Computer Science Education Week, a collaboration between the Computer Science Teachers Association, the National Science Foundation’s Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance, Computer Science for ALL Students (CSforALL), and Code dot org kicked off CSEdWeek on Mon., Dec. 5.
According to the organizers, this year, they aim to celebrate their progress while keeping an eye on the advancements they still need to make so that every student has an equal opportunity to learn computer science.
The CSEdWeek Kick-off Panel featured a discussion with CS heroes, including Okezue Bell, Yim Register, Kayla Saniya Fortson, and Daisy Murillo. Other events during the week will celebrate community milestones and connect with educators to see how they are celebrating CSEdWeek.
The Hour of Code event, offered annually during Computer Science Education Week, attracts millions of participants across 180 countries. The hour-long coding activities, created with help from over 400 partners, including Google, Microsoft, and Khan Academy, are offered in 45 different languages. Suitable for all ages and experience levels, they are designed to inspire students to consider a career in software engineering. Though school sessions are usually restricted to sixty minutes, individuals can pursue longer coding challenges and tackle as many of the offerings as they wish on their own time.
“CSEdWeek is kicking off on Monday, December 5th,” read a tweet on CSEdWeek. It “is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn CSEd, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners. Learn more at https://csedweek.org. Celebrating Progress
#CSEdWeek is kicking off on Monday, December 5th! @CSEdWeek is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn #CSEd, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners. Learn more at https://t.co/5toB4Avowb. #CelebratingProgress pic.twitter.com/vqM06LgLyt
— CSforALL (@CSforALL) November 17, 2022
In related news, The University of Texas at Austin is celebrating a milestone after helping 600 Texas teachers earn a computer science teaching certification. The program, called WeTeach_CS, was formed in 2015 with the goal of preparing in-service educators to teach computer science.
With the support of organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education, Microsoft, Beyond100k, and the Siegel Family Endowment, WeTeach_CS created the Certification Incentive Program, which provides a $1,000 stipend to any Texas educator who earns a computer science teaching certification.
WeTeach_CS has served teachers from the state’s largest school districts like Houston ISD, with nearly 200,000 students, to the smallest ones like Terlingua, which has just 98. Since 2015, Texas educators from 469 schools and 251 districts have achieved computer science certification with the help of WeTeach_CS. Due to the success of this program in Texas, WeTeach_CS now partners with other states to help them grow their CS teacher workforce.
A U.S. Department of Labor marking Computer Science Education Week said overall employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 14.6% from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.
The six computer science occupations projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations are information security analysts, web developers, software developers, computer and information research scientists, software quality assurance analysts and testers, and web and digital interface designers.
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