Resources by Category

Nominations are open for both the 2019 NWAPW and the High School Autonomous Vehicle Project summer programs! This past summer saw another crop of great first year projects which the kids presented in the atrium of the engineering building at PSU.  This was followed by the second and third year students giving a live demonstration of […]

Are you interested in traveling overseas to collaborate with educators in other countries and undertake professional development? The Fulbright program has multiple opportunities to do so. Applications will be available soon – you can sign up to receive notification using this link. FULBRIGHT DISTINGUISHED AWARDS IN TEACHING SEMESTER RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR U.S. TEACHERS (FULBRIGHT DA) […]

OregonASK is working with IBM to recruit fifty 7th and 8th grade girls who are interested in attending a full day workshop of learning and games about Cybersecurity on August 1st. The workshop is free (including lunch), and is a great opportunity to spark a new interest or help girls dive deeper.  The workshop is in […]

There is a Latino Tech Fest Saturday May 19th at the Intel Jones Farms Campus Conference Center from 8am to 5pm. Everyone is invited, not just Latinos. There will be a Professional Track and a High School Track –  the events expects to serve over 400 professionals and 100 high school students for a day of career development, diversity and networking. Register HERE […]

The Connectathon Challenge invites educators to their Student Showcase on May 17th from 5pm-7pm at The Arts & Communications Magnet Academy in Beaverton. At the event, teams of students will be presenting their innovative technology based solutions for improving the lives of people with diabetes. Register now for the Connectation Challenge: Diabetes Student Showcase The […]

Do you use Scratch in your classroom? Interested in meeting up with others to share tips and learn in an informal setting? Check out the PDX ScratchEd Meetup on May 12th from 11am-2pm. RSVP is required, see the event site for more details.

Oracle Academy wants to help you work smarter not harder this summer.  We have designed an efficient summer training schedule to meet all of your Computer Science professional development needs.  We have condensed our training schedule so you spend less of your summer “in-class” and can potentially finish an entire professional development session in as little […]

We want to remind middle and high school teachers that the priority deadline for the Code.org 2018 Professional Learning Program is this Friday, March 30th. Computer science opens up more opportunities than any other discipline and ensures students are well prepared for the future no matter what field they pursue. More and more schools are adding this […]

CSTA and Oracle Academy are delighted to announce that applications for Oracle Academy Scholars – CSTA Conference Scholarships are now open! For the third consecutive year, OracleAcademy will be helping to send outstanding first-time conference attendees to the annual CSTA conference. Thirty three scholarships will be awarded. To be eligible for the scholarship, teachers must fit the following criteria: Applicant is a […]

PSU’s math department is offering a course, that may be of interest to math teachers who want to incorporate computing into their mathematics courses: Topics in Computing for Mathematics Teacher Topics in Computing for Mathematics Teachers: June 25 – July 1, 8:00 – 10:15 am, Mon – Thurs. Topics in pre-calculus, probability, calculus, linear algebra, […]

Mathus Leungpathomaram, a student at Catlin Gabel School, is organizing a high school student-run programming contest in Oregon. The contest is on April 7, from 9:45 to 3:00, at Catlin Gabel School (8825 SW Barnes Rd, Portland, OR 97225). Teams of one to three middle or high school students have three hours to solve as many of fifteen […]

Oregon Game Project Challenge (OGPC) is looking for volunteers to help put on its 11th annual Main Event on Saturday, May 12th at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Last year, over two hundred students on fifty-seven teams participated in the event and providing a great experience to those students requires lots of help. The biggest […]

Those of you who are subscribed to OCSTA blog updates (link at the bottom of this page) or the OCSTA mailing list (link: OCSTA Mail List Subscription) know that Governor Kate Brown has proclaimed this week in Oregon to be Computer Science Education Week and has been visiting schools to promote the importance of providing […]

Question: What is up with new CSTA Standards? A teacher recently asked a group of other OCSTA members the following and sparked a good discussion: Have you tried aligning your curriculum to the standards? https://www.csteachers.org/page/standards Did you notice the following? By 2nd grade, students should be able to “develop programs with sequences and simple loops, […]

Bandon School District is seeking a high school and middle school computer/technology teacher.  The position is part time and located at Bandon High School and Harbor Lights Middle School.  Classes are 2 periods of middle school and two periods of high school. Candidate must have a current Oregon Teaching License; preferred candidate will be highly […]

This Tuesday (November 28), Governor Kate Brown visited Parkrose Middle School to observe a class of 6th graders learning to code through the Google CS First Program.  Google is currently touring the states to help promote next week’s CS Education Week and worked with Shawn Patrick Higgins, 1st year Computer Science and Technology Teacher at [...]

