Transfer Program Between California Community Colleges and California State University Hits Milestone of 1,000 Associate Degrees for Transfer Developed

[Within the broad ICT cluster, traditional Computer Science is so far the only Transfer Model Curriculum to be developed and approved in this process.  Efforts to create a Transfer Model Curriculum pathway related to hands-on IT/ICT were rejected, because not enough CSU programs exist already to handle the massive need for a transfer pathway in that area.  Efforts to create a Transfer Model Curriculum pathway related to business information systems that would end up in CSU business department programs were rejected, because there is not enough room in the curriculum to substantially differentiate business information systems from standard business degree pathways.  So far, there have been no efforts to create a Transfer Model Curriculum pathway related to Digital Media.  The chaotic wild west of the ICT revolution continues.]

MEDIA RELEASE November 21, 2013
Contact: Paul Feist, California Community Colleges
Office: 916.327.5353 / Cell: 209.670.6240
Office E-mail: pfeist@cccco.edu
Contact: Mike Uhlenkamp, California State University
Office: 562.951.4834 / Cell: 562.756.7935
Office E-mail: muhlenkamp@calstate.edu


Transfer Program Between California Community Colleges and California State University Hits Milestone of 1,000 Associate Degrees for Transfer Developed

Students now have wide range of options for degrees that guarantee admission to CSU

SACRAMENTO – The state’s new streamlined transfer program developed by California Community Colleges and California State University now offers 1,000 associate degrees for transfer in a wide variety of disciplines, making it easier for students to transfer to CSU and earn a bachelor’s degree.

California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris praised the academic senates from both systems for working diligently to develop the new degrees offered at the system’s 112 colleges in a way that properly aligns course requirements for smoother transfer.

“Development of 1,000 degrees over a two-year period is an astonishing feat,” Harris said. “These degrees guarantee admission to CSU, and students are quickly finding this is an attractive path for transfer. This program makes both systems run more efficiently and will go a long way in helping California meet its need for more college-educated workers.”

The Associate Degree for Transfer program allows community college students who complete an Associate in Arts for Transfer or an Associate in Science for Transfer degree with 60 units (two years) priority admission to a CSU program that is similar to the community college major as determined by CSU. Once admitted to CSU, students only have to complete an additional 60 units to earn a bachelor’s degree. (Click on the image to see one Associate Degree for Transfer student’s success story.)

“Creating more than 1,000 Associate Degrees for Transfer is an important testament to the combined work of both educational systems and a win-win achievement for our students and state,” said Chancellor Timothy P. White. “By earning both an associate’s and bachelor’s degree through this new endeavor, our graduates ‘win’ by being more competitive in the job market and earning higher wages. With the need for at least 1 million additional degreed professionals by 2025, our state also ‘wins.’ By advancing degree completion, this new transfer pathway is supporting the economic vitality of California.”

Past studies showed that community college students transferred with an average of 80 units when only 60 units are required for an associate degree. Then, upon arrival at the California State University, they often took excess units to make up for courses that did not transfer from their community college.

“The degree with a guarantee program means the world to me. It means a better life for me and my family,’’ said Maria Brown, who started at Cuyamaca College and transferred to San Diego State University. “As a former foster youth, I grew up with no parents, and I never learned about college or the opportunities that were available to youth. This program guaranteed me a spot, and it gives other former foster youth and other people of challenging backgrounds a chance to be something they never thought they could be."

In the 2012-2013 academic year, the first full year transfer degrees were available, 1,730 Associate of Science for Transfer and 3,571 Associate of Arts for Transfer degrees were awarded to California community colleges students.

For more information about the transfer program and to hear from students who have already earned these degrees and made the jump to CSU, visit ADegreeWithAGuarantee.com.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation. It is composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.3 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills courses in English and math, and prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities. The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, approximately 437,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff. The CSU awards about 96,000 degrees annually and since its creation in 1961 has conferred nearly 2.8 million. The CSU is renowned for the quality of its teaching and for the job-ready graduates it produces. The mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California. Connect with and learn more about the CSU at CSU Social Media. Show how the CSU matters to you and take action.

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Time for the United States to Re-Skill ?

Time for the United States to Reskill? The Survey of Adult Skills, shows that our highest-skilled adults remain on par with those in other leading nations, but that, on average, American students are behind other nations in every other measure. The international rankings show that in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in a technology-rich environment, the U.S. average performance is significantly lower than the international average. The data also show that the skill levels of U.S. adults have remained stable over two decades, and that our youngest learners are not improving their skill levels. In some other countries, young adults score well above older ones and also outpace their American peers. This shows that the disadvantages children face often persist into adulthood and learning gaps, fueled by opportunity gaps, exist among American adults.  

Importantly, the report findings shine a spotlight on a portion of our population that has historically been overlooked and underserved: the large numbers of adults with very low basic skills. Adults who have trouble reading, doing math, solving problems, and using technology will find the doors of the 21st-century workforce closed to them. The OECD report offers general recommendations as to how the U.S. can be more strategic in our reforms for the low-skilled adult learner population.  

The report offers seven broad policy recommendations for the U.S. to consider. The first is to “take concerted action to improve basic skills and tackle inequities affecting sub-populations with weak skills.” This recommendation addresses the fact that there are significant weaknesses in the skills of the U.S. population, particularly among identified subgroups, where the long-term consequences of the achievement gap can be seen in the adult population. For example, Hispanics and blacks are three-to-four times more likely to have low literacy skills than whites. While the achievement gap in K–12 schooling has been closing steadily, it is not erased and the adult population’s skill profiles still bear the signs of early inequities. The OECD calls on the United States to coordinate and align federal, state, private and philanthropic efforts to improve workforce development efforts and maximize the effectiveness with which efforts reach the scale and efficacy required to make real and lasting changes to the current skills profile.  

The second recommendation, to “strengthen initial schooling for all....” also derives from the long-term effects of poor K–12 schooling, which remain a drag on adults’ skill proficiencies. Current education reforms, such as attention to early learning, dropout prevention, and adoption of more rigorous standards, should be strengthened, accelerated, and evaluated for their continued effectiveness in preparing students with strong skills. The OECD points to the experiences of other countries, such as Korea and Finland, that leveraged early PISA findings (an international skills survey conducted among 15-year-olds) as a wake up call to marshal education reforms that have yielded lasting improvements. The reforms undertaken and the measures of their success are described in a previous OECD report: Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States. 

