Showing posts with label K-12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label K-12. Show all posts

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The Next i3 "Scale-Up" and "Validation" Competitions Start Now

Education Week's blogs 





Lauren Camera


Alyson Klein
Alyson Klein and Lauren Camera cover federal policy for Education Week, tracking and analyzing the moves of Congress, the White House, and the U.S. Department of Education.

By Alyson Klein on June 4, 2015 11:34 AM

The next Investing in Innovation competition for the biggest grants—the so-called "validation" and "scale up" grants—starts this week, according to applications slated to be published in the federal register Friday. (The department has already moved forward on the competition for the smaller grants, known as "development" grants.)

Scale-up applicants—who could receive up to $20 million each, and must have a lot of evidence to back up their work—will have to choose from:

•Teacher effectiveness. The department is especially interested in ideas that allow strong teachers to take on new leadership challenges.

•Implementation and transition to internationally-benchmarked standards that prepare students for college and the workforce. The application does not cite the Common Core State Standards specifically, so presumably ideas from states that aren't participating in the initiative would be eligible.

•Improving mathematics, science, engineering, and technology education.

•High school redesign. This is a new priority for the i3 program, added at the behest of Congress. Applicants must work with high schools eligible to do school wide Title I programs. (That means at least 40 percent of the kids have to be in poverty.) Applicants could pitch projects that allow students to earn college credit while in high school, implement early-warning systems to flag kids at risk of dropping out, bolster relationships with businesses that provide technical training, and other strategies.

Validation applicants—who could receive up to $12 million, and must have a moderate amount of research to behind their ideas—get to pick from three of those priorities. (STEM isn't on their list.)

Grantees also get a competitive edge if the plan addresses cost-effectiveness and could be applied more broadly. And applicants that have never won an i3 grant also get an advantage.

And, as in past competitions, applicants for both types of grants who serve rural schools will get an advantage. (They can apply under their own "absolute priority" in federal-grant-speak, but they still must include one of the other areas of focus.)

Applications are due in about two months and programs can let the department they plan to apply in about 20 days. And would-be i3 grantees are going after the smallest pot of money offered since the program started back in 2009—Congress slashed i3 from $140 million to $120 million, and there's no guarantee the program will survive this budget cycle, let alone the end of the Obama administration.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

San Francisco Gets Almost $6m California Career Pathways Trust Grant for ICT and Biotech

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts

City College of San Francisco
Larry Kamer

San Francisco Unified School District
Gentle Blythe

Collaboration Scores $6 Million Grant for Comprehensive Career Technical Education Program

CCSF, SFUSD, OEWD and BayBio Institute Coordinate

(SAN FRANCISCO, Thursday, May 28, 2015) - A collaborative consortium of City College of San Francisco (CCSF), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and BayBio Institute scored a nearly 6 million dollar California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT) grant yesterday.

The Consortium will receive $5,999,342 to strengthen education pathways in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and Biotechnology by partnering with local companies to address specific needs of critical communities on San Francisco while feeding the growing need for skilled workers.

The program focuses on enrolling and educating underrepresented and low-income populations with unprecedented access to hands-on classes, enabling high school students to enroll in work-based credit courses that build real technical skills.

Grant money will focus on providing cutting edge curriculum and opportunities through partnering companies. With industry-based internships and mentors for students in their trades, expert speakers from industry, some externships for teachers, and dedicated staff to work on a career pathways, the program is as comprehensive in approach as it is innovative.

“San Francisco is the Innovation Capital of the World and we are making sure our residents are ready for the jobs of the 21st Century economy and can share in the prosperity of our great City. I am thrilled that we are collaborating with our School District and City College to ensure our students and residents obtain the knowledge, training, and skills they will need to be successful,” said Mayor Ed Lee.

The almost six million dollar grant comes on the heels of dual three million dollar awards from the Department of Finance for CCSF and SFUSD’s Bridge to Success program, as well as SF State and CCSF’s Metro College Success program. The combined grant and award money, almost $12 million collectively, represent a notable level of recognition from State agencies for San Francisco’s collaborative approach.

