Nevada Computer Science Summit slated at UNLV in June

Time is running out to register for the inaugural Nevada Computer Science Summit that is scheduled June 18 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“This initial meeting is an opportunity to discuss the computer science standards that were established during the past legislative session in Senate Bill 200,” said Steve Canavero, Ph.D., Superintendent of Public Instruction. “The summit allows stakeholders and practitioners to come together to discuss implementation and implications of all of the computer science initiatives outlined in this exciting new bill.”

In order to take part in the summit, school district participants should contact their district or charter representatives to register with their team. More information is available at: https://www.stemhub.nv.gov/csfornv

Nevada’s Computer Science Summit 2018 will feature select teams from the state’s K12 school districts, public charter schools, and higher education institutions.

”We will convene to celebrate broadening computer science education and discuss what this means for our students and our efforts to become the fastest improving state in the nation,” said Cindi Chang, the Nevada Department of Education representative who oversaw the development of the state’s new computer science standards.

Breakout sessions will explore legislative requirements enacted by SB 200 and its funding opportunities, building a district strategic plan, unwrapping the new K12 computer science standards, student access and equity to computer science education, teacher pipeline strategies, getting computational thinking into TechEd courses, computer science pathways, introducing computer science practices into core subject area classrooms, pre-service teacher programs, in-service teacher licensing, professional development options, and more. The teams will have strategic planning time built into the Summit so all stakeholders can plan to bring computer science education to their faculty and students.

The Nevada Computer Science Summit is possible through grant funding from the ECEP Alliance (Expanding Computing Education Pathways).

“We are grateful to the ECEP Alliance for their generous support for this Summit and for other computer science initiatives we have put in place in Nevada,” Chang said. “It is because of their past support that we were able to gather folks from every district in the state to write our new Nevada K12 Computer Science Standards. Nevada would not be where it is today with computer science education were it not for partnerships with organizations such as ECEP.”