SIGCT_at_ISTE2010

**SIGCT Events at ISTE 2010**

Greetings SIGCT Colleagues:

 I trust that most of you will be soon enjoying the prospects of a well-deserved, restful vacation. With our school year nearly behind us (and a new one on the horizon), it seems timely and appropriate to reflect upon the significant roles we have as educators of technology. We are indeed fortunate to share in the kinship of the noblest of professions. The cycle of our school year begins with enthusiasm and energy and is buoyed by optimistic expectations that promising young minds will be positively influenced. We reach closure at the end of a school year then start anew at the beginning of the next…improving upon our experiences and honing our skills. What better way to enhance our expertise than to attend the ISTE 2010 Conference and Exposition (formerly NECC) this June 27-30! ... and while at the conference, participate in the many exciting activities organized by the ISTE Special Interest Group for Computing Teachers (SIGCT). Please find below many worthwhile sessions and events which are sure to enhance your conference experience:

 **Sunday, June 27**
 * Be sure to drop by the SIGCT booth during the SIG Fair near the poster gallery Sunday afternoon to learn more about our activities and to network with your SIGCT colleagues ... and of course to volunteer to advance our mission!

**Monday, June 28**
 * Join your SIGCT colleagues for our **4th annual Breakfast Forum** at ISTE 2010. Start your Monday off with a hot buffet breakfast at 7:30 am. This will be followed by several speakers talking about robotics, STEM and IT in the K-12 environment. Scheduled to speak are: Ray Almgren, VP for Software and Eduction at National Instruments and Richard Mahacek, County Director and 4-H Youth Development Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension Merced County . Ray Almgren, a 23-year NI veteran, is the visionary behind the company’s efforts to create dynamic, hands-on engineering and science education that empowers the innovators of tomorrow. He pioneered the NI academic programs, including collaborations with LEGO and FIRST, that have led to the creation of a graphical programming platform powered by LabVIEW that spans from elementary to graduate school. Richard (and some of his 4-H student leaders) will talk about how the 4-H Council is pioneering an important role in the use of robotics in the education continuum as supplemental, complementary, and partners with formal education. As a special activity we'll have several **DOOR PRIZES** donated by National Instruments and the 4-H Council. These will be complete **Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kits valued at over $200 each**. Those signing up for the breakfast ($20) will have an excellent chance to win one of these. Sign up now by adding the SIGCT Breakfast Forum to your ISTE 2010 registration. The cost for the breakfast is $20. A portion of the total cost for this forum is being underwritten by SIGCT as a member benefit.
 * Immediately following the Monday breakfast, forum attendees will be led by robots from the forum site to the ... **Robotics Extravaganza**! The forum will be followed by live robotics demonstrations through our collaboration with USFIRST and the 4-H Council. The large demonstration area located just outside the main entrance to the exhibits (Upper Level D) will involve numerous teams of students demonstrating and teaching you about robotics. Additionally ** several Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kits valued at over $200 each will be given away as DOOR PRIZES** at the Extravaganza. We thank our SIGCT member volunteers along with ISTE staff and National Instruments, USFIRST and 4-H Council for collaborating to make this happen. Monday's Extravaganza will run until 4:00 PM. USFIRST demonstrations are scheduled to continue on Tuesday, June 29.
 * Join ISTE and SIGCT to update the NCATE standards for Secondary Computer Science Education. Like ISTE's refresh of the NETS, we need to hear from the field and collaborate to develop standards that reflect the changes in content knowledge, pedagogy, learning environments, and professional preparation. This session will be from 2:00 - 4:00 PM.
 * The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) will be hosting a reception as part of the collaboration efforts between ISTE/SIGCT and NCWIT. The reception will be at Marlowe's from 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm on the Mezzanine level - Beer/Wine and Snacks, 501 16th Street Mall. Collaboration activities between SIGCT and NCWIT have included involvement in the distribution of the Gotta Have IT Resource packet at NECC 2009, a webinar based on that packet and advertising and judging for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing awards. Immediately preceding this reception, NCWIT, BizWorld and Disney will launch BizMovie. Look for resources at the NCWIT partner booth and plan to attend the session "Computational Thinking for Everyone" from 2:00 to 3:00 and explore the object-oriented programming features of BizMovie with Jane Krauss and Michelle Hutton.