“We are preparing our students to thrive in careers in the growing high tech industry. In the near future, businesses working in Information and Communication Technologies and Biotechnologies will not have to look further than local residents to find a qualified workforce,” said SFUSD Superintendent Richard A. Carranza.  

Companies that have partnered with the Consortium include: CBS Interactive, First Person, Jawbone, KQED, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Safeway, Salesforce, and Zynga. Biotech companies include: Amgen, AvidBiotics, Bayer, Bell Biosystems, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cel Analytical, CymaBay, Gladstone Institutes, Omniox, Oncomed, Prosetta, SutroBiopharma, and Target Discovery.

“Once again City College of San Francisco and San Francisco Unified School District are proving that they lead the way in empowering San Francisco’s communities through affordable and accessible education,” said CCSF Chancellor Art Tyler.


Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Summer EDTech Training – Orange County


The Orange County Department of Education has announced it is providing training related to subjects found in the Information and Communication Technologies sector this summer. This training is open to all interested administrators and teachers.
EDTech Scratch Coding and Science This one day course will be a tutorial of MIT’s Scratch coding language, and interfacing to the Makesense sensors to illustrate scientific phenomena.
  • Date: Jul 22, 2015
  • Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
  • Price: $100.00 per individual
EdTech Build Math Concepts with Scratch The focus of this course is integrating MIT’s Scratch with math concepts. The basics of coding help nurture creativity and problem solving skills. Students can use computational thinking to help them build critical thinking. Learning to code will empower your students and can increase their understanding of math concepts. A short tutorial on Scratch is included. No previous coding knowledge required. This content is designed for 4th Gr-9th teaching staff.
  • Date: Jul 01, 2015
  • Time 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
  • Audience K-12 Teachers, Administrators
  • Price $100.00 per individual
EdTech Arduino Coding and Robot Construction PD This two day course will take teachers through the process of programming an Arduino microcontroller and then build an Arduino controlled robot. You will assemble, debug, write Arduino code and integrate this project into your classroom. There is an additional need to purchase a $50 robot kit from an outside provider. Here is adescription of the kit you should bring.
  • Date(s) Aug 12, 2015 – Aug 13, 2015
  • Time 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
  • Audience: K-12 teachers, administrators
  • Price: $100.00 per individual
Register by selecting the hyperlink associated with the course title. For additional information about these courses contact   Randy Kolset, Coordinator, Online Learning and Professional Development by email at: rkolset@ocde.us or by phone: 714-966-4337

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

C-STEM Opportunities


2015 C-STEM Day
The 2015 C-STEM Day will take place at two locations: Davis and Irvine , California . C-STEM Day will take place on Saturday May 30th, 2015.


C-STEM Day is split into two events: RoboPlay Competitions and Math Programming Competition . Both locations will have the Roboplay Challenge Competition and RoboPlay Video Competition. The Math Programming Competition will only be taking place at the UC Davis location. People can view 2015 C-STEM Day multi-region statewide RoboPlay Competition real-time score on-line. More information regarding the event can be found on the website.

In order to successfully run this event at all of the locations, we are seeking volunteers to assist with various aspects of the competitions. More information regarding the volunteer positions that we are hoping to have can be found on the "Get Involved" section of our website.

2015 C-STEM Summer Institute The C-STEM Summer Institute is designed to train K-14 STEM teachers on the principles of robotics and computing and how to integrate them into STEM classes. The institute will be held at UC Davis. There are two one-week courses offered:
  • June 29 - July 3: Common Core Mathematics with Computing and Robotics
  • July 6-July 10 : Robotics Activities and Computer Programming for Solving Applied Problems 
Early Registration: May 30 $699 for 1 course|$1299 for both
Final Registration: June 20 $799 for 1 course|$1399 for both

Educators are encouraged to take one or both courses to start integrating computing and robotics into their teaching. CEU credits and on-campus housing are available for participants.
For teachers who have no prior computer programming experience, we recommend that you attend the entire two-week summer institute . More information regarding the program and registration can be found on the website .