This summer marked the 2nd year for the Northwest Advanced Programming Workshop (NWAPW). Like the inaugural 2016 NWAPW, students with advanced computer science skills were recruited and recommended by their teachers to participate in this summer’s free project-based workshop. This year 48 new high school students were recruited to work in teams of three on […]

I missed posting last week’s update – I’ll blame having to prepare my taxes 😉 – so this update will be for the last 2 weeks. On Saturday, April 8 the Oregon Game Project Challenge (OGPC), sponsored in part by the OregonCSTA, held its annual Main Event at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. This year’s […]

It’s been a quiet week for the OregonCSTA as we, like all Oregon educators, have enjoyed the spring break.  Things will pick up next Saturday, April 8 when the Oregon Game Project Challenge (OGPC), sponsored by OregonCSTA, holds its annual Main Event at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. For 2017, the tenth annual event, […]

2017 SuperQuest Spring Conference Recap On Saturday, March 18 we held our 1st professional development event of 2017. The 2017 SuperQuest Spring Conference & High School Programming Contest was combined event held at George Fox University in Newberg, OR.  SuperQuest Spring Conference attendees had the choice to attend either 1 day long workshop or 4 […]

Just a quick update about recent past and upcoming events.  On Saturday, March 18 we held our 1st professional development event of 2017. The 2017 SuperQuest Spring Conference & High School Programming Contest was a combined event held at George Fox University in Newberg, OR.  I will post a recap of those events later this […]

Continuing the theme from yesterday’s blog post, Upcoming OCSTA Training Events and Workshops, I think it might be good to provide a similar update about upcoming OCSTA and partner events and workshops for students.  As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, the 2017 High School Programming Contest will be held on Saturday, March 18th at the […]

Almost two months into the new year, so time for a belated update on the Oregon CSTA’s upcoming events and workshops.  On Saturday, March 18 we will hold our 1st professional development event of 2017. The 2017 SuperQuest Spring Conference & High School Programming Contest will be a combined event held at George Fox University […]

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) has finished and kudos to those of you who participated in any of the many events around Oregon.  The final tally as of 7:00pm PST today, is 478 HOC events in Oregon out of 43492 in the US and 162,436 worldwide!  Do to some extreme weather (freezing rain and snow) […]

Today is the first day of Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) and I thought it best to start out by listing some notable CS educational events taking place this week. The White House has released a new Fact Sheet celebrating a year of actions for CSforAll. Our CSforAll:Oregon Kickoff Event, next summer’s SuperQuest trainings and […]

Subscribers and newcomers to the OCSTA blog have probably noticed that things have been a little quiet around here lately.  It has been almost two months since our last blog post. That is about to change, starting with today’s blog post about next month’s upcoming Computer Science (CS) education events. One of the biggest CS […]

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity for Professional Development offered by the Oregon CSTA — Teachers teaching teachers. Learn about continued opportunities for receiving a stipend to join a Professional Learning Community (PLC), or how you can host a customized Pop-Up SuperQuest event at your school. Meet and network with other educators and CS professionals. […]

From our allies at OregonASK, the Statewide Afterschool Network:  Join us in Salem on October 22nd for the Oregon Afterschool Conference! We’ve got tracks in Technology, STEAM, Cultural Conversations and more. Whether you are looking for ways to engage more underserved youth in your program, or would like to hear more about Building a K-5 Computer […]

Our friends at the Frontier Oregon STEM Hub will be conducting two free robotics workshops in the next month: A FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics training for coaches and volunteers this coming Saturday, September 17 at the Malheur ESD (9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m).  More information and a registration link can be found here. A FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) […]

Promised updates to previous OCSTA event presentations are up: BEC STEMConnect 2016 Impact and Stakeholder reports posted.  Summarized: Chris Stephenson from Google on “And Now the Hard Work Begins: Achieving the Promise of Computer Science Education”, original slides included. Summarized: Exploring CS and NCWIT resources for inclusive CS education with Joanne Goode, UO, and Jane Krauss, NCWIT. […]