“Ensure effective and accessible education opportunities for young adults” is the third recommendation. It echoes President Obama’s call for more Americans to complete at least one year of postsecondary education and training in order to succeed in the 21st century global economy. It also reflects the efforts that are underway to reform high schools by making career and technical pathways available to more students. The OECD recognizes that although the pipeline to education exists, many low-skilled and low-income youth and adults are not able to complete their degrees or training programs. Reforms to college access, cost, and developmental education are urgently needed.  

“Link efforts to improve basic skills to employability.” This fourth recommendation draws on previous OECD work in career and technical education, recognizing that the integration of basic skills and work-based learning can be a powerful accelerator for disengaged or low-skilled youth and adults. It opens what OECD calls a “virtuous cycle” of synergistic learning and motivation. This recommendation requires cooperation with employers and industry groups to embed work experiences of all kinds into education pathways and to keep job-specific skills updated in the curriculum.  

“Adapt to diversity,” the fifth recommendation, notes that within the U.S. adult profile is a range of distinct sub-populations with a variety of needs, including young immigrants with language barriers, disconnected youths, adults with learning disabilities, and dislocated workers facing digital literacy challenges. Accordingly, the adult low-skilled population is not homogenous. The OECD recommends developing a range of interventions specifically targeted to the needs and strengths of the various learners and their capacities to engage in education and training.  

The sixth recommendation, to “build awareness of the implications of weak basic skills among adults, their links with other social factors…” refers to those social factors linked to skills as revealed in this survey. These include positive civic behaviors such as voting and volunteering, as well as improving health status and prevention behaviors. In the U.S., the correlation between poor health status and low literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills is twice as strong as the international average. In fact, U.S. adults with low skills are four times more likely to report only “fair” or “poor” health. This combination presents great challenges to both the individual and the health providers to communicate and address the prevention, management, and treatment of disease and unhealthy behaviors.  

The final recommendation, to “support action with evidence,” recognizes that the U.S. capacity for research and evaluation is unsurpassed and calls on the research community to pay more attention to the education and training of low-skilled youths and adults to identify a repertoire of effective, replicable, and scalable practices. To jumpstart this focus, the OECD and the Educational Testing Service are co-sponsoring a researcher training on the dataset and analysis tools this week (registration is full). The Department has also committed to further training opportunities for researchers. Future issues of OVAE Connection will give information on how to participate in these opportunities.  

Stay up to date with all the PIAAC-related publications, briefings, and events at www.piaacgateway.com.

The overview and main findings of the Survey of Adult Skills were released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This direct assessment, part of the Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies, (PIAAC), was conducted with nationally representative samples in 23 countries, among adults aged 16 through 65. Based on the survey, OVAE requested OECD to prepare the report, Time for the United States to Reskill? What the Survey of Adult Skills Says. This report analyzes data from the survey and details the status of American adult competencies within our economic, demographic, and social structures and makes policy recommendations to boost adult skill levels. 

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Tim Berners-Lee says 'surveillance threatens web'

21 November 2013 Last updated at 19:24 ET  BBC

 

Sir Tim Berners-Lee said important issues had been raised by recent leaks


Web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned that the democratic nature of the net is threatened by a "growing tide of surveillance and censorship".

The warning came as he launched his World Wide Web Foundation's annual web index report, tracking global censorship.

It suggests that 94% of the countries in the index do not adequately monitor government internet interception.

Thirty per cent of countries block or filter political content, it indicates.

The report concludes that the current legal framework on government snooping needs urgent review.

"One of the most encouraging findings of this year's web index is how the web and social media are increasingly spurring people to organise, take action and try to expose wrongdoing in every region of the world," said Sir Tim.

"But some governments are threatened by this, and a growing tide of surveillance and censorship now threatens the future of democracy.

Bold steps are needed now to protect our fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and association online," he added.
'Appalling and foolish'

Sir Tim has been an outspoken critic of government surveillance following the revelations from whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

He described attempts by the spy agencies to crack encryption as "appalling and foolish".

He has previously said that the checks and balances to oversee GCHQ and its US counterpart, the National Security Agency (NSA), have failed.

It is a view shared by digital forensic expert Professor Peter Sommer.

"GCHQ is a spying agency. It needs to produce good results. But how far anyone understands the techniques they are using is more unclear."

"The things they are doing need a ministerial warrant but the ministers have a lot of other things to do. Did they have sufficient understanding of the technology? Who is doing the risk analysis?"

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told the BBC: "The success of our intelligence agencies relies on secrecy. But secrecy does not mean lack of accountability. The United Kingdom's intelligence agencies operate under the tightest of controls and oversights.

"Our agencies only act in line with their strict legal mission, above all keeping people safe from harm.

"There is a triple lock to ensure every action is lawful, necessary and proportionate - interception underpinned by Ministerial warrants, world class internal controls and three safety nets of outside scrutiny by the Interception Commissioner, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal." Measure of influence

The report compiled by Sir Tim's World Wide Web Foundation ranks countries in terms of the social and political impact of the web.

Sweden tops the annual web index, ahead of Norway, and followed by the UK, US and New Zealand.

It found that in 80% of the countries studied, the web and social media played a role in mobilising the public on a range of issues.

It also found that rich countries did not necessarily rank higher in the index. The Philippines, with a per-capita income of $4,410 per year, is more than 10 places ahead of Qatar, the world's richest country.

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is outperformed by 10 sub-Saharan African countries, and Switzerland, the third wealthiest nation, is only one place ahead of Estonia.

But in poorer countries the digital divide is growing ever more marked, according to the report.

"Ten years after world leaders committed to harnessing technology to build an inclusive information society, parents in 48% of countries can't use the web to compare school performances and budgets, women in over 60% of countries can't use the web to help them make informed choices about their bodies, and over half the population in developing countries can't use the web at all," said Anne Jellema, the foundation's chief executive.