Train-the-Trainer Program The C-STEM Train-the-Trainer Program allows district and county office of education personnel, as well as college and university faculty of C-STEM Affiliates, to become certified C-STEM Trainers who can hold C-STEM certified training for the C-STEM curriculum in their geographic area. Certified C-STEM Trainers have prerequisite eligibility requirements related to programming, teaching, and coaching/mentoring experience as well as a necessary agreement between the C-STEM Center and the C-STEM Affiliate.


The next C-STEM Train-the-Trainer Institute will be held at UC Davis on August 5-7, 2015. Those interested in this program should contact the C-STEM Center at info@c-stem.ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-9082. More information about the program can be found on the website here.

On-Site Training
For teachers interested in a extensive C-STEM training program, but are unable to attend our Summer Institute, On-Site Trainings are available upon request. The C-STEM team will hold workshops ranging from two to five days at your school/district/county office of education focused around Common Core Mathematics, Computer Programming, and Robotics. Please see our website for additional information and pricing.

C-STEM Summer GIRL Camp The C-STEM Girls in Robotics Leadership (GIRL) Camps are focused on motivating girls in middle school entering 7th or 8th grade in Fall 2015 to learn computing and STEM concepts through a fun and exciting robotics-based curriculum with peer-mentoring. We hope this leadership camp will enable them to serve as leaders and inspire other young girls to gain interest in science and technology through creating and joining robotics clubs in their schools and participating in the RoboPlay Competition on C-STEM Day. The camp participants are also eligible for the Girl’s Leadership Award .

This year the camp will be held at UC Davis, Mt. Diablo, and San Leandro. Registration is still open for the San Leandro site. If interested, you can find information regarding the GIRL camp and registration on the website .

C-STEM Conference
The 5th Annual Conference on Integrated Learning and STEM Education will be on Saturday November 7th, 2015 at UC Davis. More information about the conference can be found on our website.

CDE One-Day Professional Development This year the California Department of Education sponsored three One-Day C-STEM Professional Developments in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Clara. The Professional Development focused on Integrating Computing and Robotics into Mathematics, Science & CTE to Close the Achievement Gap & Preparing Students for Career and College.

Due to overwhelming support and interest in the Los Angeles area, the C-STEM Center returned to LA in late April to hold a fourth One-Day Training. More information regarding the One-Day Professional Development can be found on the website .

Friday, May 15, 2015

Cisco WASTC West Coast Academy Conference Schedule Now Available for Review


2015
WASTC West Coast Academy Pre-Conference
&

WASTC Cisco West Coast Academy Conference 


“You cannot put 10 pounds of sugar 
in a 5 pound sack”
“Quote from Dolly Parton’s Dad”

But I think we have done just that!

now available for your review J


You are going to like it!!
So much good stuff.


To register for the conference please go to www.wastc.org and follow the red balls.

Hope to see you there,
  
--
Karen Stanton
Cisco Networking Academy
ASC ITC Ohlone
WASTC Coordinator
Western Academy Support & Training Center-WASTC
www.wastc.org
661 362 5363
karen.stanton@wastc.org

MPICT

Code.org targets high school computer science


Jessica Guynn, USATODAY8:05 p.m. EDT May 14, 2015  USA Today


(Photo: Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO — Code.org is teaming up with College Board to push for more computer science courses in U.S. high schools and to increase the number of female and minority students taking those courses.

The new partnership will encourage high schools in 35 of the nation's largest districts, including New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, to offer Code.org's computer science course this fall.

Code.org will provide curriculum, tools, training and funding to school districts that qualify, said Code.org CEO and co-founder Hadi Partovi.

College Board — the organization that administers the standardized tests that help determine college entrances as well as advanced placement courses — will help fund the work if the school district agrees to use the PSAT, a test for college readiness for eighth- and ninth-graders, to identify students who have potential in computer science, Partovi said.

One of the principal goals of the partnership is to reach more female and minority students, Partovi told USA TODAY in an interview.

"Our work is to broaden participation in all underrepresented groups," he said.

Takers of College Board's advanced placement computer science course are 82% white and Asian. Last year just 20% of the students were female.

Code.org and College Board are targeting that gap between the female and minority students who demonstrate potential for computer science and those who end up studying it, Partovi says.