White House Call to Action for the 5th Manufacturing Day October 7: share how you will participate by Friday, September 16 using the form at the bottom of the White House’s post. White House Call to Action for Active Learning Day October 25: share how you will participate by Friday, September 23 using the form at the bottom […]

NCCE — the National Council for Computer Education — has its roots in Oregon. They will be in Portland at the Convention Center for the Largest Education Conference in the Pacific Northwest, March 22-24, 2017.  Conference organizers have invited and encouraged OCSTA members to submit presentation proposals — 50 minutes, 2 hours, or exhibitor showcases. […]

Target Corporation Field Trip grants (<=$700) closes Oct 1, 11:59 pm Central Time for field trips February 2017 – December 2017  funds for transportation, tickets, food, resource materials, supplies education professionals employed by public, private, charter K-12 school swith 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(1) tax-exempt status show student learning Apply online. There’s always the science museum and […]

Welcome back to School! Here’s a short slate of dates for student competitions and one for classroom funding. September 5 — Allen Distinguished Educator DIY Guidelines grants for K-12 classrooms (<=$1000) applications close. More info from Allen Distinguished Educators  Blog post summarizing the program FIRST(tm) Robotics programs have a two part registration: nationally, with FIRST, and locally […]

Except, of course, for the afterparty — a backlog of resources to share, and connections to be made, and processes to polish so that next summer’s SuperQuests are even more timely, useful, and well-run. We’re planning on having an informational email on the Virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for the coming academic year to be […]

Here’s a chance for students to create an app and strut their stuff in Oregon and to be on display in the US Capitol. In brief: one to four students, not yet graduated from high school, no minimum age, two of whom are in the participating representative’s district app written after November 2, 2015 your […]

The last, and second largest SuperQuest of Summer 2016 will be at the Table Rock Campus of Rogue Community College from August 16 – 18. Southern Oregon has been an enthusiastic partner in SuperQuest for years, and put on an event with distinctly local expertise — many courses are only offered at Southern Oregon. Register […]

SuperQuest Eugene wrapped Friday, August 5, but not before we got a great talk from Joanna Goode, one of the co-authors of the Exploring Computer Science Curriculum, and her occasional colleague and co-champion of inclusive pedagogy, Jane Krauss. They talked about Equity and Inclusion in Computer Science. Joanna, from the University of Oregon’s School of […]

Chris Stephenson‘s SuperQuest presentation “And Now the Hard Work Begins: Achieving the Promise of Computer Science Education” was live-posted from SuperQuest in early August and I have now added the promised summary/scaffolding. Chris Stephenson is the Head of CS Education Programs at Google, the former founding Executive Director of ACM’s Computer Science Teacher Association, and a Eugene resident. […]

The Allen Distinguished Educators (ADE) program is now accepting applications for DIY Guide grants (up to $1,000) enabling teachers to bring more hands-on, project-based, authentic learning opportunities to their students. Applicants can choose from 11 award-winning computer science, engineering, and/or entrepreneurship projects from burrito-fueled STEM explorations, to coding cultural understanding, to engineering habitats for hermit […]

Wednesday: Terrel Smith, 37 year veteran of the classroom and President of the Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association — T will talk about the grant funding this workshop, and additional supports for increasing the number and quality of CS education programs in Oregon, in and afterschool. Thursday: Chris Stephenson, Head of CS Education Programs at Google, […]

One of the educators in Melissa Kessler’s App Inventor class in Pendleton teaches preschool — and she came out of the class confident that she can use ScratchJr this fall, to help the kids she works with have fun, learn, and have some control. No more App specific classes this summer, but there are Game Development […]

Jill Hubbard wears many hats, and this summer at SuperQuest it’s a gamer’s cap. She’s teaching teachers, sharing her experiences from her Game Development class at Tualatin High School (sandwiched between her Engineering, programming, and robotics duties). These pictures were taken at the Wilsonville SuperQuest, where the event and instructors got great reviews. You still […]

Don Domes gives his class of teachers a small number of LEGO pieces, access to some student-appropriate internet resources, a worksheet, markers, whiteboards, lots of hands on time to practice, and very little lecturing. Some teachers have no previous experience, some have a couple of years, but all are engaged and making progress at showing […]

