October 19, 2022, the SVRTC meeting was attended virtually by 22 members with representatives from 11 SVRTC school divisions: Amelia, Brunswick, Charlotte, Colonial Heights, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Petersburg, and Prince Edward.
Computer Science has been a prominent topic for Virginia educators, especially since the adoption of the 2017 Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning. Sharing resources among members was requested. Annah Bowen, the Region 8 Computer Science representative, began with updates from Code VA, which offers free computer science opportunities to public schools. She shared that she attended a regional meeting recently where she learned that many schools have not updated their strategic plans since computer science standards were revised in 2017, and VDOE plans to revise standards again by 2024. It was shared that lack of time, finances, and lack of knowledge are barriers to the implementation of computer science curriculums in schools. Ms. Bowen shared that creating a stand alone course for computer science was discussed amongst CS regional representatives, as well as providing more opportunities for teachers to learn about computer science and the ways they can integrate within their disciplines.
Dr. Stephanie Playton also reminded members about resources available to SVRTC members including –
- The ACSE site, which has some lesson examples remixed for Hello Ruby lessons and activities: https://sites.google.com/ittip.org/advancing-computer-science-edu/home?authuser=0
- Hello Ruby, a series of books used for elementary school computer science curriculums, that also has a website which provides classroom activities: https://www.helloruby.com/
- The Go Open VA website, which includes many lesson plans: https://goopenva.org/
- Tags to search: #ACSE #Compsci #Computer Science #CS4R8 #CuCPS #ITTIP #Region 8 #VDOE
- Group to search: Computer Science for Region 8 (CS4R8)