Celebrating Computer Science Education Week (#CSEdWeek 2018)

At Infosys Foundation USA, we believe that all children should have access to computer science education and therefore we remain committed in our strategy to:

• Boost hands-on learning, with special emphasis on children and young adults from underrepresented groups and communities
• Expand professional development and training, especially for educators at high poverty and Title 1 schools
• Support and grow the community of like-minded advocates to increase awareness and drive greater thought leadership

In celebration of #CSEdweek 2018, we announced several grants to a number of national and local organizations that are committed to computer science education.

Nationally, we are working with several distinguished organizations including Computer Science Teachers Association, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and Teach for America on programmatic grants.

At the state level, we are partnering with numerous organizations that will offer free coding workshops during #CSEdweek. Taking place across thirteen different states, these workshops are designed to reach many underrepresented and underprivileged student groups, including those at high poverty schools, girls, students with autism and learning/physical disabilities, deaf students, African American, Latino, and Native American students, and adult female live performance artists.

Below are the organizations and descriptions of unique computer science-focused workshops that will occur this week for hundreds of underrepresented students, teachers, and parents.

California

Iridescent: Educate thirty students, parents and educators from Title 1 schools in Los Angeles, in foundational concepts of AI, hands-on engineering, and computer science-related activities.

STEAM:CODERS: Provide coding and computer science instruction and engagement to approximately three hundred students from Title 1 schools in Pasadena, CA and their parents throughout the month of December.

Colorado

ATLAS Institute & CS/University of Colorado: Offer a workshop to empower thirty adult female live performance artists in Boulder and Denver, Colorado to design and develop interactive stage lighting systems via a crash course in computing and hands-on programming of microcontrollers.

Florida

Broward Education Foundation: Utilize robotics and ongoing professional development for ten teachers to incorporate strategies for hundreds of special needs students across ten schools in Broward County, Florida and then showcase their CS-based work at the local Special Olympics.

Georgia

Constellations Center: Promote awareness and broaden participation in computer science for two hundred high school students from low resourced Atlanta Public Schools in Georgia.

Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania

Deaf Kids Code: Provide a coding leadership experience for fifty deaf students located in various cities (Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Boston) through a combination of shadowing, mentorship, and round table discussions with industry leaders & training.

New York

New York on Tech: Offer multiple workshops for seventy-five high school juniors and seniors enrolled in high poverty high schools in New York City (Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens) to reinforce exposure to opportunities in computer science and tech careers.

Tech Kids Unlimited will host a Special Needs Hackathon for one hundred teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning and emotional challenges.

North Carolina

Family Code Night to advance K-5 computer science education to thousands of North Carolina families through family engagement, school events and related programs.

Oklahoma

American Indian Science and Engineering Society will offer workshops where ~100 American Indian students in grades 7-12 will participate in hands-on activities using the Sphero robot ball.

Rhode Island

Family Code Night, in partnership with University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library & Information Studies, to advance K-5 computer science education by using public library spaces to teach CS skills to underserved communities in Rhode Island.

Texas

ChickTech: Offer a two-day course for one hundred underserved high school girls in Austin, Texas to take part in hands-on learning utilizing proven models of near-peer mentorship and community support.

Iridescent Educate thirty students, parents and educators from Title 1 schools in Harris County Library, Texas in foundational concepts of AI, hands-on engineering, and computer science-related activities.

By continuing to support localized learning events like these, as well as support teacher professional development, the Foundation is working to ensure that every child in the US has the opportunity to learn computer science, regardless of their circumstances.