2006 UAB K-12 Computing Workshop

Introduction

On July 31, 2006, the UAB CIS department organized a state-wide workshop that brought together many key educators who have an interest in advancing the role of computing within Alabama K-12 education. The workshop assembled 16 participants with various backgrounds, including: K-5 technology instructors, high school AP computer science teachers, high school students, school administrators and headmasters, undergraduate and graduate students, executive directors, and UAB professors. In addition to the diverse backgrounds of the participants, the types of institutions represented at the workshop were diverse, such as: national organizations (CSTA), grade schools (Hoover City Schools), private schools (Tuscaloosa Academy), public schools (Bob Jones and Vestavia Hills), magnet schools (ASFA and ASMS), and universities (UAB).

The daylong workshop achieved several goals, providing the participants an opportunity to benefit from the following activities:

• Initiate networking opportunities among K-12 educators and UAB

• Set a vision for improving computing education within our state

• Share pedagogical approaches and "lessons learned"

• Discuss issues to help schools bootstrap CS in their curricula

• Attend a keynote presentation by Chris Stephenson, Executive Director of the national Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

The workshop received national attention as a feature in Chris Stephenson's blog, in an entry entitled "What if Alabama Led the Way?"

Future Activity: As a result of the workshop, several of the participants are preparing a white paper that will be sent to the Governor's AMSTEC organization. This will summarize the findings of the workshop and suggest a vision for improving the awareness of computing in Alabama. Please check back to this site in late Fall for a link to the final report.

Photos of Workshop Activities

Photos of various workshop participants are available here.

Workshop Schedule

The morning session hosted several key talks on topics that were selected to motivate further discussion among the participants. A keynote talk was provided before an informal lunch session. The afternoon session proceeded with further informal discussion that was driven by key focus questions distributed to participants.

Several of the PowerPoint presentations are available by clicking on the titles. Photos of each speaker are available by clicking on the speaker's name.

09:00am-09:30am	General Introductions;   Dr. Jeff Gray (UAB Asst. Prof./Workshop Organizer) Dr. Tony Skjellum (UAB CIS Chair) Dr. Lowell Wenger (UAB NSM Dean) Overview of the Day Dr. Jeff Gray
09:30am-09:45am	Strategies to Address Teacher Certification Amber Wagner (AL School of Fine Arts - ASFA)
09:45am-10:00am	Perspectives on Technology Education Cameron McKinley (Hoover City Schools) 2006 Alabama Teacher of the Year
10:00am-10:15am	Introduction to Alice Ryan Muller (Vestavia Hills High School, Student)
10:15am-10:30am	Introduction to New Lego Mindstorms NXT Robots Amos Smith (incoming UAB Freshman)
10:30am-10:45am	Introduction to Robocode in Introductory Labs Robert Tairas (UAB, Ph.D. Student)
11:00am-12:00pm	Keynote Presentation Chris Stephenson (CSTA, Executive Director)
12:00pm-01:00pm	Lunch
01:00pm-04:30pm	Working Group Discussions
04:30pm-05:00pm	UAB CIS Facilities Tour Fran Fabrizio (UAB CIS Chief System Administrator)
05:30-...	Dinner

 

List of Participants

The following represent those who attended the workshop at some time during the day. Participants are categorized by their affiliation.

Alabama School of Fine Arts

Amber Wagner

Alabama School of Math and Science

Dr. Albert Lilly

Bob Jones High School

Jennie Rountree

Computer Science Teachers Association

Chris Stephenson

Hoover City Schools

Cameron McKinley

Tuscaloosa Academy

Dr. George Elder
Tammi Scheiring

UAB

Dr. Barrett Bryant
Fran Fabrizio
Dr. Jeff Gray
Dr. Anthony Skjellum
Amos Smith
Robert Tairas
Dr. Lowell Wenger

Vestavia Hills High School

Charles Brown
Ryan Muller
Kay Tipton

In addition to the participants named above, the following have expressed an interest in helping with the goal of improving computing awareness across Alabama:

Dr. Gypsy Abbott (UAB), Rachael Broadhead (AMSTI), Margaret Clark (Mt. Brook HS), Eddy Dunn (Altamont School), Dr. Barrett Mosbacker (Briarwood Christian School), Thalia Naussac (Grissom HS), Shelly Rider (AMSTI)