Jason Galbraith from Sunset High taught App Development to a darkened roomful of teachers in Wilsonville — we let them back into the light for Lunch and Learn Speakers. Right now in Redmond, Melissa Kessler’s App Inventor class is going strong (but no pictures — yet). And next week in Pendleton, Melissa will be teaching […]

On Saturday, June 25, 2016, a devoted group of industry professionals, educators, legislators, non-profit program providers, and community members gathered at the OCSTA Symposium to sound the call for greater collaboration and support for more computer science-literate students in Oregon.  To accomplish this, we desperately need more computer science instruction in formal K-12 education, but […]

The CS10K Community is offering a webinar on Tuesday, July 26 at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on how teachers can secure funding and support for their their CS classrooms. Guests Alabama teacher Gina McCarley, Karen Parker of Google’s CS4HS, and Kirk Smiley of DonorsChoose will join webinar host Deepa Muralidhar to provide helpful tips on how […]

To paraphrase Ruthe Farmer, the White House’s Tech Inclusion Advisor: We must include everyone, not just for the social and economic justice issues, but for the necessary diversity of thought to drive innovation. We must recognize the components of equity:   Diversity: counting who is in the room. Access: Who knows the room exists? Who has […]

Tom Thompson, Industrial and Engineering Systems Education Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) came for lunch — and we had him give a dog and pony show: “The Current Status and Future Direction of CTE in Oregon”. His slides are here. Key points: CTE = Career and Technical Education  CTE is about education and about […]

The BEC believes in long-term partnerships between schools and businesses in a community can enhance the educational experience to help students of all ages discover their interests, grow their knowledge and develop the skills they will need to join the workforce. That is why we help give students real-world learning experiences in both classroom and […]

Saturday morning bright and early 70+ people gathered at Mentor Graphics Commons to discuss Computer Science (CS) Education in Oregon. The packed half-day agenda was put together by the Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association (OCSTA), and gives OCSTA food for thought for similar events in the future. Speakers and their bios are listed here. Key […]

One thing teachers who attend SuperQuest find really useful: the time to talk with their peers, share resources, and brainstorm around issues of classroom management, pedagogy, and student learning (and all the really good teachers I have known treat these as separate things, complexly interlinked.) Some CTE teachers gathered for lunch, then headed off to […]

Teachers teaching teachers … the technical discussion stops … and the “how do you detect students copying code from other students or the internet?” discussion starts. Teachers teaching teachers … working through videos and websites and worksheets  with the laptop and LEGO kits spread over the tables … and then there’s a pause for a […]

Teachers teaching teachers … silence in the room, except for the chuk-chuk-shhh-chuk of the 3D printer. Chris here has been to many SuperQuests; usually I see him in one of the robotics classes, but this time he’s in Digital Design and Manufacturing. His classmates are working the vinyl cutter and the CAD software on their […]

Due to some late breaking news, we are reframing this Saturday, June 25th event to highlight the federal programs, policies, and funding opportunities in Computer Science Education, and provide some case-making information and inspiration. We’ll have a new agenda for a half-day event up here Saturday afternoon, June 18. #CSforAll #CS4Oregon Registration is open if you […]

Special Guest Ruthe Farmer has focused her efforts on diversity and inclusion in technology and engineering since 2001. She currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy focusing on President Obama’s call to action for Computer Science for All and other tech related initiatives. Over the course […]

Endgame: Connect industry with Oregon’s educational community, create student pathways to the world of work, develop student skills for success in life and in high-wage, high demand jobs, foster individual resilience and strengthen the workforce pipeline. Join us: people from technology industries, STEM programs, workforce organizations, expanded learning opportunity providers, K-12 and post-secondary computer science […]

 Registrations for all 7 sites now open. More Graduate Credit options approved. More courses at multiple sites. New courses. FAQ added to the pulldown menu. Change of venue in Wilsonville. Check it out at oregoncsta.org. Changes have been coming fast and furious — kinda like playing PacMan or Asteroids, so I have been mostly absent from […]

Where can I register? Everywhere I click on the photo, I end up in Wilsonville. Oops! Apologies, we left up a prototype. We expect to have it fixed by Monday. As of Friday, June 10, 6:49 pm, click on these links for more info and to find the bright orange registration buttons under the list of […]

