The Institute for Computing
Education at Georgia Tech
Barbara Ericson
Georgia Tech
ericson@cc.gatech.edu
http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/ice-gt
History of ICE


Joint effort by the
Georgia DOE and
Georgia Tech
Started in 2004

AP CS teachers needed
training in Java and OO

Only 44 schools offering
AP CS out of > 400
Goals of ICE

Increase the number of qualified
computing teachers in Georgia

Train teachers with no formal
background in Computer Science


Typically business teachers
Increase the number and
diversity of computing students in
Georgia
Original Computing Courses
Computer Applications
Word, Powerpoint, Excel
IT Foundations
History, Networking, Web Dev
Programming and Systems Management
Programming, database, GUI, etc
Advanced Placement Computer Science
Curriculum Revision

An external review found that Georgia's
standards




Did not follow national standards
Were too broad and shallow
Lacked rigor
Were content based – not performance
based
Revision Committee

A committee of high school
computing teachers,
university faculty, and DOE
staff created new
performance-based
standards


Committee met 5 times
from Sept 2005 to Feb 2006
Created 3 new computing
courses

Based on the ACM model
curriculum for K-12
http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/ACMK12CSModel.html
Comparing Curriculums
ACM Model Curriculum
Level 2 (II) Computer Science in
the Modern World
Level 3 (III) Computer Science
as Analysis and Design
Georgia Curriculum
Level 2 (II) Computing in
the Modern World
Level 3 (III) Beginning
Programming
Level 3 (III) Intermediate
Programming
Level 4 (IV) Topics in CS –
Advanced Placement CS
Level 4 (IV) Topics in CS –
Advanced Placement CS
Professional Development

Summer workshops


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Grown from two weeks in
2004
To four weeks in 2008
School-year workshops


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LEGO NXT robots
Alice
Media Computation
Games
AP Exam
Teacher Training Results

AP CS has grown
from 44 schools in
Georgia in 2004 to
over 90 schools in
2009


https://apcourseaudit.epi
conline.org/ledger/
304 unique teachers
from 199 schools and
12 states
2004
40
2005
72
2006
80
2007
95
2008
92
2009
63
Summer 2009 Workshops

Computing in the Modern World


Beginning Programming

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Media Computation in Python and IPRE robots
Intermediate Programming


PicoCrickets, Scratch, Alice, and CS Unplugged
Activities
Media Computation in Java and Greenfoot
AP CS A

Alice and Media Computation, GridWorld,
Greenfoot, etc
PicoCrickets

Invention kit integrating art and
technology

http://www.picocricket.com/
Scratch

Free software from MIT for creating 2D
animations and games

http://scratch.mit.edu
Alice 2.2

Free software from CMU for creating 3D
movies and games

http://www.alice.org
Alice 3.0 Beta

Free software from
CMU for creating 3D
movies and games

http://www.alice.org


Includes the
Electronic Arts Sims
characters
Can import into
Netbeans IDE as Java
code
CS Unplugged

Free materials for teaching computing
concepts without a computer

http://csunplugged.org/
Binary Numbers
Network Deadlocks
Media Computation

Writing textual programs
to manipulate media
http://www.mediacomputation.org
SoupAudio
Collage
IPRE Robots

Parallax scribbler robots with color camera
and Bluetooth

http://www.roboteducation.org/
Greenfoot

Free software from
the Un. of Kent and
Deakin Un. for
building 2D
simulations and
games in Java
http://www.greenfoot.org
Alice and Media Computation

Teaching computing
concepts in Alice
first and then
covering the same
concepts in Java
with Media
Computation

http://home.cc.gatec
h.edu/TeaParty
GridWorld

Advanced Placement
Computer Science
Case Study


Example of a larger
program for students
to learn from
Used to teach
object-oriented
concepts
Wearable Computers

Developed by Leah
Buechley

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Now of MIT
Very small
computers, sensors,
and lights

Connected with
conductive thread
Pleo Robots

Devloped by Ugobe

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The creator of the
Furby
Now owned by
Innvo Labs
Programmed using
MySkit or the Pleo
Dev Kit
Lending Library for Teachers

We lend our LEGO
NXT robots and
PicoCricket kits
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Up to 3 weeks at a
time
Up to 12 kits per
teacher
Must leave a deposit

