Computer Science Teachers Association of Arizona
 
CSTA-Arizona News & Updates
Join Us On Facebook!
CSTA-Arizona is excited to launch our very own Facebook Community Page! We are launching this group to address a few needs for the CSTA-Arizona community We hope this group will allow our community to:
  • Share events / resources / opportunities directly with other members and in a timely manner
  • Create discussions and dialogues between members & the community, creating stronger regional connections
  • Make it easier to see newsletters and events, especially for organizations or community members who aren't on our mailing list
  • Make it easier to celebrate successes and amplify voices from teachers in our community
We hope you'll join the group and use it as a resource to connect with a community of CS Educators, especially in our new virtual reality. Click Here to Join the Page!
 
 
CSTA Covid-19 Resources
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) has put together a collection of resources to support Computer Science educators during virtual instruction & COVID-19. Click Here to check out their page.
CSforEL District Opportunity
Computer science is the fastest growing subject in the US, yet English learners are dramatically underrepresented in these courses. CSforEL is a new 4-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, to attract, retain and engage English learners (EL) in AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) in Arizona, New Mexico and San Diego. We are currently looking for district and school level participation in the CSforEL project in terms of relationship and partnership building, data gathering efforts, and conversation with our Evaluation Team Leads to help determine treatment and control schools and to identify schools and teachers to participate in our first PD cohort during the 2021-2022 school year. If you are interested in more information about the CSforEL project, please contact Erika C. Burt at erika.burt@csteachers.org. More information about this opportunity is below
Read more...
Webinar: Computing While Black
CS for All Teachers has launched a series of webinars over the summer titled Computing While Black
 
The CS community and others joined a roundtable discussion about best practices for inclusion and equity in computer science education. We delved into how the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted students that will be entering and continuing in CS educational spaces (and schools) and identified necessary supports to facilitate high-quality instruction for diverse populations. We also identified how teachers can change CS pedagogy to meet the needs of Black students as well as how they can work collaboratively to dismantle the patriarchal white-centered mindsets that plague the tech industry and society writ large. Though this language may have made some uncomfortable (i.e., “patriarchal” and “white-centered”), we encouraged people to join this webinar for an open, honest dialogue about how we can best teach all in our classes, but especially our Black students.
 
Resources & recordings are available from previous webinars, and more webinars from this series may be made available in the future. Click below for more information.
Read more...
Webinar: NCWIT Conversations for Change
Over the summer, the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT) hosted an online leadership series titled Conversations for Change, aiming to further efforts in creating inclusive cultures for underrepresented groups in computing. Speakers include Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr Ruha Benjamin, Dr Colleen Lewis, and others. More information about the conference is available at www.ncwit.org/conversations.
 
All of the videos from this series are posted online for later viewing. Click here to watch all of the videos from this series.
Grant: Rural Tech Project
The Rural Tech Project is a $600,000 challenge to advance rural technology education and prepare students for the careers of today and tomorrow. The U.S. Department of Education invites high schools and local educational agencies to propose technology education programs that use competency-based distance learning.
Quick facts:
  • Who should enter: The challenge is open to any publicly funded school or local educational agency serving students in grades 9-12 in rural communities. “Rural” is broadly defined as a non-urban, non-suburban area. An area may be considered rural based on its population density and/or distance from suburban or urban hubs. See the eligibility criteria for further guidance.
  • $600,000 in cash prizes: Up to five finalists will be selected to receive an equal share of the $500,000 Phase 1 cash prize pool. At the conclusion of program implementation, one grand-prize winner will receive an additional $100,000.
  • Two years of ongoing support: From January 2021 through August 2023, finalists will have on-the-ground assistance, expert mentorship, and access to virtual resources as they plan, run, refine, and report on their programs.
  • Deadline: Program proposals are due Oct. 8.
PD Opportunity: Machine Learning with PopFizz
This course addresses the content and pedagogical challenges of teaching computer science with an emphasis on culturally responsive teaching practices.

Designed to help educators prepare to teach computer science, attendees will explore algorithmic biases, and learn about artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML). The course also has a hands-on coding component where the attendees will use HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Google’s Teachable Machine to train an AI and share it with the world.  
 
Anyone can sign up for the course at no cost. Enrollment closes on August 26th!
 
More information & enrollment information is available below
Read more...
August Community Call
CSTA-Arizona hosted our August Community Call on 8/11.
 
Click to read more or watch the recording, if you were unable to attend.
 
 
Read more...
Upcoming Events
K-12 CS Education Teacher Summit
Virtual
Dec 05, 2020
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
View entire list