Well-Played: Microsoft Parlays NSF Video 'Remake' Into National CS K-12 Crisis

theodp writes: K–12 computer science and information technology teachers head to Grapevine, TX this week for the 2015 CSTA Conference. A glance at the draft agenda shows a remarkable number of presenters employed by or tied to two-year-old Code.org, the tech-bankrolled nonprofit that coincidentally sprung up together with Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us PAC just months after Microsoft called for the creation of a national K-12 CS and tech immigration crisis to advance its agenda. Code.org's shaping of the nation's CS K-12 education began with the release of its tech-billionaire and celebrity-studded, slickly-produced What Most Schools Don't Teach video, which went viral on YouTube after being promoted by politicians, Facebook, Google, and a Microsoft-sponsored theatrical release, sparking a groundswell of interest in expanding K-12 CS education, succeeding where a similarly-themed-and-messaged but decidedly-amateurish National Science Foundation video of real-but-little-known computer scientists failed just months earlier (YouTube Doubler comparison). (More, below.) "The time is ripe to seize that opportunity," declared the ACM's and Code.org's Cameron Wilson, describing how Code.org was forming a coalition with Microsoft, Google, NSF, NCWIT, ACM, CSTA, and others with the goal of changing policy to support CS education. Computer science educators literally applauded Code.org's efforts, which have led to funding of a number of new K-12 CS projects, and may soon make No Child Left Behind Act funding available for K-12 CS education. Despite promises of transparency, details of the relationship of the National Science Foundation, now-NSF partner Code.org, the White House, ACM, NCWIT, College Board, and Code.org's corporate and billionaire backers — including Microsoft, Google, and Facebook — have never really been explained.

Comments

WTF

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm supposed understand this gibberish mess of links and blabber? I miss you old times

Re:WTF

[ArchieBunker]

Yeah, no fucking clue what this is even about.

public schools controlled privately

[turkeydance]

privatize profits/socialize expenses.

All just cover for the H1B visa scam.

[Karmashock]

That's all this about.

Say the american population can't do the job so you need this education upgrade and all the H1B visas you can handle... and then of course fire the existing american labor force that made everything the tech industry has... and possibly have them teach the imports in their final days and then fire them.

The whole thing is sick.

MS just fired something like six thousand engineers etc but they need more? Why?

Re:All just cover for the H1B visa scam.

[Anonymous Coward]

Specifically, they want more engineers from India who they barely have to pay. That's all.

This is just hedging their bets. If enough people catch on to what a scam the H1B program is and what liars all these corporations whining and crying about the alleged lack of people with tech skills and we take their toy immigration program away from them, the next best thing to do is make sure there's a lot more Americans competing for those jobs so that the can lower wages that way.