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New AP Course, "Computer Science Principles," Aims To Make CS More Accessible

Posted by Soulskill on from the broadening-the-base dept.

theodp writes: "CS Principles," explains the intro to a Microsoft Research talk on a new Computer Science Toolkit and Gaming Course, "is a new AP course being piloted across the country and by making it more accessible to students we can help increase diversity in computing." Towards this end, Microsoft has developed "a middle school computing toolkit, and a high school CS Principles & Games course." These two projects were "developed specifically for girls," explains Microsoft, and are part of the corporation's Big Dream Movement for girls, which is partnering with the UN, White House, NSF, EU Commission, and others. One of Microsoft's particular goals is to "reach every individual girl in her house." According to a document on its website, Microsoft Research's other plans for Bridging the Gender Gap in computing include a partnership with the University of Wisconsin "to create a girls-only computer science Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)."

5 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Confused. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't this the same crowd that says there ARE no differences between boys and girls and therefore girls should be in represented equally in STEM careers?

    Yet the way they intended to remedy the imbalance is to create curriculum specifically for girls, who are no different than boys.

    1. Re:Confused. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Isn't this the same crowd that says there ARE no differences between boys and girls and therefore girls should be in represented equally in STEM careers?

      Yet the way they intended to remedy the imbalance is to create curriculum specifically for girls, who are no different than boys.

      No, that only applies to sports. See, girls are dumb when it comes to computers so they need to be nurtured, like a flower. Next companies will have to have girls only IT sections with pink keyboards and ponies, you know, to keep them interested because girls don't like IT or business.

      I cannot believe this crap. Computer programming isn't so hard that you have to start learning in middle school. Just stop the social engineering and let kids be kids until they graduate high school. If it were up to me, kids wouldn't touch a computer until high school. What do you really need a computer for that wasn't achieved by teacher and books? Hell half of them don't know how to read. Let's concentrate on that.

    2. Re:Confused. by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 5, Insightful

      there ARE no differences between boys and girls

      If anyone is saying that, they are clearly idiots. The internet has copious data regarding the differences between boys and girls. Even after eliminating the porn sites, you end up with various physiological and psychological differences. We're very different in general, the extent to which and whether it's nature or nurture will no doubt rage on for the rest of our lives. There is absolutely no reason to think men and women are the same...

      The question of equality is where they are asserting men and women can perform the same. Until evidence exists to the contrary, we have to assume this is true. This is not to say that men and women will do the same things to establish this equality, or will acquire knowledge or even perform the function identically. Only that in the end they will produce the same results.

      to create curriculum specifically for girls, who are no different than boys

      Accepting the above, which I believe with conviction, this then falls apart. However, where I would direct my nerd rage is at the conclusion that lead to creating a gender specific curriculum as a solution. It must have been something like "CS education as it exists is incompatible with female psychology; a CS education program which can target both genders is impossible, ergo we need to fork a new curriculum". I can't imagine the kind of data that existed to justify this. If it did exist, it seems like a likely assumption than the genders will probably require dedicated education on other topics as well, and maybe we should go back to having boys and girls schools across the board.

      Personally I think the problem is entirely social and cultural, and we're wasting our time with this stuff.

  2. *facepalm* by Gestahl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So... when you *specifically* want to create a class *for girls*, your though is "Hey, let's take out the hard parts, and make it more of a course about all the stuff *around* the actual hard part". You just basically told girls "don't worry yourself about the really hard parts. This is what *you* need to know." Are you sure you don't just want to make it a typing class instead?

    Fuck that noise.

  3. Re:bummer by LordLimecat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can you clarify what the specific problem is? Im not aware of mobs of girls clamoring to enter CS who are being prevented. What im seeing is an addiction to political correctness and an outrage that in reality women tend not to enter computer fields as much.