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College Board Puts Code.org In Charge of AP CS Program
theodp writes: "The College Board," reports GeekWire, "is endorsing Code.org as a coursework and teacher training provider for its upcoming AP Computer Science Principles course and will help Code.org fund the teacher training work required to establish new computer science classes." So what's the catch? "Schools that commit to using the [new] PSAT [8/9 assessment] to identify middle school students who have potential for success in computer science will be eligible to receive curriculum, training, and funding for programming classes." The organization is bankrolled by some of tech's wealthiest leaders and their corporations. Code.org board member Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel, proposed the idea of "producing a crisis" to advance Microsoft's "two-pronged" National Talent Strategy to increase K-12 CS education and the number of H-1B visas. Just months thereafter, nonprofit organizations Code.org and Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us, which is lobbying for H-1B reform, were born.
The College board is about one thing - making money - the fact that code.org is in bed with them is rather disturbing.
Typical Silicon Valley liberal bullshit. From Code.org's website (bold added for emphasis)
The College Board and Code.org will encourage schools to offer the new PSAT 8/9 assessment as a way of identifying more students, particularly those from traditionally under-represented groups, for enrollment in these new courses.
So did you think this was going to mean some CS classes for you, poor little Appalachian white boy? Well TOUGH LUCK! That oppressed girl from Grosse Pointe beats you out again.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
"Confidant" not "cosmonaut", unless there is a joke I'm missing.
Am I supposed to be outraged at this? The summary seems to indicate so. I'm not seeing the issue. Code.org is doing a good job, and is much preferable to the alternative: which is nothing. Don't tell me the Department of Education should be doing this instead.
The way I read it we're supposed to be wary. It says that the organisations campaign for more H1B visas as well as funding these training schemes. I'm not sure of what we should be wary of in relation to these training courses - the organisations would be happy to employ US programmers as long as there are enough H1Bs to keep the wages suppressed.
According to you. I'm not sure what you guys are upset about. Why is H-1B's even mentioned? The fact is that Code.org has a noble goal, and is executing it. Who else is going to help? The Department of Education? You?
I mean I get it: you don't like the H-1B program. But that has nothing to do with Code.org and the College Board working together. Get a grip.
Look me up - I've probably done more with less w/r to CS education than anyone out there.
That post has said "cosmonaut" since 1999.
I wrote about some of my concerns here:
http://cestlaz.github.io/2015/...
Then add the negative impact that Gates has had on this country's ed system and follow it up with the fact that none of the players driving the bus are educators.
Code.org is doing a good job,
Are they? Why do you even think that?
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
I made no reference to H1-B no about Gates making money - try reading what I wrote.
In terms of programs - I'm a teacher so I have neither a voice nor deep pockets. What I do have is the fact that I'm the best at what I do and have built a great team. As the U.S. wrecks its overall ed system and rolls out bad CS the kids that I work with will be in even higher demand.
Oh yeah, a school in America's leading, cash-flush metropolis, servicing only gifted students who've made it past the SHSAT.
NYC's specialized high schools are wonderful. But tell some teachers in the Southeast that you're doing more with less and they'll deservedly laugh in your face. You're doing more with more.
We identify all students with "leadership potential" and put them into either a class on business administration or JROTC. What could possibly be the objection there? Don't we also have a shortage of good management? Classes on leading and managing civilians or getting a taste for being a NCO or commissioned officer would do wonders to make more young folks ready to lead others in the business world!
What's that you say? That would dilute the wages of management/make a lot of competition for upper management?
Shit, son, why do you hate America? If diluted wages are good for engineers, how much better are they for the people who lead them!
My school is mostly working and middle class and very close to being eligible for title 1 funding. Lots of recent immigrants.
We're a public school and receive no special funding.
What's more, I had to hack the school to build my program - never got any support from the school: http://cestlaz.github.io/2014/...
American k-12 schools have enough trouble teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. That was before 'No Child Left Behind'. Most kids are not interested in computer programming. Now, code.org, wants school districts to spend more money of their limited budget on computer programming classes. There will be unpopular, thus small, and thus expensive per student, programming classes.
So their plan is to make cheap laborers by educating children in CS
Yes, that is exactly their plan. When they started, they kept talking about how we need more programmers. This is not something hidden, it's something you didn't pay attention to.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
You don't know me or my work. Bro-grammer culture? My gender equity numbers blow away most everyone else.