Code.org says it wants to build on the track record of its Code Studio, which offers online tutorials in the basics of coding. One out of 10 elementary and middle school students in the USA have created accounts with Code Studio, said Partovi. Of those students, 43% are female, 22% are Hispanic and 15% are African American, he said.

Non-profit Code.org is backed by technology leaders, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Its mission is to get every U.S. school to add computer science to its curriculum, part of a growing effort to address the shortage of computer scientists in the USA and the systemic lack of diversity in the technology industry, Partovi said.

That gender and racial gap has its roots in unequal access to computer science education, the very education students need to put them "in the pipeline toward a good job at a place like Google or Facebook," said Level Playing Field Institute founderFreada Kapor Klein.

A recent report from the Level Playing Field Institute examined access to computer science education for low-income and underrepresented students of color in California public high schools and found significant disparities.

Schools with the highest percentage of underrepresented students of color offer computer science courses at a rate nearly half that of schools with the lowest percentage of underrepresented students of color, the study found.

Nearly 75% of schools with the highest percentage of underrepresented students of color offer no computer science courses. Just 2% of schools with the highest percentage of underrepresented students of color offer Advanced Placement Computer Science.

African-American and Latino students make up 59% of California public school students but were just 11% of AP Computer Science test takers in 2014, according to the study.

The statistics are even more sobering in the Bay Area, backyard of technology giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook. In San Francisco and Oakland, poor and minority high school students enroll in computer science classes at a rate of less than 2%.

"This is not a question of interest," Klein says. "It is a problem of access."

Access is crucial because jobs in computing related fields are growing at four times the national average, Partovi said. Computing jobs in the USA pay on average 85% more than the national median wage, he added.

Still, fewer than 2.4% of college students graduate with computer science degrees, and the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the field does not reflect the population it serves.

"As a nation, we must do more to cultivate an interest in computer science among students of all backgrounds and ensure that they have the preparation to pursue the computing jobs that will help power future economic growth," David Coleman, College Board's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Friday, April 3, 2015

CCC Linked Learning Work-Based Learning Program Development Grant Opportunity

Dear Doing What Matters Network,

The Foundation for California Community Colleges has a great funding opportunity to improve work readiness for students across your region.

Title: CCC Linked Learning Work-Based Learning Program Development
Release date: April 3
Letter of Interest deadline: April 17
Proposal deadline: May 27

Please visit www.foundationccc.org/wbl to learn everything you need to know about this RFP.

BBC: Google announces budget-priced Chromebits and Chromebooks


By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor  BBC

1 April 2015

Asus will begin sales of the Chromebit computer-on-a-stick later this year

Google has announced new Chrome-powered computers, which are set to target budget-conscious consumers and schools.

The range includes a new type of device called the Chromebit, which looks like an oversized memory stick, and turns monitors and TVs into computers when plugged into their HDMI ports.

The tech firm also revealed the cheapest Chromebook laptops to date, costing $149 (£101).

The move is likely to intensify competition with Microsoft.

The announcements came less than a day after Microsoft revealed plans to sell a new entry-level tablet-laptop hybrid of its own.

Its Surface 3 costs more -$499, and £419 in the UK for the basic model - but provides access to a wider range of software made for the Windows platform.



"This is a booming sector of the market at the moment," commented Chris Green, a tech analyst at the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.

"With the falling cost of hardware, schools are looking to families to equip kids with their own computers - the idea of BYOD [bring your own device to class].

"This has prompted manufacturers to create low-cost entry-level laptops that parents then buy for their children as well as themselves."

Google has pledged not to display ads to children that use the education-related software it provides for its Chrome platform, and does not charge manufactures to use its operating system.

Microsoft's Surface 3 costs more but can be used with a touchscreen pen and run Windows software

But one expert said the company still hoped to financially benefit in the long-term.

"The key goal here for both Google and Microsoft is to put their brand and services out there in front of kids to build loyalty at a very early age," said Ronan de Renesse, a consumer technology expert at the Ovum consultancy.

"It's also a good way to to see whether or not to extend these types of devices to emerging markets, where they could be used outside education by people with very low disposable incomes."

For now, Google says the new Chromebooks and Chromebits will be limited to the US.

