Tuesday July 31,
Wednesday August 1,
& Thursday August 2, 2012

A Workshop and Conference on Computer Science
for Middle and High School Teachers
to be held on the UMass Lowell Campus

 

What is CS4HS?               What is CSTA?

CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) is “an initiative sponsored by Google to promote Computer Science and Computational Thinking in high school and middle school curriculum.” The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) is “the Voice for K-12 computer science education and its educators.”

UMass Lowell and the CSTA Greater Boston Chapter are delighted to receive support from Google, the Computer Science Teachers Association, Lenovo, and the Commonwealth Alliance for IT Education (CAITE) in offering a 3 day hands-on workshop and conference to regional middle- and high-school computer science, mathematics, and technology teachers.

Our goals are to provide teachers with (1) ideas they can immediately bring into their teaching; (2) a forum to share approaches with each other; and (3) ideas and support for advocacy and equity in computer science teaching and learning.

To register for the conference, please complete the online form here:

bit.ly/uml2012-cs4hs-csta

There is a $50 registration fee for the whole workshop. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided all three days.

After you fill out the online form above, please print out this form and send it in along with your registration fee. Thank you.

If you are outside of daily driving range, we can provide an overnight hotel stay (two nights) for a small number of participants. Please contact us at cs4hs-csta-2012-org@weblab.cs.uml.edu to request travel support (or if you have any other questions).

Conference Overview

The conference will consist of hands-on workshops, research talks, panels, and discussion sessions.

Here are the confirmed sessions:

Hands-on Workshops

MIT App Inventor
Kelly Powers, Mark Sherman, and Fred Martin
App Inventor is a blocks-based programming system for developing fully-functioning applications (apps) for Android cell phones and tablets. Now at MIT, App Inventor is freely available to everyone. This workshop will include hands-on programming and discussion of sample student assignments and projects.

Teaching CS with the Finch Robot
Tom Lauwers
The Finch Robot is a low-cost classroom robot especially designed for use in novices to learn of computer science. We are especially proud to have the inventor of the Finch, Tom Lauwers, come to our event to lead a workshop on how to use it!

Panel Discussions

Equity in Computing
Jeffrey Forbes (NSF) and Holly Yanco (UMass Lowell)
Jeff Forbes and Holly Yanco will lead a discussion on strategies for engaging under-represented students in computer science.

Computer Science Education Advocacy
Cameron Wilson (Director of Public Policy, ACM; invited)
Cameron Wilson will present strategies for advocacy and community building, with the goal of institutionalizing computer science education.

Careers in Computing
Karen Lang (Mass Academy of Math and Science)
Karen Lang will moderate a conversation with young alumni with industry positions in the computer science field.

Research Talks

CS Principles
Ralph Morelli (Trinity College) and Chinma Uche (Greater Hartford Academy Of Mathematics And Science)
Ralph Morelli will present the College Board's CS Principles project, and his undergraduate course based on this framework and using MIT App Inventor. Chinma Uche will describe her version of the course in a high school context.

Introduction to Computer Forensics
Xinwen Fu (UMass Lowell)
Xinwen will describe latest work in computer forensics and security, including his development of a surveillance quadcopter that can localize ground radio signals.

Modern Data Management
Tingjian Ge (UMass Lowell)
Compared with classical database systems (e.g., as in a bank or business), sensors, smartphones, RFID tags, and social networks provide new kinds of data. These data are noisy, incomplete, and stream at high volumes. Tingjian will describe ways of processing these new data sources.

Human-Robot Interaction
Holly Yanco (UMass Lowell)
As the use of robots increases, we must design robots that are easy for people to use and understand. Holly will describe some of the key research issues in the field of human-robot interaction from her latest work, including telepresence and trust.

Discussion Sessions

We will organize a set of breakout sessions so we can network with each other around themes of mutual interest.

Please suggest “Birds of a Feather” discussion topics when you register.

Schedule

Tuesday July 31, 2012

Wednesday August 1, 2012

Thursday August 2, 2012

We are still working on the detailed agenda... please check back.

After the workshop is complete, please fill out our survey by clicking here.

Thanks to our sponsors!
 

 
 
  
 

 
 
 
Event organizers:
Fred Martin, Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Kelly Powers and Padmaja Bandaru, Advanced Math and Science Academy, Marlborough, MA

archive... 2011