Education Features From Across the Country and Around the World
Massachusetts Offers a New Model for Academic HPC
HPCwire
A new HPC center will be launched by years end in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Green High-Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) will be outfitted with terascale hardware aims to deliver it in an environmentally friendly way. Beyond promises of power efficiency and reduced carbon footprint, the center is deviating from typical facility models. It will act as a shared resource between multiple universities, requiring users to develop new strategies of implementation. To read further, please visit http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2012-05-29/massachusetts_offers_a_new_model_for_academic_hpc.html.
Paving the Road for Women in Computer Science at BYU
The Universe
Brigham Young University (BYU) is trying to make its computer science program more accessible to women. Junior Christine Kendall is working with clubs and faculty to encourage women to study technical fields. “I feel like because of culture or society, men, in general, have more confidence in technical areas," Kendall says. "I think it’s really easy to feel like an outsider and that you don’t belong, especially when you hear all your classmates talking about their personal projects and what they’ve done on the side.” Kendall and computer science professor Jay McCarthy met with faculty about allowing introductory students to sort themselves by experience level, because a gender gap in experience exists even at the basic level, Kendall says. Although introductory curriculum will remain the same, different sections are likely to be offered for students with varying levels of experience. To read further, please visit http://universe.byu.edu/beta/2013/04/01/paving-the-road-for-women-in-computer-science-at-byu/.
Stanford to Collaborate With edX to Develop a Free, Open Source Online Learning Platform
Stanford Report
Beginning in June, Stanford University will collaborate with edX, the nonprofit online learning enterprise founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to advance the development of edX's open source learning platform, which provides free and open online learning tools. As part of the collaboration, Stanford will integrate features of its existing Class2Go open source online learning platform into the edX platform. "This collaboration brings together two leaders in online education in a common effort to ensure that the world's universities have the strongest possible not-for-profit, open source platform available to them," says Stanford's John Mitchell. To read further, please visit http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/april/edx-collaborate-platform-030313.html.
Visa Demand Jumps
Wall Street Journal
U.S. employers are expected to quickly reach a cap on the annual allocation of applications for skilled foreign worker visas or H-1Bs, amid signs of an economic rebound. Demand for the program increased over the past several years as companies ramped up hiring, and this year the visa limit is expected to be reached within a week of becoming available. Attorney Mark Koestler cites a misconception that only technology giants use the visas, as there is ample evidence that they also are used widely by many small companies. For years, high-tech companies have urged Congress to raise the limit on visas for skilled foreigners, but critics claim the visa program displaces eligible U.S. workers and that companies hire foreigners because they take less pay and fewer benefits. To read further, please visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324883604578396680112980530.html.
Google Fellowship Opportunity for Computer Science Teachers
For the past 3-4 months, Google has been working on a program that focuses on diversity and CS pipeline. They will be starting up a program to increase opportunities for middle and high school students in NC, SC & GA (where they have data centers), particularly girls and underrepresented minorities, to learn programming and computer science. Google will be hiring a number of newly credentialed STEM teachers to become Google CS Fellows for a 2-year program that will be run in one of the data centers. Google's plan is to hire 15-20 excellent new teachers to learn the latest in CS tools and pedagogy and spread it via after-school and CS clubs throughout the south. These teachers will work through the barriers and policy issues in the local region, with the goal of scaling up over the 2 years and getting CS into the classrooms in the south. Google's hope is that these teachers become leaders in CS education through this experience, after they finish their fellowship. For more information on the Google CS Fellowship and to apply, please visit https://www.google.com/about/jobs/search/#!t=jo&jid=1241001&.
EU Commission Launches 'Grand Coalition' to Tackle IT Shortage
BBC News
A grand coalition launched by the European Commission (EC) will address the information technology (IT) skills shortage in the European Union. The region is not producing enough skilled IT graduates to keep pace with the approximately 100,000 IT jobs being added every year. The EC plans to spend 1 million Euros on the coalition. "I want people to be open in their commitments, join forces where they see the chance, and recognize we need to do things differently," says digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes. To read further, please visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21668166.
