null

CodeStack High School Course Added to A-G Course List

The college-requirement course marks the continued growth of educational offerings provided by the SJCOE's software-engineering department

 

The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) is pleased to announce that its CodeStack department has continued to expand its educational offerings by developing its first academic class to be added to the list of courses that fulfil A-G requirements allowing students to be eligible for admission to University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) schools.

The course -- CodeStack STEAM: Engineering, Inventing and Inspiring with Computer Science -- is a comprehensive high school course where students build foundational knowledge of computer science by designing, creating, and testing robots, video games, computer graphics, wearable technology, streaming music, and smart devices. The course was developed by CodeStack and SJCOE STEM Programs. The year-long course was recently added to the A-G Course List (D, Computer Science) and aligned with the California Computer Science Standards as well as the Information and Communication Technology Career Technical Education Standards.  The course may also incorporate a CodeStack-developed website that will feature a step-by-step, project-based detailed breakdown of computer science curriculum, a video library of mini lessons and a proprietary online coding editor and app builder for teachers, parents, and students.

The new CodeStack STEAM course was first offered to cadets at the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy, a quasi-military program operated by the SJCOE and the California National Guard. Plans for the future of the course are to make it available across the San Joaquin County and California to expand the reach of computer science instruction.

“It is imperative that we make computer science accessible to students of all socio-economic backgrounds and skill level. In order to accomplish this, we must ask teachers who may have little or no experience in computer science to integrate the newly adopted standards into their lessons.  These teachers need support, guidance and motivation," said Jeremy Love, CodeStack STEAM coordinator and instructor. "A student's first interaction with computer science is a make-or-break moment.  We need to make sure teachers have everything they need to inspire the next generation of innovators.” 

The SJCOE's CodeStack department engineers and maintains a variety of tools for educational organizations nationwide. This includes the online job-posting site EDJOIN, Special Education Information System (SEIS), and Beyond SST. The department also develops online and mobile tools, which it has done for the California Department of Education, Teachers College of San Joaquin, and other agencies.

In recent years the department has directed its technological expertise toward educating students. In (2018) it opened CodeStack Academy -- Stockton’s first immersive and accelerated code school -- for students 18 years and older. The Academy's goal is to build and foster a flourishing community of skilled software engineers ready to meet the demand of employers and change the landscape for technology in Stockton and the greater San Joaquin County.

More information at codestack.org.

Download Attachment
Posted: 7/28/2020