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Start a Microsoft TEALS Computer Science Program for the 2014-15 School Year

Dear Interested School Administrator,

As December nears, TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools) is ready to start recruiting new school partners for the 2014-15 school year. TEALS (www.tealsk12.org) is a Microsoft YouthSpark program that helps high schools build a sustainable computer science (CS) program by integrating industry software engineers into the classroom in a co-teaching model with a classroom teacher. A detailed program description can be found at:http://www.tealsk12.org/docs/TEALS_Program_Description_2014.pdf

To learn more about how a school can add computer science to its course offerings, please complete the following action items:

1. Register: http://tealsk12.org/about/register.php?ref=ops&type=schools

2. Attend an online information session to learn more about the program and the school application process. The following school representatives are advised to attend and will play a role in the application process and in building a successful computer science program:

• School administrator
• District CTE representative
• Teacher interested in learning and teaching computer science full-time
• Guidance department representative
• Diversity engagement representative

Call #1: December 9, 2013 at 10pm EST/7pm PST

Join online meeting
Join by phone
+14257063500 (USA - Redmond Campus)
Conference ID: 45560740

Call #2: December 11, 2013 at 7pm EST/4pm PST

Join online meeting
Join by Phone
+19173881000 (USA, New York)
Conference ID: 586271907

On December 9, 2013 a partnership guide will be available. The online application will officially open on December 19, 2013. Applications will be accepted until March 3, 2014.

Please forward this message to other school leaders who may be interested in building a computer science program. If you have any questions, please reach out to TEALS via their contact page (http://tealsk12.org/contact/contact.html). Thank you and we look forward to your attendance at the information session.

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Cal Poly Announces Major New Initiative In Cybersecurity Education

Part of the cybersecurity initiative, the Cal Poly -- Northrop Grumman Cyber Lab is set to open for classes in January

November 20, 2013 Security Dark Reading

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- With the establishment of a Cybersecurity Center, the opening of a new cyber lab and the development of cybersecurity curriculum, Cal Poly is poised to become a leading supplier of cyber-ready experts, professionals and innovators.

Spearheaded by the College of Engineering, the major new educational initiative encompasses a comprehensive and collaborative program that spans the polytechnic university and partners with public and private organizations. The goals of the program include educating thousands of students in cybersecurity awareness and readiness; producing experts in cyber technologies and systems, including many professionals who will serve the military and defense industry; and graduating cyber innovators who are prepared for advanced study and applied research in emerging cyber issues.

The Cal Poly Cybersecurity Center serves as the nexus for a wide range of activities that involve faculty and students collaborating with experts from other academic institutions, private companies, defense industries and government agencies, and research labs. A nationwide search for a founding director of the Cybersecurity Center is now underway.

Part of the cybersecurity initiative, the Cal Poly – Northrop Grumman Cyber Lab is set to open for classes in January 2014. The undergraduate and graduate teaching facility -- the first of its kind in the nation -- was made possible by support from the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

With 32 workstations, projectors, presentation center and expansive whiteboard space, the lab will enable student and faculty experimentation in network security and cyber defense, exploitation, attack, research and development, analytics and visualization. The lab's associated server center offers a robust research environment, including all of the elements of an enterprise-scale information technology operation.

Not only did the Northrop Grumman Foundation provide funding for hardware and software, but the company helped design the facility and sent Dale Griffiths, chief scientist in the Northrop Grumman Intelligence System Division in McLean, Va., to set up and configure the lab.

A unique aspect of the Cal Poly – Northrop Grumman cyber collaboration includes access via network connection to the Northrop Grumman Virtual Cyber Lab, thereby expanding educational and research capabilities for Cal Poly students and faculty.

"Our shared investment in the cyber lab will be the foundation for a meaningful cyber partnership between Northrop Grumman and Cal Poly," said Ron Smith, Northrop Grumman Information Systems sector vice president for programs and engineering.

Cal Poly's momentum in cybersecurity education builds upon an already-established focus in the area, including a two-year-old cybersecurity project lab established with funding from Raytheon. The company also sponsors White Hat, the Cal Poly student club dedicated to making the internet a safer place by protecting personal computers, private data and information systems.

The addition of Zachary Peterson to the faculty in fall 2013 ensures expansion of cybersecurity research and curriculum from entry-level to advanced, specialized topics. An expert in secure storage systems, applied cryptography, and law and policy, Peterson has received funding from the National Science Foundation for research in cybersecurity education. Cal Poly is now searching for another faculty member with expertise in secure infrastructure.

Future course offerings in cybersecurity may include cryptography engineering, study of cutting-edge malware research and analysis, and examination of the major controversies affecting today's Internet resulting from the interplay of policy, law and technology.

"Whether you're a private citizen, private company or government agency, cyber threats are a real and growing concern," said Debra Larson, dean of Cal Poly Engineering. "Our cyber facilities and education offer every student the opportunity to learn about the risks associated with the use of cyber technology.

"More importantly, through Learn by Doing instruction, Cal Poly will educate the Day One-ready cyber experts who know how to defend, secure, tactically engage and restore the cyber-space. By partnering with businesses and government, we are creating a framework of education, applied research and public service that will benefit the nation."

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WebProfessionals.org Announces STEM to STEAMIE Initiative

By adding three key elements, WebProfessionals.org aims to expand and convert the fields of study representing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) into a more inclusive and necessary field.

“Adding Art, Innovation and Entrepreneurship to the national conversation around Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is a mission critical pathway to economic competitiveness,” said Bill Cullifer, Executive Director of the association of Web Professionals, WebProfessionals.org.

The not for profit organization is spearheading the initiative and generating support from a number of experts representing business, industry, education and government. The goal is to discuss and to communicate the critical need to incorporate Art, including Digital Design, Innovation and Entrepreneurship into the STEM conversation.

The initiative would create a new acronym, STEAMIE.

“It’s time to get real about STEM,” Cullifer said. “As much as we are big supporters in STEM, not everyone has an interest in science or math and we need to be more inclusive.”

Mark DuBois, Professor at Illinois Central College (ICC), agrees. “We also need to attract a broader audience including a growing number of women attracted to entrepreneurship and digital design,” he said.

What is STEM?

