education in computer science is both extraordinarily important and extraordinarily interesting

Date: 22-Dec-2009

Educators and technologists say two things need to change: the image of computing work, and computer science education in high schools. Teacher groups, professional organizations like the Association for Computing Machinery and the National Science Foundation are pushing for these changes, but so are major technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Intel. One step in their campaign came the week of Dec. 7, National Computer Science Education Week, which was marked by events in schools and online.

Today, introductory courses in computer science are too often focused merely on teaching students to use software like word processing and spreadsheet programs, said Janice C. Cuny, a program director at the National Science Foundation. The advanced placement curriculum, she added, concentrates narrowly on programming. "We’re not showing and teaching kids the magic of computing," Cuny said.

The agency is working to change this by developing a new introductory high school course and seeking to overhaul advanced-placement courses as well. It hopes to train 10,000 high school teachers in the modernized courses by 2015.

One goal, Cuny and others say, is to explain the steady march and broad reach of computing across the sciences, industries, culture and society. Yes, they say, the computing tools young people see and use every day – e-mail, text-messaging and Facebook – are part of the story. But so are the advances in field after field that are made possible by computing, from gene-sequencing that unlocks the mysteries of life to computer simulations that model climate change.

That message must resonate with parents and school administrators, they say, if local school districts are to expand their computer science programs.

"We need to gain an understanding in the population that education in computer science is both extraordinarily important and extraordinarily interesting," said Alfred Spector, vice president for research and special initiatives at Google. "The fear is that if you pursue computer science, you will be stuck in a basement, writing code. That is absolutely not the reality."

Note : If you have anything interesting to share related to your career e.g. my story, interview tips, news etc. mail it to admin@rangrut.com

Comments

Post a Comment