**Tuesday, June 29**
 * ISTE and the Computer Science Teachers Association are partnering to investigate COMPUTATIONAL THINKING in K-12. Join this groundbreaking work session from 11:00 am - 12:00 noon to help define what "CT" would look like in grades K-12.
 * We need you! ... from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm that is, for our annual SIGCT business meeting. Members of SIGCT will assist in planning future events of the SIG. Please join us for some great networking. Refreshments provided!
 * From 4:15 - 6:15 pm, learn more about ISTE/NCATE standards for Secondary Computer Science Education programs and the process for becoming an ISTE/NCATE Program Reviewer.

In addition to the aforementioned special events and sessions, SIGCT has selected our 20 activities at ISTE 2010, which we believe are of particular interest to the SIGCT membership. There are about 70 other sessions, posters and workshops with content that SIGCT members also will find interesting. We hope these 90 activities are enough encouragement for you to plan your trip ISTE 2010 this year. If you go to the the Custom Program Search on the ISTE 2010 Conference site ( <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">@http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/2010/program/search.php <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">), expand the SIG Picks, click on SIGCT and click on search, you can review those 20 SIGCT Pick sessions.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I look forward to seeing you later next month in Denver!

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> Steve Rainwater <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> SIGCT President


 * Computational Thinking**

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">ISTE will be collaborating with CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association of ACM) in an important new initiative which may significantly advance teaching and learning about computing in the K-12 curriculum. With funded support from the National Science Foundation, the focus of this joint endeavor on computational thinking involves weaving empowering knowledge and skills throughout every grade level and content area...achieving systemic change on par with the three R's.

An initial thought leaders group meeting will soon be convened with representatives from a broad range of expertise and people whose work focuses on computational thinking, educational change agencies, and achieving system change in K-12 education. This group will also include educational practioners, curriculum specialists, and school district leaders. **Among this group will be representation from ISTE SIGCT.** As such, we will need your collective wisdom and experience as teachers of computing to bring to the table when assimilating ideas which contribute to this collaborative effort.

The Goals and Outcomes of the NSF-ISTE-CSTA Computational Thinking initiative are: As such, the thought leaders group will seek answers to the following questions:
 * 1) To create an operational definition of computational thinking for K-12 education, not an academic or discipline-specific definition.
 * 2) To identify and prioritize strategies for embedding computational thinking across the K-12 curriculum.
 * 1) What is the difference between an academic and an operational definition of computational thinking?
 * 2) What are the necessary components to achieve systemic change in K-12 education?
 * 3) Is it possible to achieve a truly interdisciplinary approach to computational thinking and what are the best tools to achieve this idea? (e.g. a generic Computational Thinking unit, Computational Thinking in each content area, and/or a framework for what students need to know when they graduate from high school)

SIGCT solicits your feedback and input. As such, please provide any/all insight and opinion re: the questions above by e-mail reply to Steve Rainwater (srainwater@uttyler.edu). Other opportunities for your input will be planned including a session at the ISTE 2010 conference in Denver this summer (Tuesday, June 29 from 11:00 AM - 12:00 noon -- preceding our annual business meeting)...hope you can attend!

Many thanks in advance for all your time and effort to contribute towards this important endeavor. For more background detail on computational thinking, you can find information via internet search engine as well as through the URL below. There is a link on the page ('Meeting Slides') to the PowerPoint presentation which Dr. Jeannette Wing of NSF gave at the 2009 ISTE SIGCT Breakfast Forum re: Computational Thinking: []

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Steve Rainwater <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> SIGCT President