STEM fields or STEM education is an acronym for the fields of study in the categories of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In the United States, the acronym was first used in education and immigration debates in initiatives to begin to address the perceived lack of qualified candidates for high-tech jobs. It addresses concern that the subjects are often taught in isolation, instead of as an integrated curriculum. Maintaining a citizenry that is well versed in the STEM fields is a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States. The acronym has been widely used in the immigration debate regarding access to United States work visas for immigrants who are skilled in these fields. It also has become commonplace in education discussions as a reference to the shortage of skilled workers and inadequate education in these areas.

What is STEAMIE?

Coined by the membership-supported organization, WebProfessionals.org, the acronym STEAMIE represents the fields of study in the categories of science, technology, engineering, mathematics plus arts, innovation and entrepreneurship. The aim is to be more inclusive and representative of what employers really want or need.

Why is STEAMIE important?

In 2009, the U.S. House Small Business Committee reported that one dollar spent on the Small Business Administration’s entrepreneurial development programs brings a return of $2.87 into the economy. The year before, 2008, these programs helped generate 73,000 new jobs and added $7.2 billion to the U.S. economy, according to a Feb. 11, 2009 press release by the House Committee on Small Business. This speaks volumes to the fact that entrepreneurial development programs, if done well, can be incredibly important to a nation’s job creation efforts as well as its economic development, according to a recent report published by the Gallop organization.

Innovation is important to business and individuals.

Innovation is no longer a “nice-to-have” element of business success; it’s a “must-have,” according to Keith Harmeyer and Mitchell Rigie, principals of www.SmartStorming.com.

“If innovation distinguished between leaders and followers in the recent past, today it increasingly distinguishes between survivors and the barely breathing,” Harmeyer said. “Innovation is the new Darwinism in business; the choice facing companies today is simple: innovate, or perish.”

Innovation isn’t new, it has been a business buzzword for years, Harmeyer said. “We’ve all read about it in business magazines and heard the reports on financial news stations. Harvard Business School professors lecture on it at conferences and scores of books address it. And the same companies are consistently held up as the elite innovators Apple, Google, Nintendo, JetBlue, Toyota, Target (and today again, WalMart). And there are hundreds and even thousands more you’ve never heard of, visionary companies that are seizing the opportunities (yes, opportunities) presented by the current economic phase, breaking the rules, establishing new standards, delivering incredible value, and then starting that process all over again…and again, and again.”

The two partners say that the innovation imperative doesn’t just apply to businesses. It also is a challenge that faces individuals as well. “The time to develop an innovation orientation is not tomorrow or next week or in the third quarter. It’s now.”

Entrepreneurship transforms dreams into profits.

There’s a misconception that people who can’t find work jump into entrepreneurship; however, statistics show that 76 percent of establishments of new businesses in 2003 were due to an aspiration to chase openings, according to canadiantradeenclave.ca.

Entrepreneurship is challenging task but the rewards it gives are often more than what an individual expects.

Entrepreneurship actually provides employment and helps the economy. It also contributes toward research and development and creates wealth for nations and individuals as well. “The business as well as the entrepreneur contributes in some way to the economy . . . in the form of products or services, by boosting the GDP rates or tax contributions. Their ideas, thoughts, and inventions are also a great help to the nation.”

“We can conclude that the higher the level of entrepreneurship is in the nation, the higher is its level of development,” “The crux motive of entrepreneurship is to transform the dreams into a profitable truth . . . Entrepreneurship strengthens the economic growth of a nation, as well as gives power to society, speeds up modernization and transforms the way of thinking of the common man.”

For additional information and in-depth interviews and articles visit http://stemtosteamie.org

About WebProfessionals.org
Since 1997, WebProfessionals.org, aka World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) has been helping aspiring and practicing web professionals and those that teach. For more information about the association, visit http://www.webprofessionals.org.

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US Department of Labor: $100m Youth Career Connect Grants Announced

Youth Career Connect

Program Summary

The Youth CareerConnect grant program is designed to encourage America's school districts, institutions of higher education, the workforce investment system, and their partners to scale up evidence-based high school models that will transform the high school experience for America's youth. Youth CareerConnect schools will strengthen America's talent pipeline through:

• Integrated Academic and Career-Focused Learning: Grants will provide students with education and training that combines rigorous academic and career-focused curriculum to increase students' employability in in-demand industries and prepare them for employment, post-secondary education, long-term occupational skills training, or registered apprenticeships.
• Work-Based Learning and Exposure to the World of Work: Strong partnerships will provide work-based learning opportunities. In addition to actual work experience, youth participants will also participate in field trips, job-shadowing, or other types of opportunities that provide students with exposure to different career paths and prepare them for the world of work.
• Robust Employer Engagement: Employer partners will provide work-based learning and mentoring, creating a path for students to in-demand industries and occupations including those in information technologies, advanced manufacturing and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields . Employers will also work closely with schools on professional development and training for staff to drive the sustainability of the program over the long term.
• Individualized Career and Academic Counseling: As an integral part of the program design, students will be provided with individualized career and academic counseling experiences to strengthen their career and post-secondary awareness and explore opportunities beyond high school.
• Integration of Post-secondary Education and Training: Students will participate in education and training, while they are still in high school, that leads to credit toward a post-secondary degree or certificate and an industry recognized credential, where appropriate.

The Department of Labor will use up to $100 million in revenues from the H-1B visa program to fund approximately 25 to 40 grants for individual or multi-site projects. Grants will be awarded to local education agencies, public or non-profit local workforce entities, or non-profits with education reform experience. All grantees will have to demonstrate a strong public/private partnership, and must include, at a minimum, a local education agency, a local workforce investment system entity, an employer, and an institution of higher education. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to employers, foundations, and others in building their applications and leveraging the federal investment. At a minimum, applicants will also be required to provide a match of 25 percent of the grant award. Awards are anticipated to be made in early 2014 for program implementation to align with the 2014-15 school year.                      

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New Milestone for CompTIA Troops to Tech Careers Initiative: 16,000 Veterans Certified for IT Skills

Nov 08, 2013  CompTIA


Downers Grove, Ill., November 8, 2013 – CompTIA, the non-profit association for the global IT industry, said today its Troops to Tech Careers initiative has reached a new milestone in the number of military veterans certified in the skills that can lead to post-military careers in IT.

