CSinPA Newsletter
May 2024
Shout-outs and Celebrations
Philadelphia Team Wins National Robotics Championship!
Amazon Future Engineers Scholarships
A big shout out to the PA students awarded Amazon Future Engineers scholarships this year!
Destiny Downer - City Charter High School, Pittsburgh
Kayla Henderson - South Western High School, Hanover
Crystal Jiang - Central High School, Philadelphia
Esther Newton - West Allegheny Senior High School, Imperial
Mohinur Rashidova - George Washington High School, Philadelphia
Benjamin Shvartsman - Harrisburg Academy, Harrisburg
Julia Smith - Burgettstown High School, Burgettstown
Tahsin Zaman - J.R. Masterman High School, Philadelphia
Remake Learning Days
Remake Learning Days 2024 kicks off today! Check out the website here to select your region and learn more!
"Remake Learning Days is a celebration of innovative experiences and opportunities for youth to develop their sense of creativity, perseverance and curiosity."
Visit our Community of Practice here to tell us which events you plan to attend, or to share any events you are hosting!
2024 Build Fly Code Live: 3rd annual CSinPA Drone Student Event
We had a blast with educators and students at our recent CSinPA BUILD FLY CODE Live! Drone event at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Luzerne County Community College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and PennWest Clarion University and appreciate the support of their LEAs:
Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3, Athens Area SD, Berwick Area SD, Butler Area SD, Central Dauphin SD, Central Susquehanna IU 16, Chester County IU 24, Clarion Area SD, Clarion-Limestone SD, DuBois Area SD, Duquesne City SD, Franklin Area SD, Gateway SD, Johnsonburg Area SD, Kingston Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18, Laurel SD, Midwestern Intermediate Unit 4, North Clarion County SD, Pittston Area SD, Reach Cyber Charter School, Redbank Valley SD, Schuylkill Haven Area SD, Scranton SD, Selinsgrove Area SD, Shamokin Area SD, Sharpsville Area SD, South Western SD, Sto-Rox SD, Tri-Valley SD, Tunkhannock Area SD, Union City Area SD, Valley Grove SD, Wallenpaupack Area SD, Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7, Wilkinsburg SD, Wyoming Area SD,
A total of approximately 360 students and educators from 40 LEAs engaged in friendly, hands-on and collaborative drone challenges.
Thank you For The Win Robotics and Innovation Institute for Tomorrow for putting together such an amazing event for educators and students.
CSinPA has a new look!
We teamed up with the PaTTAN accessibility specialist to improve our logo, and we really hope you dig it!
Look for the new branding on the CSinPA toolkits and materials soon.
Professional Learning
Free PD & CSTA+ Offer!
Calling all CS Educators! Want to learn strategies for an inclusive and engaging learning environment for your students? We've got a fantastic opportunity for you!
“Empowering Educators: Add-Ons to Boost Equity and Inclusion for Your CS Curriculum”
This FREE online professional development course, offered in partnership with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), will equip you with practical strategies to make your CS curriculum more equitable and inclusive.
Here's what you'll gain:
Actionable strategies: Learn concrete ways to integrate student voice, choice, diverse perspectives, and equitable assessments into your existing curriculum.
Expert guidance: Gain insights from experienced educators and explore best practices in promoting equity and inclusion in the CS classroom.
CSTA+ Access (a $50 value): As a bonus, upon successful completion of the course, you'll receive a FREE one-year CSTA access code – connecting you with a national network of CS educators, valuable resources, and professional development opportunities.
Stipend: upon successful completion of the course(includes live sessions), you will receive a stipend of $250 to compensate you for your time (10 hours total).
Course Details:
Live Sessions: Every Thursday between May 16th to June 13th from 6 PM to 7 PM
Format: Interactive online sessions with opportunities for collaboration and discussion
Click here to submit your Interest Form
Don't miss out on this valuable chance to create a more impactful CS learning experience for your students!
CSforAllPA Summit
The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education is pleased to announce the seventh annual Pennsylvania Computer Science For All (CSforAllPA) Summit will be held December 11-12, 2024 at PaTTAN Harrisburg and online.
Your voice matters, and we want to ensure that our upcoming summit reflects your interests and aspirations. Your valuable input will play a pivotal role in shaping the agenda and content of the event. To make sure that we address your specific preferences and needs, we kindly invite you to complete our interest form.
K-8 Micro Credential Program
Registration is still ongoing for the following courses in our K-8 Micro-credential Program.
