Exciting Opportunity for K-12 Students: NSF Game Maker Awards

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Are you ready to unleash your creativity and dive into the world of game design? We’re thrilled to announce an incredible opportunity for K-12 students: the NSF Game Maker Awards!

What is it?

This year’s Game Maker Awards commemorates the 75th anniversary of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), funded by the NSF , invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to explore the fascinating world of game-making. Whether you’re a budding game designer or just curious about how games are created, this is your chance to shine!

The theme of the games should be centered around this theme: imagine life in the year 2100 and the role that science and technology will play in shaping that future.

To find more information related to this opportunity, please visit NSF’s website at https://new.nsf.gov/75years/game-maker-awards/how-enter#challenge-timeline-a9f

11th Hour FTCE Tutorials with Kip

Now that you’ve completed the FTCE K-12 workshop, take your next step in preparing for your FTCE State exam with Dr. Kip Irvine!

Dr. Irvine will be going over a set of practice problems with the participants in each session.

Dates (Part 1): 06/12/24 – 06/27/24 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

Dates (Part 2): 07/08/24 – 07/11/24 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

Times: 7:00PM – 8:00PM

The coaching sessions will cover Competencies 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

The Zoom link is announced on the Canvas Course.

Harvard CS50 Puzzle Day 2024

Do you like puzzles and collaborating with others? This opportunity is for you!

Join the Academy for CS Education and Break Through Tech Miami for this event at FIU!

You do not need to have formed a team to join. 

Get to know the campus, connect with other students, and enjoy free food and swag!

For more information, please visit: https://academy.cis.fiu.edu/competitions-2/ and view this flyer.

Code.org’s CEO and founder Hadi Partovi dons his iconic hat for a fireside chat about AI with Sal Khan of Khan Academy

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Join Code.org CEO and founder Hadi Partovi and Sal Khan of Khan Academy for their fireside chat as they discuss about artificial intelligence (AI).

They will go over different areas and concerns of AI:

  • What is AI?
  • Why is it important to education?
  • Educators Thoughts on AI
  • Is using AI cheating?
  • Biases, privacy concerns, and other challenges with AI
  • What is Khanmigo?
  • School Districts Banning AI
  • How AI impacts the future role of educators?
  • How AI impacts various industries?
  • How AI supports administrative tasks?
  • What skills do students need to learn?
  • Where is AI going in the next 5 years?

Code/Art – Gaming with Micro:bit!

If you are interested in teaching your students STEM lessons but don’t know how to make it like a game, then this event is for you!

This workshop is meant for high school and middle school teachers where they will learn to use Micro:bit to create fun and educational games for and with their students.

Breakfast and lunch are provided. There will also be a stipend and Micro:bit for the participants.

Desktop computers are available for use but attendees can bring their own laptops if preferred.

For more information, please see this flyer: Microbit x CodeArt PD at FIU – July 25th 2023

The problem with teachers as heroes

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At first glance, the phrase “teachers are heroes”, often paired with adjectives like “silent”, “true”, or “unsung” is an easy way to praise, thank, or sympathize with teachers for their never-ending work. But beneath the pretty words, hides a dark side to the oft-used phrase. In isolation, the phrase could have been used to convey the thankfulness of parents and students to a teacher. However, due to its frequent use in the professional world, the term “hero” has become almost synonymous to “sacrifice”. Teachers’ self sacrifice has become standardized, where they are expected to be constantly superhuman and vilified when they are not. In the end, teachers who are not able to keep up with the exhaustive constant self- sacrifice can feel inadequate. 

Not only does this expectation dehumanize teachers, it deflects attention from the underlying issues that teachers are currently propping up with their health; mental, physical, and emotional. Why is it that we rely on the overburdened teachers to hold the line when the federal, state, and local governments fail to provide the resources and funding that schools need to fulfill their basic academic purpose and then also be social service providers?

Teachers shouldn’t be martyrs for just wanting to educate their students and give them the tools to succeed in life.

For more information, please check out this post: The problem with teachers as heroes

Congress Acts: A Milestone for Building National Data Literacy

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A bill of incredible value to the education of K-12 in digital literacy has entered the U.S. House of Representatives. Presented by a bipartisan party, it will soon be placed before the Committee on Education and the Workforce to be voted on. If it passes, $10 million annually will be authorized for an extensive range of critical investments in data science education. It would help fund multiple educational initiatives such as teacher training, research partnerships, curriculum materials, educational access to STEM, and more.

Before the bill could even be written, many associations, partnerships, coalitions, organizations, and industry leaders had to agree on the importance of digital literacy. This bill proves the significance of digital literacy and data science for future generations. 

But this goes beyond digital literacy or even data science as the educational system is struggling with a lack of teachers, dealing with setbacks in academic achievements as everyone had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, and while providing education for more specializations in Computer Science like cybersecurity, quantum computing, and more, and not lose sight of Computer Science education as the foundational step for these specializations and in digital literacy.

This bill is something that everyone has to keep supporting as the economy slowly pivots away from pandemic recovery to innovation. To make sure that there is no student left behind, no matter where they come from. 

For more information on National Data Literacy and to pledge your support, please read this article: Congress Acts: A Milestone for Building National Data Literacy

International Collegiate Programming Contest

Welcome to the FIU Site for the Southeast Regional ICPC.

