Computer Science

The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) supports staff development in Computer Science (CS) in accordance with state mandates to address student needs. Support services are provided at the school-, district-, and county-wide levels through workshops, seminars, conferences, projects, and institutes. SMCOE also offers less formal support by providing information to teachers and administrators, initiating collaborations and assisting parents, and sharing resources.

SMCOE commits to providing all students in San Mateo County equitable access to quality computer science education, and recognizes that schools throughout our county represent a diverse teacher and student population with a wide range of strengths and needs.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

Seasons of CS

Seasons of CS is a research-backed professional learning model for California K-12 educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, and counselors who are interested in bringing computer science to their students. This program aims to expand the capacity for equitable, scalable, and sustainable computer science education in California.

Find upcoming events on the Seasons of CS website.

Announcements/Ongoing

Join the San Mateo Chapter of the CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association - The largest computer science department in the world!): Free Membership
What does it take to get young girls into tech? Connect with #BootUpPD through their new video series #ForGirlsbyGirls, where, each month, they spotlight young girls doing extraordinary things in STEM, coding, tech, and beyond! https://bit.ly/3lb21dK
The BayICT Partnership is a collaboration between Bay Area community colleges, tech companies, and community organizations. Check out their site for their resources to support students through work-based learning and connect faculty with industry experts and resources.
Bay Area Cyber League coordinates Summer CyberCamps and Fall & Spring Cybersecurity Competitions for high school and community college students in the greater Bay Area region.
CSEdResearch created an Extended CAPE Codebook: The codebook considers subcomponents of each CAPE component, categories of subcomponents and subcategories. This codebook has been used in several projects, including to conduct a gap analysis of existing literature.

For Students

ICT Tech Talks: The BayICT Tech Talks are a series of virtual talks and Q&A with ICT industry professionals about their roles, experience, and personal career path.

Standards

Frameworks/Guides

K-12 CS Framework

CS Equity Guide: ACCESS and CSforCA put together this wonderful document with resources and advice for districts and schools to implement Computer Science equitably.

Kapor Center Equitable Computer Science Framework

Assessing Creativity in Computing Classrooms: Free report/assessment guide for computer science. Developed by members of the Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

CS Data and Strategic Plans

SMCOE Computer Science Strategic Implementation Plan (Draft): The 10-member Computer Science Steering Committee wrote this plan for equitable implementation of Computer Science across San Mateo County and presented it to the Board in June 2020.

California Computer Science Strategic Implementation Plan: The State Board of Education adopted the CSSIP in May 2019.

The California Computer Science Access Report: This report examines the landscape of computer science education across the state of California, and examines who has access, who participates, and where equity gaps by race, gender, income, and geography continue to persist.

The Data: Navigate the numbers with this great access and equity tool from Kapor Center and CSforCA.

The recording of CDE’s webinar Computer Science: A Core Subject is now available thanks to CSforCA.

K-5 Resources

We created some short tutorial videos showcasing a few of the computer science resources available from the SMCOE including:
- HummingBird Kits - Quick Tutorial
- Makey Makey Kits - Quick Tutorial
- littleBits Kits - Quick Tutorial
- You can check out the kits featured above and more at our Lending Library or contact us for more ideas.
Every School Can K-5 CS Starter Pack: Resources for elementary teachers/schools who are new to teaching CS. Developed in partnership with CS is Elementary, Infosys Foundation, CSTA, and Code.org.
Elementary Computing for All: A weekly Scratch-based curriculum for all elementary students to learn computational thinking.
CS Hands-On: An unplugged curriculum for teaching elementary computer science without technology.
STEAM Innovations: SDUSD's computer science integrated STEAM curriculum for elementary school focusing on NGSS and ELA standards
Engage families in CS by setting up a (free! online!) Family Code Night.
The recordings from September's CSK5 Summit are now available.

6-12 Resources

We created some short tutorial videos showcasing a few of the computer science resources available from the SMCOE including:
- The World Becomes What We Code - Curriculum Overview
- HummingBird Kits - Quick Tutorial
- Makey Makey Kits - Quick Tutorial
- You can check out the kits featured above and more at our Lending Library or contact us for more ideas.
Everyone deserves an Hour of Code that challenges them-- even experienced programmers! Try the Regex Crossword if you dare.
Read the last in the series of CSforCA interviews with teenagers from the Bay Area Youth Computer Science Council.
Women in Data Science
- Full video: https://youtu.be/KYvhoH5AzHA (8:23)
- Animated only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tUipw2DV4tUZ20WjxspSIxcIAdqhv2-l/view (2:43)
- Day in the Life only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ii34RETkQi9_i4yL2qg5icxKdx5s1Oe7/view (6:00)
CSAwesome: Free College Board AP Computer Science A curriculum to teach Java programming.
Thinking about hosting a hackathon? Use this Planning Guide to help you figure out timing/strategies.
Girls Who Code Clubs program for 3-12th graders provides educators with free coding curriculum, resources, training, and even swag. All genders welcome.
Virtual Girls Who Code Summer Programs offer introductory and advanced computer science courses for 9-12th grade girls and non-binary students to get an inside look into tech careers through our company partners like EA, Pfizer, and ViacomCBS. The application just went live and the early application deadline is coming up on Feb 16th with the general deadline on Mar 18th.

AI Resources

AI4K12 have just released their first batch of K-12 AI Activity Resource Guides.

AI 4 K12 Grade Band Progression Charts: Since 2018 the AI4K12 Initiative has been developing national guidelines for teaching AI in K-12. The AI for K-12 guidelines are organized around the 5 Big Ideas in AI. The guidelines define what every student should know about AI and what they should be able to do with it. The guidelines will serve as a framework to assist standards writers and curriculum developers on AI concepts, essential knowledge, and skills by grade band.

AI Education Project: The AI Education Project provides curriculum and professional development to help students explore technology-enabled career pathways through foundational AI literacy.

AI Snapshots: AI Snapshots is an assortment of classroom warmups that will give your students a basic understanding of AI. In only 5 minutes of class time, students will learn to define, identify, and think critically about artificial intelligence.

Computer Science Standards with Possible AI Alignment

Day of AI: Resources to empower your students with the knowledge and skills to flourish in a world with AI.