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News Release
- May 6, 2009
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Carnegie Mellon Offers Free Summer Workshops On Using Computers in High School Science, Math Classes
PITTSBURGH—High school teachers who want to tap the power of computing to help them teach students about science, mathematics and technology can gain valuable insights and materials during three four-day workshops offered for the first time this summer by Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science.
With support from the National Science Foundation, the new program called ACTIVATE (Advancing Computing and Technology Interest and innoVAtion through Teacher Education) will offer the workshops to high school teachers in the Northern Appalachian region. The workshops are free of charge, with lodging, meals, travel and parking provided as well.
“This isn’t necessarily about only teaching students how to program computers; it’s about getting students to think computationally, so that they can better use computers to understand their world,” said Thomas Cortina, assistant teaching professor of computer science and ACTIVATE director. “Computer science now is a driving force in every scientific and engineering discipline and an integral part of business today. Computational principles should be part of every student’s education, and these workshops will help teachers in our own region learn how to incorporate these important ideas into their own classes.”
The first workshop, July 6-9, will explore the use of Alice, a 3D animation environment devised by the late Randy Pausch, professor of computer science and acclaimed best-selling author of “The Last Lecture.” The Alice software enables even novices to create computer animations, and Carnegie Mellon makes it available as a free download.
The second workshop, July 10-13, explores the concept of computational thinking, and includes a number of hands-on activities that teachers can duplicate in their classrooms to illustrate computational principles without writing complex computer programs.
The third workshop, July 14-17, will prepare participants to teach some introductory elements of Java programming, including examples suitable for math and science courses.
The workshops are available to any high school science, technology, engineering or math teacher in Pittsburgh or the surrounding Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and western Maryland. Stipends are available for teachers that participate, and teachers can earn professional development credit, including Act 48 credit for Pennsylvania teachers.
For more information or to apply, visit the ACTIVATE Web site.
Contact:
Byron Spice
412.268.9068
bspice@cs.cmu.edu
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About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a
distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business,
public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and
graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating
and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration,
and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for
close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive
on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among
leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of
Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif.,
and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe.
For more, see www.cmu.edu.
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