Egotistical ass? Are we name calling now?
My work speaks for itself while you hide behind anonymity.
btw, you didn't say why you think code.org is doing a great job.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
I'm in the real world - apparently you're not.
No reason to engage in someone not interested in a constructive conversation or debate.
Good day.
Unlike many types of jobs, programmers really separate themselves into high and low performers. The old guy with an advanced degree, strong problem solving skills/logical reasoning ability and a mountain of application domain knowledge has nothing to fear from a bunch of wet behind the ears kids who know next to nothing and have learned programming skills in a classroom that they couldn't have taught themselves from a book in a few weeks. Those kids are only a substitute for the low end of the pay scale where pay is already close to the median wage. If that is where you are sitting you are sitting far from the "elitary".
It's not name calling, it's accurate classification, Mr. I'm the Best, Doing the Most with Less. Your work--your posts in this thread--absolutely speaks for itself. What is says--shouts, really--is that you're an egomaniac impossible to work with. But keep on with the my-way-or-highway whines here and on your blog about the slights against you. Powerful advocacy, that.
follow it up with the fact that none of the players driving the bus are educators.
If we look at how well the educators have managed education, maybe it is better to have someone else in charge. Having a degree in education is negatively correlated with effectiveness as a teacher.
Umm... Same principle. Females are not taking as many courses in programming, therefore there are not as many of them to hire. Once the gender quota is reached then the market may have twice as many domestic programmers as they have currently. It won't actually work out that way due to price signalling causing people to change jobs or avoid the discipline altogether.
At the end, they reach the same outcome. More laborers equate to lower wages for all.
I'm never afraid to compete, I've always been at the top of whatever I do and competition just makes this stuff more fun. However, for people that are not obsessed with their jobs, and performance of such, this will suck. Over time, the industry will likely calcify as people with less patience for mediocre programmers influencing the flow of creativity in a project find other ways to fill the void. This will likely change the methods of development and delivery.
Whatever the case... The H1B bullshit is about lying motherfuckers. It has nothing to do with fear of competition, it's about playing fair and by the rules. If the rules need to be changed, let the Congress critters voice those concerns and reap the rewards.
So their plan is to spend millions on code.org and wait 20+ years to flood the market with bad programmers........Because they are teaching kids to do stuff.
Apparently you don't think they are doing very well either.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
At some point you will stop being AC or be ignored. Right now you have not addressed the fact that these 2 fellows could easily fund a college say facebook college of programming or Microsoft college of programming, which would train employees in what they need, just like many industries over the years have done. Instead they are doing this crazy crap which is all intent confusing the market while they ask to pay people 10$ an hour or less while they make off with billions, not pay full taxes, avoid taxes such as MS lisc center in Reno, and overseas accounts. This is a many layered attempt to lower wages of American's, while convincing them its their fault for not being smart enough. I'm sure they justify this to themselves but its all about how much money flows to them in the end. Glorified Self interest with a marketing plan.
No I think they are doing a great job in at least trying.
Do you understand that 'trying' is not the same as 'doing a good job?'
Remember, these are the same people behind common core. If you think they are doing a good job, you should at least have reasons why, otherwise you are mindless.
Do some research, find out how they are doing, and that will be interesting.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
So their plan is to make cheap laborers by educating children in CS and flooding the labor market with them and H1-B's? Really, you guys are incredible. You think Gates is doing this so labor is cheap for...Microsoft in the future? So he can make more money for...Microsoft?
I know it's hard to believe, but every once in a while you get someone who's capable of thinking past the end of the quarter.
I am a middle school teacher and I have been using hour of code to introduce my students to "the coding mindset." However, other than the puzzle tutorial I don't see much that is1. interesting to students and 2. contains a grading metric.
Is there a teacher handbook? I do have access to the teacher site; but I really don't see much. I would like to be able to assign, and track progress in, other modules and activities; but it has the 20 activities that I can track and view in the teacher screen, then it has a more advanced set of puzzles (that I cannot track progress). Then is an "Elsa" on ice module, that, again, I cannot track progress in at the same time I am tracking the students who have not finished the basic module.
At that point it kicks the students off to Kahn academy with no teacher tracking at all.