Some 16,000 veterans have earned nearly 22,000 CompTIA certifications between the launch of Troops to Tech Careers in October 2011 and Veteran’s Day 2013. In the last year, the number of participants has doubled.

“Veteran’s Day reminds us how important it is to support our nation’s veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. “Critical to this transition are creating opportunities for veterans to find meaningful employment in careers that offer long-term options for advancement and growth.”

The IT industry is one in which veterans with the right mix of business, communication and technical skills can find rewarding careers.

During Q3 2013, there were 615,192 core IT job openings in the U.S., according to Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights. This at a time when unemployment for post-9/11 veterans continues on an upward trend – 10.1 percent in September, compared to the nationwide unemployment rate of 7.2 percent.

“This is unfortunate, because veterans know what hard work is and frequently enter or re-enter the civilian workforce with sought-after skills,” Thibodeaux noted. “We established Troops to Tech Careers to signal CompTIA’s commitment to our veterans and encourage our members and the broader IT industry to join us in this effort.”

Troops to Tech Careers offers veterans a way to hone their existing talents and fill in any gaps through training and certification in the IT skills most sought after by employers.

CompTIA Security+ is currently the most sought after certification among Troops to Tech Careers veterans, with some 9,700 earning the credential. CompTIA A+ is next, with 6,670 veterans certified; followed by CompTIA Network+ (4,490). Veterans have also attained certifications in project management, server technologies, green IT, Linux and storage.

CompTIA is a participant in the White House’s IT Training and Certification Program, a public-private partnership that will enable thousands of service members to earn industry-recognized IT certifications before they transition from military service.

CompTIA also participates in the Department of Defense Information Assurance Program and contributes to the Wounded Warriors Project through its foundation, Creating IT Futures.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. Visit www.comptia.org, http://www.facebook.com/CompTIA and http://twitter.com/comptia.



Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
630-678-8468
smostrowski@comptia.org

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Career tech at community colleges should not be undervalued, report says

November 18th, 2013
By Kathryn Baron   EdSource



Many students turn to community colleges for career technical courses, yet those students are overlooked when measuring college success rates, a new study says. Credit: Dan Figueroa for the Career Ladders Project

A massive reform effort to increase graduation and transfer rates at the state’s community colleges is in full swing since passage of a 2012 law requiring campuses to significantly increase graduation and transfer rates.

Yet a new report turns those goals slightly askew by arguing that the relentless focus on such traditional notions of success as earning an associate’s degree or certificate or transferring to a four-year college ignores a large population of students who achieve their goals through shorter programs. Overlooking that impact undercuts a key mission of community colleges and ultimately distorts campuses’ accomplishments, the report said.

“There are fields where you can take a (community college) class or two and bump your earnings by 15 percent. What other options do people have to raise their salaries that much?” said report co-author Kathy Booth, a researcher with WestEd, a nonprofit education research, development and service agency. Yet, under current accountability measures “these students are counted as failures,” Booth said.

She and co-author Peter Riley Bahr, associate professor at the University of Michigan, call these students “skills-builders,” first-time college students who have already been working for a number of years – their average age is 37 – and who enroll in a limited number of courses in a specific discipline to increase their salaries or improve their workforce skills.

“They needed something quick, it helped them with their jobs and they got in and out quickly to do that,” said California Community Colleges Vice Chancellor Patrick Perry.
Career boosters

The study identified about 50,000 students, or one in seven students entering community college for the first time each year, as skills-builders. They typically take career technical education courses – construction, manufacturing, engineering, industrial technology, corrections or specialized computer programs such as Microsoft Excel.

Because they’re supporting themselves, and often families, these students need the flexibility to be able to take a couple of narrowly focused courses instead of the full slate of liberal arts classes required for degrees and many certificates. Night courses are popular for this reason, Booth said, as are programs that can be taken in bursts, such as child care programs, where it takes six credits – about two courses – to become an assistant teacher, 12 credits for an associate teacher, and 32 to be certified as a site supervisor.

“For a woman with young children who must juggle child care and a job, a skills-builder pathway in child development (or) early care and education may be her first rung on a ladder out of poverty,” Booth and Bahr wrote in the report.

Many campuses also offer their own certificates to prepare people for specific local industry needs that may require as few as six units. Others prepare students to pass state and professional licensing exams and certifications, such as in welding, child care and firefighting. About 41 percent of skills-builders say they’ve earned one of these, but since the chancellor’s office doesn’t collect this information, the achievements go unreported and the students end up being classified as dropouts.


Students described as “skills-builders” can get a bump in their salaries by taking just a few very focused community college classes. Source: WestEd & Learning Works

Students say they’re getting what they want from these classes. In a separate survey of nearly 11,600 skills-builder students at 35 California community colleges, more than half said they were “very satisfied” with their courses and another 35 percent were satisfied community college customers.

Given their salary boosts it’s no wonder. The survey reported an average wage gain of 28 percent, from $18.34 to $23.51 an hour.
A different measure

Paychecks are a big motivation for many of these students, Perry said, and if they got a raise or promotion as a result of taking a few classes, that should be one of the college accountability measures tracked by the chancellor’s office, the state Legislature and local college boards of trustees.

Because the outcomes of these students aren’t tracked, community colleges may have a lot more successful students than they get credit for, the report’s authors said. That could work against them, Bahr said.

“Given the current fiscal constraints and the pressure on community colleges to demonstrate performance, there is a great risk that workforce-related programs will be cut significantly,” Bahr said.

Making the case for short-term programs will require a lot more information. For starters, not much is known about these students.

The difficulty is in “trying to capture a piece of the population that’s traditionally been seen as a failure of the system,” Perry said.

His office has been working to identify skills-builder students, to look at what courses they take, how it helps them and which campuses show the best outcomes. One they get that data, Perry said it could be included in the community college system’s Student Success Scorecard, an online site that lets prospective students see which programs and campuses have the best success rates.

Booth and Bahr are also continuing their research to help colleges better understand the needs of these students and design better strategies to help them.

