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Ali Sauter, technology integration coach for Indianola Community School District, circulates throughout Emerson Elementary School’s computer lab helping kindergarten students who are learning how to create computer code.
“The earlier you start, the more natural it becomes,” Sauter said. “These kids are eventually going into jobs that haven’t even been created yet, so they will need to be good at problem solving.”
“Computer science is important because it covers every facet of our lives,” said Wren Hoffman, the computer science consultant at the Iowa Department of Education. “Computer science isn’t just about the computer itself or keyboarding. Rather, it delves into the creation of solutions for problems that face us. It requires creative minds to deliver this.”
Coding is but one component of a computer science program. It also includes data and analysis, algorithms and programming, as well as social interactions and ethics that focus on the impact of computing.
Computer science is an integral part of Future Ready Iowa, a statewide initiative that is working to get 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce to be certified in high-demand jobs or college educated by 2025. That’s up from 58 percent today. Though the goal may seem lofty, it is necessary if the state wants to stay competitive in attracting good-paying jobs.
A 38-member Computer Science Leadership Team has been working on creating professional development tied to the computer science standards to be given to the Area Education Agencies (AEAs) for roll out. The group, which consists of a cross-section of Iowans from educators to AEAs to private industry, hopes to have the professional development ready by this fall.
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Ali Sauter, technology integration coach for Indianola Community School District, circulates throughout Emerson Elementary School’s computer lab helping kindergarten students who are learning how to create computer code.
“The earlier you start, the more natural it becomes,” Sauter said. “These kids are eventually going into jobs that haven’t even been created yet, so they will need to be good at problem solving.”
“Computer science is important because it covers every facet of our lives,” said Wren Hoffman, the computer science consultant at the Iowa Department of Education. “Computer science isn’t just about the computer itself or keyboarding. Rather, it delves into the creation of solutions for problems that face us. It requires creative minds to deliver this.”
Coding is but one component of a computer science program. It also includes data and analysis, algorithms and programming, as well as social interactions and ethics that focus on the impact of computing.
Computer science is an integral part of Future Ready Iowa, a statewide initiative that is working to get 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce to be certified in high-demand jobs or college educated by 2025. That’s up from 58 percent today. Though the goal may seem lofty, it is necessary if the state wants to stay competitive in attracting good-paying jobs.
A 38-member Computer Science Leadership Team has been working on creating professional development tied to the computer science standards to be given to the Area Education Agencies (AEAs) for roll out. The group, which consists of a cross-section of Iowans from educators to AEAs to private industry, hopes to have the professional development ready by this fall.