When a breakout session just isn’t enough, but you don’t have time for a multi-day workshop—take a Deep Dive!
WeTeach_CS Deep Dives is a special 1.5-day event which picks up right where the 2018 WeTeach_CS Summit (June 18-20) leaves off. So, if the three days of the WeTeach_CS Summit just doesn’t sound like enough CS professional development goodness for your tastes, then consider sticking around and taking part in WeTeach_CS Deep Dives! But you don’t have to attend the WeTeach_CS Summit in order to attend a Deep Dives course. Maybe you only have time to take a quick dip into one of the featured subjects. No problem–that’s what Deep Dives are for. Register today!
WeTeach_CS Deep Dives Registration Details
- When – June 21-22, 2018 (Thursday – Friday)
- Where – Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center, Georgetown, TX (35mi north of Austin)
- Cost – $200 per participant
- Registration Deadline – June 12, 2018
- Accommodations and Travel Reimbursement – Attendees may be eligible for reimbursement of travel and accommodations expenses. See registration page for details.
- Hotel Room Block and Group Rate – A room block is available and a group rate is available until May 17, 2018. Subject to availability. See registration page for details.
Deep Dives Session Strands
Coding Clubs and Camps (C3)
Debi Pfitzenmaier – Youth Code Jam
Grade level – K-12
A strong afterschool program in computer science can generate interest in STEM and build a pipeline of students into your school’s computer science coursework. But how do you create a high quality, sustainable coding club or summer camp without breaking your back or busting the bank? In this Deep Dive, we’ll connect with the experts to provide best practices, tips and tricks from the front lines and activities you can use right away to generate excitement and energy around your program. Get ready for conversation with experts from TXPOST, Texas Girls Collaborative, Google Afterschool Advisory Board, Texas Advanced Computing Center and Georgia Tech, along with educators from across Texas to share their best practices. Topics:
- Resources, standards and support for a high quality afterschool program
- Recruiting and engaging under-represented students in afterschool programming
- Building a sustainable summer camp using quality outcomes and good data
- Marketing your afterschool program
- Hands on fun, including how to build your own CS Escape Room and hands on tech tools for clubs and camps
CS Unplugged
Kim Lane, Shaina Glass – Code.org / Lancaster ISD
Grade level – K-5
Are you looking to develop curriculum or content specific activities for computer science within your K-5 school or classroom? Have you or your students explored Code.org’s Hour of Code, played with scratch, or have you attended a one day coding workshop and are wondering, “what’s next?” If so, then you’re ready to take a dive deeper into the new Code.org Curriculum, with an emphasis on integrating computational thinking and unplugged activities into your classroom.
This strand will include:
- Working on unplugged activities which align with your classroom curriculum and ISTE’s CS standards,
- Discussions of computational thinking and the relationship between computer science, engineering, and math practices in primary grades (K-5)
- Creation of blueprints for implementing computer science in your classroom, school, or school district,
- Developing strategies on how to create an inclusive environment for all students in equity and diversity. #CSforAll.
Integrating Computational Thinking into Core Academics
Brenda Foster and Michele McCurdy – ESC 16
Grade level – K-12
Many people believe computational thinking (CT) is just for computer science, however, CT is actually a thinking process that can be implemented across K-12. And as one of the top skills requested by employers, it really should be integrated into all subjects in order to prepare students for future careers. This is not as difficult as it may sound, because CT processes can be used with existing content. During this session, participants will discover what computational thinking is, how to integrate it, and the value of adding it to their daily instruction to improve student engagement. They will also become familiar with the decomposition, pattern, abstraction, algorithm model of CT and how to apply it to subjects across K-12. Participants will leave knowing that computational thinking is not just for the GT and how all student sub-populations can benefit from its integration into core academics. More information
Physical Computing
Tommy Gober – NICERC
Grade level – Middle School / High School
The Deep Dive into Physical Computing to equip yourself with the skills needed to integrate the basic principles of CS with the tangibility afforded by physical devices. Physical computing provides students with a concrete, interactive way to understand coding concepts while also creating new and innovative solutions to various challenges through the use of various inputs, sensors, and servos. Come grow with us as we explore how to breakdown a complex build into manageable pieces, master each piece of the build through circuit and code design, then join it all into a final product. Other computing platforms will be explored along with the pros/cons of each. Note: Some programming experience needed
How WeTeach_CS for High School
John Owen – WeTeach_CS
Grade level – Middle School / High School
Teaching CS next year, but not sure how to get a class up and running? Struggling to find a CS1 curriculum that works? Come and get a sneak preview of a curriculum package that will get you through your first year, giving you everything you need in a nice, neat package. You will be ready for Day One, with lesson plans, student lessons, videos, study guides, practice activities, projects, labs, lab solutions, and assessments. Learn how to make this crucial first year class a success from WeTeach_CS Professional Development Specialist John Owen. We’ll examine the CS1 TEKS and become familiar with the expectations for the course, and then explore the four modules that make up the course.
Game Design
Fiona Moreau – WeTeach_CS
Grade level – Middle School / High School
The growth and importance of the gaming and mobile industries has caught the attention of high school CS teachers across the country. In this Deep Dive, you’ll learn how you can use these cutting edge ideas to teach CS concepts and inspire the future careers of high school students. Based on the ideas of several game designers, programmers, industry professionals, and educators, this session is designed to introduce teachers to this topic and how it connects to Texas state requirements. More information