Until they know more, it’s too soon to draw any definitive conclusions, said Linda Collins, executive director of Learning Works, an Oakland-based nonprofit that provided some funding for the study.

“I wouldn’t want to take this research to say certificates and degrees aren’t important,” Collins said. “I would take it to say they’re not the whole story.”



Contact senior reporter Kathryn Baron and follow her @Tcherspet. Sign up here for a no-cost online subscription to EdSource Today for reports from the largest education reporting team in California.

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ATE@20: MPICT Runs Three Tests of International Technician Education Course

 

MPICT Runs Three Tests of International Technician Education Course

Posted by Madeline Patton at 4:00am. ATE Central

The Mid-Pacific Information and Communication Technologies (MPICT) Center's three international pilot projects have yielded positive results for students and faculty. While study-abroad programs are common for liberal arts students, MPICT's multiple international experiences are rare for technology students.

Each of MPICT's pilot projects utilized Cisco's Network Academy curriculum because it is an industry standard taught uniformly around the world. For the two most recent experiments, with a school in France in 2011 and a school in China in 2012, MPICT's faculty partners developed a problem-based scenario that gave students roles in a fictitious company that was merging international units with incompatible network systems. The mixed teams of American and international students had to integrate the systems.

"We wanted them to get the experience of doing the project, doing an international project using the tools they were learning, modern tools to collaborate across the ocean. A lot of work in our field is performed this way," said Pierre Thiry, MPICT principal investigator.


Thirteen California community college students between the ages of 19 and 49 spent two weeks in China at the end of the capstone course that was taught simultaneously to them and to Chinese students from SIP Institute of Services Outsourcing in Suzhou, China, using remote and translation technologies.

MPICT is based at the City College of San Francisco in California. Its mission is to coordinate, promote and improve information and communications technology (ICT) education, with an emphasis on two-year colleges, in California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories.
History of International Projects

MPICT's experiments with international ICT courses began with an inquiry in 2008 from a Cisco Academy leader who knew that Thiry, a native of Belgium, speaks French. He asked if MPICT would be willing to partner with a school in France that wanted its students to interact remotely with students in an English-speaking country.

Thiry describes the two lessons he delivered using the tele-presentation system in Cisco's Downtown San Francisco facility as "a little spontaneous and not well-supported financially."

But the experience came in handy in 2010 when the NSF requested proposals from ATE centers to develop international technician education experiences in Europe. MPICT's proposal for an ICT capstone course with Centre des Formations Industrielles in Paris received one of five $100,000 grants. Michael McKeever, a computer and information sciences instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College and MPICT faculty partner, developed the ICT capstone course. As with other ATE-supported curriculum development, the lessons, labs, and lectures he developed for the capstone course are available for other faculty to use at no cost.

In 2012, Thiry obtained NSF permission to use $50,000 of MPICT's funds to adapt the ICT capstone course for a collaboration with the SIP Institute of Services Outsourcing in Suzhou, China. Richard Grotegut, an Ohlone College faculty member and MPICT faculty partner, suggested the project based on his experience teaching Cisco courses to faculty in China. Another MPICT faculty partner, Richard Graziani of Cabrillo College, taught the course simultaneously to Chinese and American students using translation software. The Chinese students were all between 19 and 21 years old. The 13 American students who traveled to China ranged in age from 19 to 49.
Student Uses International Lessons Immediately

Working remotely and then in-person on a class project with students in Suzhou, China, taught Justin Niu that when "working with people from different countries and cultures: be friendly, opened minded, willing to teach and learn." Niu reports that he applied those lessons immediately to his work at a tech company that manufactures and sells networking solutions.

"As a global analyst, I use my experience from the China trip every day at work. I communicate and work with employees from all over the world including England, Switzerland, India, Singapore, China, and Japan," he said. The computer networking courses Niu took leading up to the ICT capstone course helped him get the analyst position at the company where he was already working.

Niu was one of 13 Northern California community college students who traveled to China in the summer of 2012 for the collaboration project with SIP Institute of Services Outsourcing in Suzhou.

As an American-born Chinese who learned Mandarin growing up, Niu was able to facilitate conversations between the two groups of students because he could translate cultural concepts and phrases, both American and Chinese, that would normally not make sense if translated literally.

"The most valuable experience was the opportunity to learn and communicate with our Chinese student peers about their culture, debate technical concepts, discuss the economy and tech job market in China," he said.
Instructor's perspective

McKeever, the Santa Rosa Junior College instructor who developed the ICT capstone course for use with the school in France, said the French and American students were "ecstatic" to work together in person. The student teams had worked on Cisco's Packet Tracer simulation equipment via Blackboard Collaborate throughout the semester. However, the timing of the joint class sessions at the end of the French students' eight-hour class days created some challenges. Language was not a barrier because the French students spoke English. (Contact McKeever at mmckeemmckeever@santarosa.edu for the entire course content.)

During their first week together in France, the students worked intensely to finalize their projects. The students' presentations to college professors and Cisco executives at Cisco's video conference suite in Paris were transmitted to Northern California in order to include the MPICT faculty and students who could not make the trip. During the second week in France, the students visited four IT work sites including the Societe Generale, a large financial services company.

The American students who traveled to China followed a similar schedule of academic work their first week in the country and tours of businesses the second week.

"I think there was some every positive results there," Thiry said, referring to both projects. Although the cost of international travel makes the projects difficult to scale, Thiry thinks the in-person contact between students is important.

McKeever agrees, and said, "What they learned about other cultures, respect for other people, and a greater awareness of the world was something that can't be replicated by technology. It's something that you have to go there and do."

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Please Sign Petition to Make Computer Science Count as Core Subject Requirement for UC and CSU Admissions

Please sign ACCESS' petition to:

• George C. Johnson, Chair of University of California Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools; 
• William Jacob, Chair of UC Academic Senate; 
• Diana Wright Guerin, Chair of CSU Academic Senate:

Computer science drives job growth and innovation in California.  Help us make computer science count as a core subject requirement—mathematics or science—for admission to UC and CSU campuses.