And lose deposit if
missing parts or not
sorted
Certification Issues in CS

Most states do not
require training in
CS for teachers


Georgia does not
require any training
Business teachers
are considered in
field for CS
http://csta.acm.org/Communications/sub/Documents.html
Certification Issues in Georgia

In 2005 the Georgia Professional Standards
Commission changed the rules so that only business
teachers could teach AP CS


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We would have lost an entire district of math teachers who
were teaching AP CS
And we had a physics teacher and 2 music teachers
Georgia Tech was able to convince the GA PSC to
allow anyone with a valid teaching certificate to teach
AP CS

But, we wanted to ensure that teachers had sufficient
training in computer science
CS Endorsement

Committee formed to create an endorsement
based on the NCATE standards in 2006

Teachers, university faculty, and Georgia
Professional Standards Commission

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Endorsement passed in Dec 2008
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Worked for 1 year
Posted for 6 months for comments
Only voluntary for now
Can be added to any type of teaching certification
Two schools will offer it in Georgia

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Kennesaw State University – fall 2009
Columbus State University – online in 2010
Student Outreach
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Summer Camps
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High school since 2004
Middle school since 2006
Elem school (4th and 5th)
since 2009
Weekend and afterschool computing
activities
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Girl Scouts since 2005
YWCA since 2007
Cool Girls, Boys and Girls
Clubs, Boy Scouts 2008
Summer Camps

Our camps always fill

So we started training
and providing "seed
money" to other colleges
and universities in
Georgia in 2007


From NSF BPC grant
We have started 8
additional summer camps
in Georgia since 2007
http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/ice-gt/915
Girl Scout Outreach

2005-2006 – 40
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LEGO robots
2006-2007 – 80

LEGO robots and
Alice
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2007-2008 – 428
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2008-2009 – 455

LEGO, Alice,
PicoCrickets, Scratch
YWCA – Teen Girls in Tech

Afterschool program
at 4 area middle
schools

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Worked with since
spring 2007
Mentored 2 FIRST
LEGO League teams
Cool Girls

Low income middle
school girls
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Started in fall 2008
Boys and Girls Clubs

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Worked with nearby
location
Also did webinar on
Scratch
Computing Competitions
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AP Bowl

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Practice Advanced Placement CS Exam
Scratch – new in 2010
Alice – new in 2010
RoboCup Jr. – proposed

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Dance
Rescue
Soccer
Results?

One of our summer camp kids from 2005 is
now a 3rd year CS major
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We get statistically significant changes in
attitudes towards computing

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Just won most outstanding Junior
Wants to go to graduate school
In just a 4 hour workshop
Using PicoCrickets, Scratch, and Alice
Kids report an increase in interest in CS
CS Education Info

The 4 years of math and science push

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The 10,000 teachers by 2015 push from Jan Cuny of
the National Science Foundation

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Development of a new AP course in computer science
Want a course that appeals to more people
Rebooting unemployed IT workers to be teachers


Texas gives math credit for AP CS
Georgia gives science credit for AP CS (just removed!)
Georgia's alternative teacher prep program
High School Program

Training high school students to be helpers
Operation Reboot

Transform 30 unemployed IT workers into
high school computing teachers

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10 per year for 3 years
IT worker

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Paid a stipend of $3410 a month for 11 months
Co-teaches 2 computing classes / sections per
year with the existing computing teacher
Earns initial teaching certificate through GaTAPP


And a CS endorsement
http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/ice-gt/1077
Timeline

First group of 10 selected by Thanksgiving

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Second group of 10 selected by June 2010
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Begin training Nov 30th
Start in classroom in Jan 2010
Begin training July 2010
Start in classroom in Aug 2010
Third group of 10 selected by June 2011
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Begin training July 2011
Start in classroom in Aug 2011
How can you help?



Visit schools for career day
Allow a computing teacher to shadow you
Volunteer to help your local AP CS teacher

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Mentor a robot competition team

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Or get your school to offer AP CS
Or assist
Do workshops for youth serving organizations
Offer summer camps
Funding

Georgia Tech and the Georgia
Department of Education have both
supported this effort

Along with the Toyota Foundation,
Microsoft, Atlanta Women's Foundation,
and the National Science Foundation