Agenda

Friday, February 24, 2023: 6:30 –8:00 pm 

Early Registration, PG6 Main Lobby

Saturday, February 25, 2023: 

8:30 – 9:30 AM – Registration, room PG6-116 

9:30 – 10:30 AM – Welcome and Instructions, room PG6-116 

11:00 – 12:00 PM – Practice Round, room PG6-116 

12:00 – 1:30 PM – Lunch, 8th Street Kitchen, Graham Center 

1:30 – 6:30 PM – Programming Contest, room PG6-116 

3:00 – 3:30 PM – Coaches meeting, room PG6-115 

6:30 – 7:00 PM – Dinner (box meals) 

7:00 – 7:30 PM – Awards Ceremony, room PG6-116 

 

Welcome Pizza & Ice-cream Social: Friday, February 24th, 2023, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Your team(s) can register early for the competition on Friday, February 24th, 2023, between 6:30 – 8:00 PM. 
Parking instructions: 
If you plan to park on campus, you will need to register your car. Please use this link for Friday: ICPC Parking – Early Registration
Please park in Parking Garage 6, as shown in the map below. It is also called PG6 – Tech Station. Also, see signs for “Half Moon Empanadas”. 
Follow the signs for “ICPC FIU Site“. The social will be held in the lobby on the first floor of PG6.
ICPC Competition: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Parking instructions:
Your team(s) can register on February 25, 2023, between 8:30 – 9:30 am.
If you plan to park on campus, you will need to register your car. Please use this link for Saturday: ICPC Parking
Please park in Parking Garage 6, as shown in the map below. It is also called PG6 – Tech Station. Also, see signs for “Half Moon Empanadas”. 
Follow the signs for “ICPC FIU Site“. The competition will be held in Room 116 on the first floor of PG6.

Map of PG6 at FIU Main Campus (Link to PG6 on Google Maps)

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High School Programming Competition

High School Programming Competition

Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023, 8:30AM – 5:30PM

Location: Parking Garage 6 – Room 116, FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 8th St., Miami, FL

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/jQJECPCbnYkeArXE6

Registration Link: http://bit.ly/FIUProg23

Priority Registration Deadline: March 27, 2023

The FIU competition is an on-site, live programming competition for high school students who have programmed in Java, C++, C#, or Python. Students compete in teams of 3, sharing a single desktop computer. Their work is submitted and judged while the competition is in progress. The competition lasts 4 hours, with awards given the same day.

The competition is run by the Academy for CS Education at FIU, directed by Dr. Giri Narasimhan. The competition was held annually since 2005, except during the pandemic. It is free to all teams, but we require a deposit (in the form of a cheque addressed to FIU) to be returned if the team competes.

We will assist schools who may be relatively new to competitive programming by providing an orientation session. See the schedule and Zoom link below:

Orientation Session: Feb 15 from 4:00 – 5:00 PM. http://bit.ly/NimmiZoom

There will be two divisions: Division I (Standard), and Division 2 (Novice)

A school may send multiple teams, but all teams will need to compete in the same division.

At least one faculty coach from each school must attend the competition.

The first 10 schools will be guaranteed space for the first 3 teams it registers before the deadline.

After the registration deadline, teams registered before the deadline will be admitted on a rotating basis, with one team per school during each round.

For more details, contact Giri Narasimhan, Ricky Ruiz, or Yash Mundra at: hscomp@cs.fiu.edu

The FIU Academy is a Regional Code.org partner, offering professional development workshops for teachers in Computer Science Fundamentals, Computer Science Discoveries, Computer Science Principles, and Computer Science A. The workshops are free for qualifying public school teachers. Read about all the free workshops we offer: https://academy.cs.fiu.edu/workshops

FIU Academy and Code.org – Administrator and Educator Meet & Greet

The FIU KFSCIS Academy for CS Education is proud to announce our Spring Administrator Meet & Greet on February 11th, 2023.

Location: FIU – Parking Garage 6 – Tech Station, Room 116

The event will run between 10:00AM – 1:00PM.

Agenda

9:30AM – 10:00AM

Breakfast with Meet & Greet

10:00AM – 10:05 AM

Introductions

Doris Bonaby, Code.org

Valerie Crawford-Meyer, Code.org

Dr. Giri Narasimhan, FIU

10:05AM – 10:30AM

Dr. Giri Narasimhan, FIU

FIU Knight Foundation School of Computing & Information Sciences

Explanation of statute and law

10:30AM – 10:40AM

Valerie Crawford-Meyer, Code.org

Code.org Video

10:40AM – 11:15AM

Doris Bonaby, Code.org

Catalog of Courses

11:15AM – 11:45AM

Registration for Code.org Workshop

11:45AM – 12:00PM

Guests

Microsoft TEALS – Willy Orozco

Presentation on TEALS

TEALS in partnership with Dade County and Code.org

12:00PM – 12:15PM

Willy Orozco, CSTA Chapter President

Nirmala Arunachalam, CSTA Chapter President

12:15PM – 12:30PM

Dr. Gregory Reis and Dr. Leonardo Bobadilla

FIU Robotics

Robotics & Autonomous Systems Lab for Coastal Conservation and Restoration at FIU

12:30PM – 1:00PM

Question and Answer

Educators and administrators interested in attending our February 11th Meet & Greet can register here.