Please sign the petition and join this campaign: http://chn.ge/1bvfqPx

Full Petition Text:

California is known as a world leader in driving the digital age through computing and the information technology sector. Yet, few K-12 students have access to high-quality computer science education in the state. A key obstacle is that rigorous, college-preparatory computer science courses do not satisfy a core mathematics or science admission requirement for either the University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) system. We are seeking that computer science satisfy a core requirement for college admissions.

Computer science is driving job growth and innovation throughout California’s economy and society.  By 2018, California will need to fill 517,890 computing-related jobs – about half of a total of 1.1 million STEM jobs.  These occupations dominate “help wanted” ads, and computer science is one of the most lucrative and hottest degrees for new college graduates.  Rigorous computer science courses develop students’ computational and critical thinking skills and teach them how to create—not just use—new technologies. This fundamental knowledge is needed to prepare students for the 21st century, regardless of their ultimate field of study or occupation.

The limited access to K-12 computer science education in California creates serious gender and equity issues for underserved minorities. Of all California AP Computer Science test takers in 2010-11, only 21% were female, less than 1% were African-American and only 8% were Latino (despite the fact that Latinos make up the majority of California’s public school students). A study by the Computer Science Teachers Association found that the most important factor in whether young women and students of color choose to take computer science is if it counts towards a high school graduation requirement.

Computer science courses do not currently count towards core high school graduation requirements in California—they are treated as electives. Moreover, neither the University of California (UC) nor the California State University (CSU) campuses count computer science as satisfying a mathematics or science requirement towards admission; at best computer science counts as a college-prep elective. Given other academic demands, most college-bound students don’t afford themselves the time to take computer science, nor do students on a vocational pathway.

We are seeking to count computer science as a core subject requirement—mathematics “C” or science “D”—for admission to UC and CSU, rather than as an elective—“G” credit. This change would not require schools to offer computer science or require all students to study it – that is, high school graduation requirements would not change – but would simply allow computer science courses to satisfy existing core college admissions requirements. This change would, on the other hand, encourage students to take computer science and thereby become prepared with 21st century skills for our knowledge-based economy.

To learn more about making computer science count nationally, visit code.org.

For specific information about why it’s important to make computer science count in California, visit access-ca.org – the Alliance for California Computing Education for Students and Schools.

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IASE Unclassified Cyber Awareness Challenge

Following are links to good training and assessment simulations for ICT User security developed and used by the U.S. military and Federal government.  Check them out for your digital literacy courses and programs.  Everyone, no matter what their industry or job is, should have this level of knowledge.

From webpage at IASE

Department of Defense Employees

Launch New CyberAwareness Challenge Department of Defense Version
Continue Current CyberAwareness Challenge Department of Defense Version

Federal Employees

Launch New CyberAwareness Challenge Federal Version
Continue Current CyberAwareness Challenge Federal Version

Product Functionality Caution: To meet technical functionality requirements, this awareness product was developed to function with Windows operating systems (Windows 7, VISTA, and XP, when configured correctly) using either the Internet Explorer (IE) or Firefox browsers. Users employing another OS or browser may experience difficulties and may not be able to complete the training or print the certificate of completion. If you have questions regarding this requirement, please contact the IASE Helpdesk.

Troubleshooting Guide

Testing support for...
JavaScript: Meets the criteria to run this courseware
Browser Version: Test indicates that this is not configured appropriately to run this courseware. You may still be able to run the courseware, however if you experience problems, please see below for instructions on how to troubleshoot issues
Cookies Enabled: Meets the criteria to run this courseware
Session Cookies Enabled: Meets the criteria to run this courseware
Flash 10+: Meets the criteria to run this courseware
Popup blocker: Meets the criteria to run this courseware

It appears that your browser configuration may not meet all of the requirements to run this courseware. See the Troubleshooting Guide for assistance.

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LearningWorks: THE MISSING PIECE: Quantifying Non-Completion Pathways to Success

” . . . in the California Community College system . . . nearly one-third of students took an average of just two courses over about two years and overwhelmingly succeeded in these courses, but rarely attained a degree, certificate, or transferred to a four-year college.”

THE MISSING PIECE:
Quantifying Non-Completion Pathways to Success


Community college students increase earnings of up to 15% after taking just a handful of courses in workforce-related fields, such as water and wastewater technology, criminal justice, electronics, information technology, and manufacturing, according to a study by University of Michigan Associate Professor Peter Riley Bahr. The findings point to the importance of employment outcomes in addition to degree attainment in measuring the success of community colleges. Fully 1 in 7 first-time California community college students enroll in six or fewer credits per semester, succeed in those courses at a very high rate, but do not attain a community college credential or transfer to a four-year institution. LearningWorks has published a brief on the new research entitled The Missing Piece: Quantifying Non-Completion Pathways to Success. The brief, written by Bahr and WestEd Senior Research Associate Kathy Booth, examines students opting to build a few skills rather than complete a degree or certificate.

With budgets tight, policy makers and colleges have to make difficult choices about educational priorities. If degree attainment is the primary metric of success, pathways that lead to workforce-related successes may be de-prioritized because they tend to produce lower graduation rates. However, career and technical education programs are vital to rebuilding and sustaining the economy and helping people secure a better wage. Examining skills-builder opportunities and better measuring employment outcomes will help states quickly get skilled workers back into the workplace, support students in choosing the right level of education to meet their goals, and encourage colleges to develop workforce-related programs that better connect students to jobs.

As more states seek to link funding to student outcomes, colleges need ways to measure and evaluate employment-related gains. For skills-builder students, these may include the following.
External credentials, such as industry certifications and state licenses, which may hold greater value in the workplace than a community college credential
Improvements to working conditions, such as finding a job in their field of study or transitioning from part-time to full-time work
Job retention that is dependent on periodic recertification in specific skills or bodies of knowledge
Earnings gains that clarify how much earnings increased relative to wages before college and whether these increases help students secure a family-sustaining wage

Click here to download the full report.

Click here to download the executive summary.

[ICT students very frequently achieve the success they seek in community college ICT related classes, without seeking or achieving academic transfer, degree or certificate completion.  We need to be sure those successes are counted as successes, not failures.]

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Quick Tips: Flip Your Class

November 12, 2013

Flip your Class

Did you know? You can turn learning on its head by replacing traditional classroom lectures with simple video tutorials and other tools. Focus class time on solving problems and advancing concepts. Engage in collaborative learning and flip your class...