CSinPA: Why, What and How? (2-hour)
AI in the Classroom: Introduction (2-hour)
AI in the Classroom: Integrating AI to Support Student Learning (4- hour)
Cybersecurity in the K-8 classroom: Introduction (2-hour)
Using Music to Engage Students in CS Learning (4-hour)
Empowering all students in CS Learning through a Behavioral approach (4-hour)
Summer Cohort: 7-12 Praxis Prep Pathway & Reimbursement Program
Registration is open for the Summer Cohort for the 7-12 Praxis Prep Pathway for the 23-24 school year. Registration closes on June 30, 2024, and the summer cohort will begin on July 1, 2024 and run through December 31,2024. This pathway engages 7-12 educators in activities to develop Computer Science (CS) content area knowledge and skills via the online We_Teach CS program. As a result of the Pathway, LEAs will have an educator ready to take and pass the 7-12 CS certification exam and to offer a standards-aligned middle or high school CS course. Follow the link in the attached newsletter for more information and to register. https://www.smore.com/36t7e
7-12 CS Praxis peer tutoring program
The peer tutoring program for teachers preparing for the PA 7-12 CS certification exam is back for 2023-24! We continue to offer the program to participants in any current or previous PaTTAN 7-12 CS professional learning program (7-12 PAsmart 1.0/2.0, CSinPA 7-12 CS Praxis Prep pathway). For more information on the CSinPA 7-12 Praxis Prep pathway for the 2023-24 school year please click here
Events
CSinPA Professional Learning Book Club
Sign up by May 15th to claim your spot in our professional learning book club! Participants will receive a FREE copy of the book with sign-up.
On May 30th at 5:00 PM, we will host an introductory session with the author, Jodi Asbell-Clarke! Starting in September, we will be hosting an hour of guided discussion by the author on a section of the book, "Reaching and Teaching Neurodivergent Learner in STEM: Strategies for Embracing Uniquely Talented Problem Solvers” by Jodi Asbell-Clarke.
CSinPA / CSTA-PA Book Events
The CSinPA team is hosting CS Book Events on multiple dates and locations across the state in collaboration with Pennsylvania’s CSTA chapters. The event is open to all educators and leaders in Pennsylvania, and will provide unique opportunities to explore a curated selection of CS related books, connect with CSTA chapters, network and chat about how to leverage books to support CS learning.
Light breakfast and snacks will be provided. Participants will also leave with a complimentary title, swag and enter into drawings for CS resources.
Time: 9:00 - 11:30 am
Dates and locations:
Kingston Luzerne IU18 (Northeast Area) on Tuesday, 6/18
PaTTAN West office (Pittsburgh)- Thursday, 6/20
PaTTAN Central office (Harrisburg) - Thursday, 6/20
PaTTAN East office (Malvern) - Friday, 6/21
Temple University (Philadelphia) on Thursday, 6/27
Registration is now open and links can be found on this flyer. Please help us share this opportunity widely!
2024 National Autism Conference STEM/CS Camp
Registration is now open for the 4th annual STEM/CS Camp held during the National Autism Conference (NAC): Registration Link for Code Carnival!
The CSinPA team designs a STEM/CS camp for college-bound high school students on the autism spectrum. Campers will have a chance to explore how CS is used to make amusement parks work, tour Hershey Park, and create a CS project to showcase on the final day of the conference.
Please share this opportunity with your networks:
Event: Code Carnival! Where CS takes a ride!
Location: PaTTAN Central (Harrisburg) and Hershey Park
Dates: Monday August 5th - Thursday, August, 8th, 2024.
Time: Monday - Wednesday, 8:30 - 4:30; Thursday, 8:30 - 12:30
Showcase: Thursday, 9:00 - 10:30 for attendees at NAC
PaTTAN website for more details: National Autism Conference 2024
Opportunities and Resources
K-6 Curriculum Resource Developer
We still have a few spots available for our K-6 Curriculum Resource development team.
The PaTTAN CSinPA team is seeking elementary and middle school (K-6) educators as Curriculum Resource Developers to contribute to a growing collection of CSinPA resources. Curriculum Resource Developers will design and develop unit/lesson resources based on the CSinPA Computer Science (CS) K-6 Model Curriculum framework.
The position is 100% virtual and offers flexible scheduling. Curriculum Resource Developers will be paid a stipend of $700 per project. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
More information, including the application link can be found here.
Calling all CS educators!
The Infosys Foundation USA is back with their FREE Pathfinders Summer Institute! This year, they're offering a variety of virtual courses in computer science and maker education (19 total) for K-12 public & charter school educators (and even librarians & tech specialists this year!).
Courses run June-August 2024 with flexible schedules.Fully-funded scholarships available (first come, first served).Just one course per educator.
Level up your CS skills and join a supportive community this summer! Learn more and register here:https://www.infosys.org/infosys-foundation-usa/media/blog/pathfinders-summer-institute2024.html
Access previous editions of the CSinPA newsletter.
To ensure you never miss the latest CSinPA news, join the CSinPA virtual community.