CS Bytes Winter 2023

s e t y B CS

WINTER 2023

COMPUTER SCIENCE REGIONAL COACHES

Benjamin Dusek Central Region

Kevin Little Pee-Dee Region

Sherri Smith Upstate Region

Regional Coaches Map

Pee-Dee South-Coast Central Upstate

bit.ly/sccshub

Matthew Neal South Coast Region

Loaner Program The SC Department of Education has purchased several physical computing devices for use in your classroom.

To ensure all teachers have access to this technology, we request that technology loans only span two weeks.

To request a technology loan, schedule a meeting with your CS regional coach below to discuss drop-off and availability.

Loaner Items Include Lego Spike Kits Ozobots Sphero Bolts

Click Each Item to Access Curriculum Resources

Partner Spotlight

Implement Learning Blade’s “Introduction to Coding” Course This Semester Try Learning Blade’s “Introduction to Coding” course this semester to provide students with an introduction to computers, text and blockbased computer programming, and exposure to computer science careers. This course provides middle school teachers with over 20 hours of resources needed to deliver a robust coding experience.

Request with Calendly a free back-to-school PD to learn how to easily integrate “Introduction to Coding,” during your next planning period.

Use this link to schedule:

https://calendly.com/d/g4x-2t9-sqv

Successful Palmetto K-8 Digital Literacy Program Goes Statewide in 2022-202 After 5 years of supporting the instruction of digital literacy with school districts throughout the state of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Education, through its Innovation Grant Program, will provide full funding for all public-school districts to participate in the Palmetto K-8 Digital Literacy Program. Learning.com is excited to have the opportunity to partner with all South Carolina educators to bring instruction in crucial digital literacy and computer science skills to all SC students. Learning.com’s EasyTech will be available at no expense to all public-school districts in the state during the 2022-2023 school year. EasyTech’s curriculum is fully aligned to the SC Computer Science and Digital Literacy Standards, easy to implement, provides full eRate CIPA compliancy, and supports teachers with resources to ensure all students have access to digital literacy skills instruction.

Students will learn, develop, and master important digital literacy and computer science skills including computer and IT fundamentals, online safety & digital citizenship, keyboarding, and business applications such as word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and data visualization and analysis that help prepare them for success in a digital world. EasyTech is fully customizable, whether it is being used as the primary curriculum for technology instruction or as a supplemental activity during a core subject lesson. Learning.com has demonstrated success working with South Carolina educators to increase the digital literacy skills of their students with solutions that fits the needs of every classroom.

For additional information and to register your district for free:

https://info.learning.com/south-carolina-enrollment

2023 SC STEM Educator of the Year Nominations Are Open for the 2023 South Carolina STEM Educator of the Year Award The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness is pleased to announce the launch of the 2023 SC STEM Educator of the Year competition. Nominations will be open until February 27th and, following applications and judging, the 2023 winner will be announced on May 19th in Columbia. Anyone can nominate a deserving full-time, active, certified, public K-12 classroom STEM teacher (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics). Please note that you must secure the permission of the nominee to enter their name for consideration.

You are welcome to nominate yourself if eligible.

Five finalists will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. The SC STEM Educator of the Year winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and the opportunity to participate in state-wide industry and education forums and events throughout the year.

The 2022 SC STEM Educator of the Year, Kirstin Bullington, has has taught science and engineering for the past nineteen years. She is currently the Next Energy Engineering Instructor at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation (R2i2) in Columbia, SC, where her students design and optimize alternative energy solutions for local and global challenges.

Click Here to Nominate a Deserving STEM Teacher

The SC STEM Educator of the Year Award is made possible with support from: SC Competes, SC Tech, S²TEM Centers SC, The Citadel STEM Center of Excellence, Comporium, Bojangles, CS For SC, and the SC Department of Commerce

Regional Specific Information

Helpful Information

Helpful Resources Required Credentials Computer Science Standards (K-8 and 9-12) Activity Coding System for the Student Information System 2021-2022 CTE Completer Programs Computer Science Is changing everything South Carolina Computer Science Hub

Tell Us Something Good

Are you a teacher or district doing phenomenal work in CS? We want to highlight you in upcoming newsletters. Please be sure to let us know using the link below or scanning the qr code.

bit.ly/csscshareout

LIST SERV If you haven't already, please sign up for our computer science listerv. This will keep you abreast of computer science information throughout the state.

Regional CS Listserv bit.ly/rcs4sclist

Statewide CS Listserv bit.ly/cs4sclist

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

For more information about the South Carolina Computer Science Initiative, please contact General Inquiry csforsc@ed.sc.gov Upstate CS Regional CoachSherri Smith, shlsmith@ed.sc.gov Central CS Regional CoachBenjamin Dusek, Bwdusek@ed.sc.gov v Pee Dee CS Regional CoachKevin Little, Kllittle@ed.sc.gov South Coast CS Regional CoachMatthew Neal , Mhneal@ed.sc.gov 9-12 Information Technology Educational AssociateAndrew Cook, Acook@ed.sc.gov Computer Science State SupervisorDominick Sanders, Dsanders@ed.sc.gov