Yes, the tracking is essential as most students will not do the activities if they do not see it, directly, translating into a grade. I have students who have had 18 weeks and have not started the first 20 activity module. They plan to find out how many points they need for a C (or D) after the final and then do only that many activities in the Hour of Code lessons.
I would like to do more with Hour of Code and Code.org; but on the teacher side of the program there isn't much there.
Have you ever taken the time to look at job listings, to see just what businesses are asking for? Keep in mind as you look: If, for whatever reason, a programmer is unfamiliar with any language, tool, development process, framework, or hair-care product listed as a "required skill", said programmer is not "qualified" for the job.
All of which only matters IME if you're new to the industry. Once you've proven yourself, it's a different world. Your problem domain matters a lot, and its damn hard to change disciplines when the time comes (I've had to do it twice now over 24 years, I'm sure I will again). But toolset? I was hired for a Java job despite no Java experience at all, then hired for a C# job with only basic familiarity with C#. In my current job, we only care that mid-career developers have experience with some "curly brace language" (and I'd bet we'd interview a Python dev if we had a referral), and college hires must demonstrate strong coding skills in whatever language they choose. I've never even been asked about the rest of the toolset.
Is this some front-end-web-guy problem? That job market seems saturated, but we're getting desperate for talent in the backend/infrastructure world.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Until you create an AI that can not only code other things, but intelligently and accurately alter it's own code, programming *is* too complex for automation. Code is, in a quite literal sense, crystallized and replicable thought and action.
The best you can do is write better and better frameworks that make it easier for non-experts to write trivial code, which the highest-level programmers don't want to bother with anyway: they'd rather work on something that challenges them and forces them to learn and think. If anything, the highly skilled programmer should welcome a glut of low-end programmers: they just need to switch gears to be the consultant that comes in and fixes things when the idiot college grads fuck it up, rather than the curmudgeonly asshole that gets fired for not being a "team player".
Having a degree in education is negatively correlated with effectiveness as a teacher.
I am curious if you can document this; because, as a teacher, this is not what I have seen. I teacher at a middle school and most, if not all, of the teachers have a Bachelors or a Masters in their field. I addition, most have a masters, or second masters, in Education with several have, or are working on, Doctorates (Ed.D. . . . Right, a Doctorate to keep your job teaching at a Middle School, the system has gone mad).
My grumble aside, I have noticed that the teachers with M.Ed.s' and Ed.D.s' are, in fact, better teachers. They simply have a bigger pool of ideas and techniques. It is not simply because they have more experience, most enter these programs after they are employed so they do have several years of experience by the time they have their M.Ed. and Ed.D. I se the difference between the over educated Gen-X teachers (of which I am one) who will never be eligible for tenure; so we have to stay "in training" until we reach our Ed.D. ( after five years of continuous employment, and evidence of "development" in a district some are eligible for "due process" rights, there is no more tenure) and the Boomers who received their Bachelors in their subject area, attained tenure, and were done.
It isn't just being a younger teacher, after all, the X-ers are in their mid 40's. It isn't just about the evils of being able to plan for the future (to you conservatives, I mean the evils of tenure). There is a difference, my observation is that the teachers with M.Ed.s' and Ed.D.s' really are bringing more to the classroom.
I have noticed that the teachers with M.Ed.s' and Ed.D.s' are, in fact, better teachers.
There is plenty of research showing that advanced education degrees add NO value to the classroom. From the citation: The fact that teachers with master’s degrees are no more effective in the classroom, on average, than their colleagues without advanced degrees is one of the most consistent findings in education research.
I went and looked at the article you are quoting. The quote you make above earns a footnote; but no citation. The footnote says:
In some studies with very large sample sizes, there are statistically significant differences between teachers with and without MA degrees, but the size of the difference is trivially small.
However, as noted, there is no citation. Further, the article is not about teacher effectiveness at all, it is about teacher pay and the financial value of an M.Ed. for a teacher.
Because there is no citation there is no way if he is comparing the effectiveness of teachers with education BAs' to the effectiveness of teachers with M.Ed.s' or if he is comparing the effectiveness of teachers with subject B.S.s' and MBAs' to teachers that have also added a M.Ed. to the subject degree.
Quite frankly, it is a pretty quote; but, without the context that the article is about ROE on a M.Ed., it is entirely unsupported in the article and it is not the topic of the article.