making the connection between impending Olympic fever and computer science may be a good way to demonstrate that there is more to computer science than videogames.
Check out Carliner’s article and let us know what you think!
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director