Hybrid Technology Degrees Emerging
Network World
College students today have an opportunity to pursue new majors that are hybrids of computer science, information systems, and computer engineering. At Pennsylvania State University, for example, engineering and business courses have been combined in an interdisciplinary program offering a B.S. and B.A. in Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and a B.S. in Security and Risk Analysis (SRA). About 78 percent of last year's graduates were placed in May 2012, but the placement rate was 91.6 percent for those with the dual major of IST and SRA, notes Penn State's Mary Beth Rosson. To read further, please visit http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/030513-hybrid-tech-degrees-267327.html.
Video Game Invades Classroom, Scores Education Points
USA Today
GlassLab is an effort by Electronic Arts to use video games to inspire students to embrace science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. GlassLab developers have created a free online community based on the newly redesigned world-building game SimCity, as well as free lesson plans and an online teacher's network. In the game, players act as the builder and mayor of a fictional town, building infrastructure, industry, and housing to attract residents. In the SimCityEDU lessons, users must solve specific problems that plague the fictional town. "Being able to touch something, being able to experiment with it, I think, really can make a difference in a kid's life," says Maxis Games' Lucy Bradshaw. To read further, please visit http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/04/video-games-education-simcity/1963239/.
Educator Conferences and Workshops
STEM Smart: Lessons Learned from Successful Schools
June 23, 2013 – Atlanta, Georgia
Focus on Engineering Education
A Conference Hosted by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
This NSF-hosted meeting will highlight findings in the National Research Council reports, Successful K-12 STEM Education and Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education, with a special focus on engineering education, as described in the Next Generation Science Standards. It will include breakout sessions on National Science Foundation funded projects, resources and initiatives that align with the reports’ evidence base on effective instruction, access to high quality STEM for all students, and building supportive infrastructure. The STEM Smart meeting was planned in conversation with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). For more information, please visit http://successfulstemeducation.org/events/329.
NSF Sponsors Tapestry Workshops for High School Teachers
June 26-28, 2013, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
July 10-12, 2013, Purdue University West Lafayette, IN
July 16-18, 2013, Florida International University, Miami, FL
July 23-25, 2013, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
July 29-31, 2013, Triton College, River Grove, IL
If you are interested in:
* attracting more and diverse students into your high school Computer Science classes;
* Influencing the perceptions of students, parents, guidance counselors, administrators, and other teachers on the importance of your courses and the opportunities they provide;
* Engaging your students in the exciting and rewarding field of computing;
* Sharing strategies, practices, and good ideas for teaching computer science.
Workshops will be tuition-free with lodging and meals provided. Applications for all of the workshops are being taken now at http://www.cs.virginia.edu/tapestry/.
Stanford CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) Summer Workshop
June 27-28, 2013 – Stanford, California
Registration Deadline – May 24, 2013
The workshop focuses on the teaching of .HTML and CSS, and includes an introduction to PHP. It is based off of the successful CS105 course created by Patrick Young, and taught by Patrick Young and Steve Cooper. Steve will be running this workshop. Teachers who wish to attend should apply as soon as possible. A $50 deposit is required to reserve a seat. (This deposit is refunded upon completion of the workshop.) Most meals will be provided. Attendees are responsible for their own transportation and lodging. For more information, please visit http://cs4hs.stanford.edu/.
WiPSCE 2013: Conference on Primary and Secondary Computing Education – Call for Participation
November 11-13, 2013 - Aarhus, Denmark
Submission Deadline – June 17, 2013
WiPSCE 2013 invites you to submit a paper, report, or poster for the 8th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (WiPSCE 2013), Research in primary and secondary computing education is a young field with strong ties to national educational systems. Nevertheless, its theories, methods, and results are internationally applicable and of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field. WiPSCE aims at improving the exchange of research and practice relevant to teaching and learning in primary and secondary computing education, teacher training, and related research. For more information, please visit http://wipsce.org.
