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CS&IT Symposium Shows What's New in Computer Science
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by Kate Conley
International Society for Technology in Education
Eugene, Oregon
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| | The Latest in Professional Development
On a crisp, clear February day, 80 high school computer science and information technology teachers and other educators gathered at a hotel adjacent to the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch for what symposium chair Chris Stephenson promised to be an invigorating day. Attendees came to Missouri from as far away as Oregon and Florida as well as Canada and Mexico to find out what's new in computer science and information technology education.
The sixth annual Computer Science and Information Technology (CS&IT) Symposium, which is cohosted by ACM's new Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and sponsored by Microsoft, provides a comprehensive cross section of practical, relevant professional development to help teachers prepare their students for the future.
Linda Hayes, an instructor at Florida's Virtual School who has attended all six of the CS&IT Symposia, says she goes because it is important to "broaden your perspective and gather ideas from teachers from other places. Getting ideas from teachers in traditional school settings helps inform my virtual school programs."
Betty Parys, a computer science and math teacher from Virginia, says, "What I thought I knew was a drop in the bucket compared to what I've picked up here." Betty joined the symposium program planning committee two years ago after she was invited to act as the local representative for her state at the 2004 CS&IT Symposium, held in Norfolk, Virginia. Each year, the symposium committee invites a teacher from the local area in which the symposium is held to participate on the program planning committee. Chair Stephenson says, "Local teachers provide program input specific to their region and offer a current perspective of what's really going on in high school classrooms. Each new person on the committee brings unique skills and perspectives that allow for 'just in time' program planning." Loretta Fischer, the local teacher from St. Louis for the February 2005 symposium, says, "There's less going on in Missouri in terms of high-tech fields," so it's even more important to hear firsthand what's going on around the country.
Entertainment Mixed with Education
From presenter Fran Trees of Drew University wearing a Groucho Marx nose and glasses and singing "There's a Hole in the Bucket" to teach recursion, to Katie Siek and Amanda Stephano, Ph.D. students from Indiana University, using a student-response system with the audience to present the ways they are getting girls interested in computer science, symposium attendees were, if not outright invigorated, certainly highly engaged.
There was as much laughing as there was critical thinking going on in Betsy Frederick (Network New Mexico) and Irene Lee's (Santa Fe Institute) session using handhelds and StarLogo in a virus-spreading simulation. Session attendees walked around the room "meeting" each other by beaming, and then through a process of hypothesizing and testing, they tried to determine how they had become infected with a virus. Kevin E. Miller from Rockhurst High School in Lees, Missouri, turned out to be patient zero, which he pointed out was ironic because he actually had a cold that day.
Other topics covered included AP Java, in-demand skills for an on-demand world, reflective assessment, Web programming, design and engineering of problems and assignments, and how to increase student enrollment in computer science and information technology courses.
Janie Schwark (senior product manager, Mobile and Embedded Devices Group at Microsoft) demonstrated a wide assortment of new mobile technologies that are reshaping our ideas about computing, its uses in the world around us, and the importance of providing students with the skills they need to be technology innovators.
Robin Willner, director of corporate community relations for IBM, spoke to the symposium audience about the importance of the education, industry, and local communities working together to help students grow and learn.
Coming in June: Kinesthetic Learning Activities and More
New this year is that ACM and ISTE are offering the CS&IT Symposium twice. The first event was held in conjunction with ACM's SIGCSE conference in St. Louis on February 26, and the second is being held in conjunction with NECC in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 26, 2005. Additional topics to be covered at the June 2005 CS&IT Symposium include kinesthetic learning activities, student perspectives on the social relevance of computer science, and ideas for creating a comprehensive body of resources to support the implementation of a U.S. K-12 computer science curriculum.
Chair Chris Stephenson noted that Microsoft gives generously to support the annual CS&IT Symposium, and she and the attendees extended heartfelt thanks to the symposium sponsor, without whose help this event would not have been possible.
Find complete presentation descriptions, materials, handouts, resources, and other details about the upcoming and previous symposia at the CS&IT Symposium Web site.
 Computer Science & Information Technology Symposium 2005
Kate Conley is the Periodicals Group manager at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in Eugene, Oregon. Kate is also the editor of ISTE's Learning & Leading with Technology magazine. She holds an M.S. in journalism and a B.A. in English and taught at the high school and community college levels in the San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years.
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