Cloud Hosting

The lack of computer science technology educators in middle schools continues to be a genuine crisis, especially considering the critical role of STEM education in preparing students for future careers. Traditional hiring practices often result in non-specialist educators teaching computer science, leading to challenges in delivering effective instruction.

Graham Celine, VP of Business Development & Marketing for Intelitek, which offers the online platform CoderZ, emphasized this topic last month at FETC and in this conversation with eSchool. CoderZ aims to address this gap by providing comprehensive tools and resources for both students and educators, enabling structured and engaging computer science education.

With increasing recognition of computer science as a fundamental skill, particularly evidenced by state standards mandating its inclusion in curricula, CoderZ offers a solution aligned with educational goals and industry demands. Graham says the programs flexible implementation options cater to various educational settings, from individual subscriptions to district-wide adoption. Moreover, he points to the products assessment strategies focused on student outcomes, employing a combination of automated evaluations and teacher-led assessments to ensure comprehensive learning assessment. Have a listen:

Key Takeaways:

Below is a machine-generated transcript of the interview:

00:00:20 Speaker 1

Because nobody goes to learn how to be a computer science teacher and then goes to to, to, to elementary schools. If youre a computer science educator, you go teach in high school or university.

00:00:33 Speaker 1

So what lands up happening is we take.

00:00:35 Speaker 1

The math teacher.

00:00:36 Speaker 1

Or the science teacher or the librarian. We say. Hey, teach computer science.

00:00:41 Speaker 2

Right.

00:00:41 Speaker 1

And that doesnt always work because theyre afraid of technology. Theyre afraid of teaching something that they dont know. And So what weve done at Codez is weve created an environment which not only is engaging for the students, and its not only accessible to the students because being online, they can take it anywhere they want from home, in the class, in the library.

00:01:02 Speaker 1

On their phone, on their computer, on their iPad.

00:01:06 Speaker 1

But its got all the tools and capabilities that enable the uh, the educators, the instructors to uh, implement those type of programs. So weve got professional development, weve got teacher guides, weve got pacing guides, weve got slides, weve got background material, all that the teachers need in order to prepare.

00:01:27 Speaker 1

Properly and to be able to deliver there and to build environments like peer teaching environments where the the strongest students will help the weakest students and to keep the the, the the teacher doesnt have to be involved.

00:01:39 Speaker 1

But then why is computer science? Its then becoming important because its becoming a mandate. Its in some states. Its this, its a its recognized as a as a language. In some states, its becoming a standard, notably Texas and and and and New Jersey. Sorry, New York have got.

00:01:59 Speaker 1

State standards and theyre requiring schools to teach computer science and digital literacy as part of their program in the 242025 school year. So from an administrative perspective, this is important.

00:02:15 Speaker 1

And so having a program that is not just some software that you can download off the Internet and let your students play around with and say, OK, we taught them a little bit about coding, having a a program that is structured that allows you to teach computer science in a very structured.

00:02:36 Speaker 1

Logical way that aligns with the goals of these CSA NGSS taxes. New York and other standards is really important. Thats where code Z fits.

00:02:48 Speaker 1

In so weve created an education tool that really fits what the market needs.

00:02:49 Speaker 2

OK.

00:02:55 Speaker 2

Now let me ask this the the implementation. This is is sort of a a district wide implementation or is this something that say can start from the a bottoms up sort of adoption in schools? I mean how does that happen both?

00:03:07 Speaker 1

It it it, it can be both. Uh, you know, in the end we we we have users that are individuals, parents who just want their kids to learn more and so they can sign up on our website.

00:03:19 Speaker 1

And and get a subscription we have a.

00:03:21 Speaker 1

Lot of clubs.

00:03:22 Speaker 1

So a lot of those computer science and robotics clubs are now taking it to the next level. We have many thousands of schools around the the the country and around the world, and we have districts from our perspective, obviously the best way to implement this is from the top down.

00:03:40 Speaker 1

Because the teachers get the most support.

00:03:43 Speaker 1

That way they get the the.

00:03:44 Speaker 1

The the right tools, the most support and the results.

00:03:48 Speaker 1

Visible in the end, thats what the administrators want to see. So we put this new program in how many students registered for the program, how many students completed the program? How many hours were taken of the program, what were the outcomes of the program? And thats a top down approach. But from our perspective.

00:04:08 Speaker 1

We deal with it in all different directions.

00:04:11 Speaker 2

Ill talk about the the assessment aspects of it when you, when you talk about collecting that sort of data, are you talking about collecting it on the uses of the of the, the faculty themselves or do you mean from as a professional development tool, but also as a student? So kind of give us the the assessment?

00:04:28 Speaker 1

Is on a student level.

00:04:29 Speaker 2

OK.

00:04:30 Speaker 1

Obviously the the the.

00:04:31 Speaker 1

The we have all.

00:04:32 Speaker 1

The professional development and all the tools for the student, for the teachers. But were not testing the teachers.

00:04:37

What were.

00:04:38 Speaker 1

Were analyzing is.

00:04:39 Speaker 1

The students, and theres two ways to do that. Theres.

00:04:43 Speaker 1

Theres uh, automatic or passive evaluations. So we look at how many hours did they complete missions. Now if if theres a mission and its all gamified, so theyre making this robot move around the the, the, the, the screen. But it says you got to do this five times using a loop.

00:05:02 Speaker 1

Well, we can evaluate that automatically. Did the student use a loop in their program?

00:05:07 Speaker 1

If yes, we know that theyve learned how.

00:05:10 Speaker 1

To use loops.

00:05:11 Speaker 1

There are other factors that are more subjective and so there we give this the teacher the the task and we say, OK, you have to grade this exercise. The student was supposed to show that they can document correctly. Did the student.

00:05:28 Speaker 1

Document this.

00:05:29 Speaker 1

Well, now the teacher can open up the students workbook, see what they did, and give them a grade. They did it well. They did it medium. They didnt do it at all. And so by taking those together, plus adding in just basic assessments, what you know, type of test, the traditional test capabilities, quizzes.

00:05:49 Speaker 1

That that appear along the way throughout the curriculum, we can add that all up and provide.

00:05:54 Speaker 1

A a very.

00:05:55 Speaker 1

Comprehensive view of how the students have have succeeded within the the application now that rolls up.

00:06:03 Speaker 1

A teacher sees their classroom or their multiple classrooms. A principal will see all the classes in the school and administrator would see all the schools in a district.

00:06:15 Speaker 2

Gotcha. Talk a little bit about the day-to-day use. Is this something that is a is a supplement that is done after school? Is it in school kind of give us kind of a a day-to-day kind of use of the tool both I guess?

00:06:31 Speaker 1

All of the above. Yeah, its it it.

00:06:33 Speaker 1

Link:

Teacher Shortage Solutions for Computer Science and CTE - eSchool News