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New CompTIA Mobility+ Certification Addresses Skills Needed in Mobile Environments

Nov 05, 2013 CompTIA

Downers Grove, Ill., November 5, 2013 – CompTIA, the non-profit association for the global IT industry, today introduced CompTIA Mobility+, a new industry-built, internationally-recognized skills certification for the fast-growing arena of mobile technologies.

CompTIA Mobility+ covers the knowledge and skills IT professionals need to deploy, integrate, support and manage a mobile environment, including mobile device management, troubleshooting, security and network infrastructure.

“Accommodating mobile devices and apps and optimizing the mobile experience for customers and employees alike are top priorities for virtually all organizations,” said Terry Erdle, executive vice president, skills certification, CompTIA.

“But the various facets of the mobile ecosystem present many challenges for IT professionals, who must balance user expectations with requirements for availability, reliability and security,” Erdle continued. “CompTIA Mobility+ will identify IT professionals who possess the validated skills to deploy, integrate, manage and secure mobile devices and platforms to optimize performance and mitigate risks and threats.”

Potential candidates for the CompTIA Mobility+ credential include mobility architects, mobility engineers, network administrators and security administrators. The certification is best suited for individuals who are CompTIA Network+ certified or have equivalent working knowledge; and have at least 18 months of work experience in the administration of mobile devices in the enterprise.

Complete exam objectives are available on the CompTIA Certification website.

This is this second mobility-related certification introduced by CompTIA in 2013. In October, CompTIA Mobile App Security+, a credential aimed at raising security awareness and preparedness in the mobile app development universe, was launched.

Courseware, Training Available
CompTIA Authorized Learning Content Partner Logical Operations offers its CompTIA Mobility+ courseware available through the CompTIA Marketplace and Logical Operations’ e-commerce store. The courseware’s instructor and student editions support a 32-hour, expert-facilitated class that can be taught in varying periods of time. Online assessments and eBook versions of the student manual are available through Logical Operation’s CHOICE learning platform.

Mobile Comply offers its “Mobility Plus for the IT Professional: CompTIA Mobility+ Certification Training,” both as an instructor-led offering and as a 14-day or 5-day online training. By mid-November, Mobile Comply will offer a print version of its Mobility Plus for IT Professionals curricula.

In addition to certifications for individual IT professionals, CompTIA offers other mobility-specific initiatives, including training for IT channel companies involved in or interested in offering mobility solutions to their customers; the CompTIA Mobility Community, a group of industry thought-leaders who are shaping the mobility market; and leading market intelligence and research on mobility topics and trends.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. To learn more, visit www.comptia.org, http://www.facebook.com/CompTIA and http://twitter.com/comptia.

Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
630-678-8468
smostrowski@comptia.org

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Bay Area Computer User & Network Support Marketplace, Sept13, 2013

December 13, 2013, please join the Computer User & Network Support Marketplace - a convening of Bay Region employers with Bay Region community colleges - to better prepare the future workforce!  Please also share this invitation with your faculty contacts, advisory group members, business and industry contacts and social media! 
 

 

 

The Computer User & Network Support Marketplace is an event for Bay Region employers and community college representatives to meet and develop clear, common understanding of computer user, help desk and network technical support workforce needs, so students have efficient and effective pathways to those jobs, and employers have access to the quality workforce they need to support strategic ICT users and infrastructure. 


It will be a valuable use of your time and energy!  Please join us:

Friday, December 13, 2013
9AM-2PM (Breakfast served at 9:00 a.m. Meeting starts at 9:30 a.m.)
Ohlone College (www.ohlone.edu/core/mapsdirs/)
Fremont Campus, 43600 Mission Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539
Building 7, Admissions and Records - ROOM 7101
Link to Campus Map
Agenda and Parking permit forthcoming (will also be posted at baccc.net)

Breakfast and Lunch provided

Please RSVP by populating this link:  RSVP 12/13/13

This event is being co-convened by:

• the Bay Area Community College Consortium, a strategic collaboration of 28 Bay Area community colleges
• Bay Area Region ICT Deputy Sector Navigators
• The Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT)

California Community Colleges (CCCs) and Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) have identified Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as an important strategic sector for California and Bay Area economies.  As part of the CCC Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economycampaign, Bay Area community colleges are coming together to proactively, strategically, efficiently and effectively meet ICT economic and workforce development needs in the greater Bay Area.  This marketplace meeting is part of that effort.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is an umbrella term, widely used outside the U.S. and in the United Nations, to encompass all rapidly emerging, evolving and converging computer, software, networking, telecommunications, Internet, programming, information systems and digital media technologies.

Thank you for all you do to improve ICT education and workforce!

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Hour of Code Tutorials Are Ready to Try - 1.5m Students from 141 Countries Planning to Participate

Hour of Code tutorials are ready to try -- with options for every age, every device, and even "unplugged." While this is still a work-in-progress, we invite you to check out the options, and give us feedback.

In particular, Code.org’s own tutorials are ready for preview - learn basic sequencing, repeat loops, and if-then statements from Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Angry Birds.

Please check them out and host an Hour of Code for students in your school or community. See all the tutorials

1,500,000 students and growing
We just passed 1.5 million students planning to participate in the Hour of Code across 141 countries! It’s now on track to be the largest online education event in history, proving that the demand for relevant 21st century computer science education knows no boundaries. See every school participating here.

Join now to win laptops or a video chat with Bill Gates.
Odds of winning are still exceptionally high in many states. To qualify:

1) Registerfor your entire school to participate in the Hour of Code by Nov. 15.
2) Then, email us your school’s Hour of Code “logistics plan” to prizes@code.orgto enter the running for a class-set of laptops. Details

With CSEdWeek (Dec. 9-15) only 5 weeks away, please help your students join in on this record-breaking event. Join us now

Hadi Partovi, founder, Code.org

P.S. Why are you receiving this? You watched our video and signed the petition at http://code.org, to bring more code and computer science to all our schools. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a monthly newsletter, we’ll only send you rare, but important, updates. You’ll hear from us more between now and December, and then we’ll dial it down).

More questions about the Hour of Code? Ask on our forum

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