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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.
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.
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.
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/...
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.
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.
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.