Congratulations to Chris Bartlo and Nick Nohner. Why? Chris Bartlo is also teaching at SuperQuests in Wilsonville and Southern Oregon this summer. Respectfully submitted, Jo Oshiro, jo@oregoncsta.org Update: Southern Oregon, not Grants Pass Update: Embedded video! Featured image

Course descriptions updated here. Site descriptions — exactly where? What courses? Touristy links? and, for a couple of sites, who is speaking at lunch? Wilsonville, June 22-24 **note venue change to Clackamas CC!** Wilsonville Symposium, June 25 West Salem, June 27-29 Redmond, July 13-15 Pendleton, July 20-22 ** corrected from 20-23 ** Newport, July 27-29 […]

From our allies at Google: “The sixth annual Google Science Fair is here and now open for submissions for students aged 13-18 around the world. In partnership with National Geographic, LEGO Education, Scientific American, and Virgin Galactic, we want to hear how students will use science and engineering to make something better. Check out the […]

— note especially 3D, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, Lemelson Center; different from Smithsonian Education — which has a search function for resources by subject, grade level, etc. NASA has a wealth of resources. Dive in at the NASA educator portal.  OSU is a Space Grant University and has their own set of resources posted here.   The National Science Digital […]

I’ve been blogging here for about a month now. I started knowing nothing about WordPress, the content and formatting platform that we use. I’ve made 8 blog posts and about a dozen pages of SuperQuest information. I definitely know enough to be dangerous, and googling scraps of code results in less than predictable, beautiful, organized […]

Oregon has multiple robotics organizations and leagues supporting authentic STEM learning. In no particular order: Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program runs the tournament circuits for FIRST(tm) robotics. FIRST is an international organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, spearheaded by the inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen. Junior FIRST LEGO League, ages […]

Jo’s Top Picks HowToSmile — science, math, and more tied to standards. Some materials in Spanish. Includes materials from multiple other repositories, such as TeachEngineering. Searchable by standard or subject — search “engineering” and “computer science” explicitly as they are not on the topic pages. Highlights cost per student, time, prep time, learning time. Intel’s […]

Congratulations to Mark Gullicksen, Oak Grove Elementary School, in Albany. He got some “good STEM news” which he thinks “is a direct benefit from my involvement with OCSTA’s professional development opportunities that I have participated with as an educator. This Monday, I was humbled to learn that I was selected as one of 20 teachers, […]

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Stephenson, Eugene resident and resident Google guru of CS Education. Chris, the former (and first) executive director of the national Computer Science Teachers Association, has been awarded the Association of Computing Machinery’s Presidential Award, in recognition of her landmark work in CS education advocacy. And, because Chris is Google’s lead on […]

Many STEM professional associations (think the OEA of engineering) have education, outreach, or foundation efforts aimed at developing a workforce of like-minded individuals. Some of these efforts are websites with games or stories, some are event-based, and some are online lesson repositories and/or career information. SEMI High Tech U, a several-day event. Historically, here in […]

Jo Oshiro here. I have met many of you at previous SuperQuests, OregonASK events, and various meetings around STEM education, grants, and equity, or through my email blasts “In the OPASsphere.” I and my colleagues will be sharing information through this blog. I’ve got six main categories lined up: SuperQuest — Randy Macdonald and Janis Steinfeld are […]

Credit: Graduate Credit for SuperQuest workshops is an option, not a requirement.  Updated Graduate Credit information is here. Stipends: Not all educators will qualify. Updated Stipend information is here. Respectfully submitted, Jo Oshiro jo@oregoncsta.org Update: featured image  

led by Jill Hubbard Interested in teaching game design as part of your in-school or afterschool class or club? Join us examining different game engines and tools that enable students to create their own computer games. No programming experience is necessary or required. Curriculum materials will be provided and shared. Attendees will be given ample […]

MAY 21-22NOON TO NOON Build something great at CodeDay Portland. At CodeDay Portland, student programmers and artists get together to build awesome games and apps in 24 hours. You’re invited to join us, no matter what your previous experience. Get your ticket »HOSTED AT AUTODESK https://codeday.org/portland

In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been doing some Spring cleaning to our website. That’s to usher in the best SuperQuest offerings yet. Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association (OCSTA) sets out to Train over 400 Teachers and Grow Programs of Study in Computer Science Statewide. Update: featured image, categories.