"We hope to make these widely available in the future, however we have nothing more to announce at this time," said a spokeswoman.

Stick computers

Chrome OS runs web-based software via the firm's Chrome browser and recently gained the ability to run a limited number of Android apps . The platform is designed to store most of its users' files in the cloud.

More than five million Chromebooks and Chromebase desktops were sold across the world last year, according to market research firm Gartner.

It forecasts that figure will grow to close to eight million units this year, and 16 million in 2018.

The Chromebits will be made by the Taiwanese manufacturer Asus.

Google said they would cost "less than $100" and go on sale before the end of the year.


Intel announced its rival Compute Stick in January

The search firm has already had success with the Chromecast, a media streaming dongle with a similar form factor.

In recent months both Intel and Hannspree have launched Windows-powered "PC-on-a-sticks", albeit at a slightly higher cost.

Such devices require their owners to provide displays, keyboards and other peripherals, but the idea is that many people will already own them.

"People seem to love the idea of having a working computer on something no bigger than a dongle that lets them do web browsing, media streaming and other tasks on a big screen, but can be out of sight, out of mind when needed," said Mr Green.

Great expectations

The Haier Chromebook 11 is exclusive to Amazon while the Hisense Chromebook is being sold via Walmart.com.















The Asus Chromebook Flip will also go on sale shortly

Both feature an 11.6in (29.5cm) screen and between 8.5 to 10 hours of battery life, but keep their costs low by restricting themselves to 16 gigabytes of storage and 2GB of RAM.

Google also announced a slightly higher priced model, the Asus Chromebook Flip, whose touchscreen can be turned around. It will cost $249 when it goes on sale.

"The [ultra low-cost] sector is still a relatively small part of the entire PC market, but is growing fast, so is important," commented Mr de Renesse.

"What's key is to offer some of the lowest prices. But that has to be balanced against the fact that the US is a market with very high consumer expectation, even within schools."

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

2015 Winter ICT Educator Conference – Presentation Archives Available on YouTube
















January 5-6, 2015, MPICT co-hosted its Winter ICT Educator Conference in San Francisco.

More than 250 registered to attend physically.  Others attended remotely by clicking on presentation titles on the agenda and program at the scheduled times.


Presentation archives have been converted and are available on MPICT’s YouTube channel.

Most Winter Conference presentations were recorded.  A few were not, due to technical issues or presenter choices.  Click on links to launch YouTube videos.  Some presentations fit multiple tracks.

There were four keynotes for all:

James Jones, MPICT Executive Director, and Steve Wright, CCC ICT/DM Sector Navigator
Brenda Wilkerson, Senior Manager, Computer Science & Information Technology Ed., Office of College and Career Success | Computer Science for All!
Howard Charney, Senior Vice President, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Cisco Systems
E. Clarke Porter, Founder and VP Pearson VUE
There were twelve presentations by industry representatives, sharing information and resources for improving ICT education:

·        What's New From CompTIA?
 There were 32 presentations by educators, sharing best practices:

·        ACM Competency Model of Core Learning Outcomes and Assessment for Associate-Degree Curriculum in IT
·        Building Blocks of Successful IT Education Programs
·        Creating IT Pathway through the Reinvention of the Curriculum Development Process
·        Developing Programs/Courses for Emerging Occupations

There were five presentations on improving diversity in ICT:
There were thirteen presentations focused on cybersecurity:
·        Cyber Security Instruction Using Virtual Environments – A Hands-On Session
·        Developing a Multi-function Security Course to Incorporate within Multiple Pathways
·        Introducing Security and Responsible Coding in Computing Courses
·        NICE Challenges Project (Part 1&2) - Using NICE Framework Based Challenges to Enhance Cybersecurity Education
There were at least 7 hands-on labs not covered above:
·        Creating/Using a Virtual Windows 8.1 System
·        Developing Your First Cloud Foundry App
·        Exploit Development - 1
·        Introduction to Jquery Mobile
·        Using Intel XDK to Build Mobile Apps
·        Violent Python
·        Wireshark Network Protocol Labs for Netlab and ICT Certification Classes
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this a resounding success!
Please continue to communicate and work with each other!