Beeville ISD sends teachers to class for mandatory computer science
Jarrod Howard left the classroom last summer as a second-grade teacher, and he returned this fall to teach computer science. He still teaches second-graders, but like all of the 250 teachers in the Beeville Independent School District, he's now expected — with specialized training and support — to include computer science instruction in his classes.
Starting this school year, the small South Texas district became the first in the state to make computer science compulsory for all 3,500 students at its six campuses. To do that, the district needed to teach its teachers first. It formed a one-year partnership with education tech company Globaloria, which showed Beeville educators how to build computer programming into their curricula. Beeville has a contract paying the private company $162,500 for up to 2,500 students and 227 teachers in its six schools, and an additional $65 per student after that.
So while Howard still teaches his second-graders the basics — math, reading, writing — he now integrates technology and computer science into each subject.
Twice a week, his 18 students work on creating their own computer games. A four-student group called the "Snakes" built a set out of Legos and other props for a world called "New Earth," where dinosaurs and humans co-exist. Next, they will sketch the three-dimensional set on grid paper and eventually use a computer program called Pixlr to transform that drawing into colored pixels.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/24/computer-science-becomes-mandatory-beeville-isd/
