6-8 Professional Development
Nextech is excited to help bring computer science to 6-8 students throughout the state of Indiana through exciting and innovative 1-day professional development workshops. These programs are designed for inservice teachers who are being asked to teach the Indiana computer science standards and are either unfamiliar with the content or unsure of what to do next.
At Nextech, our goal is to remove every single barrier to teaching computer science for teachers, schools, and districts. Because of this, all of our programs are offered at no cost to schools/districts.
Select the PD opportunity you would like to learn more about:
Unpacking the IN CS Standards & Integrating CS in your Middle School Classroom
Integrating CS in your Classroom Deep Dive
Code.org CS Discoveries
Code.org Curriculum Expanded Learning Program
AI Integration
Digital Citizenship Integration
CS Licensure Prep with WeTeach_CS
Integrating CS Projects into your Classroom Using Code.org’s Standalone “Create” Labs
Overview
Designed for middle school educators teaching across all subjects, the Integrating Computer Science professional development workshop is designed to equip teachers with the knowledge and instructional strategies to integrate computer science into existing coursework.
The topics covered in each workshop include:
- Role of Computer Science in society and the classroom
- Indiana Computer Science Standards, including where to locate the standards and how to navigate the curriculum map
- Introduction to the 5 core concepts of CS: Data and Information, Computing Devices and Systems, Programs and Algorithms, Networking and Communications and Impact and Culture
- Experiencing classroom lessons for each core concept
These virtual workshops are offered in different ways, some are a single day, and some are spread out over multiple days. All workshops will have two 2-hour zoom meetings with approximately 2 hours of asynchronous work to complete in between. The workshop will provide an intro to computer science, pedagogy, overview of the online curriculum, teacher dashboard, and strategies for teaching “unplugged” classroom activities.
Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for 6-8 Computer Science Teachers, Media/Library Specialists, Resource/Tech Teachers, and General Education classroom teachers.
Workshop Details
- Length: Workshops are offered in different ways, some are a single day, and some are spread out over multiple days. All workshops will have two 2-hour zoom meetings with approximately 2-4 hours of asynchronous work to complete in between.
- Cost: $0
- Dates:
- Saturday, October 2, 9-11AM ET and 2-4PM ET
- Wednesday, October 27, 4-6PM ET and Thursday, October 28, 4-6PM ET
- Saturday, November 6, 9-11AM ET and2-4PM ET
- Saturday, December 4, 9-11AM ET and 2-4PM ET
- Saturday, October 2, 9-11AM ET and 2-4PM ET
Overview
The Integrating CS Deep Dive workshop is a great opportunity to collaborate with other 6-8 teachers that have been working on bringing computer science to their students. We like to think of the Deep Dive workshop as “a conversation between friends about what is working really well in your CS lessons and where you might be having issues getting things to click (either for yourself or the students).”
These workshops are a similar time format to the Unpacking the IN CS Standards & Integrating CS in your Middle School Classroom workshops (two virtual meetings, 2 hours/each, and a series of online tasks to complete in between) where we help to strengthen your understanding and execution of computer science using the Code.org CS Fundamentals and CS Discoveries curriculums. At the end of the experience, you will have 7 hours of PGP hours and will be ready to continue implementing CS in your classroom.
Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for 6-8 Computer Science Teachers, Media/Library Specialists, Resource/Tech Teachers, and General Education classroom teachers that have already begun bringing computer science to their classrooms.
Workshop Details
- Length: Workshops are offered in different ways, some are a single day, and some are spread out over multiple days. All workshops will have two 2-hour zoom meetings with approximately 2-4 hours of asynchronous work to complete in between.
- Cost: $0
- Dates:
- Saturday, September 25, 9-11AM ET and 2-4PM ET
- Monday, October 11, 3-5PM ET and Wednesday, October 13, 3-5PM ET
- Monday, November 15, 3-5PM ET and Wednesday, November 17, 3-5PM ET
- Saturday, December 4, 9-11AM ET and 2-4PM ET
Overview
The Code.org Computer Science Discoveries (CS Discoveries) course is an introductory computer science course that empowers students to create authentic artifacts and engage with computer science as a medium for creativity, communication, problem solving, and fun. CS Discoveries is appropriate for 6 – 10th grade students and can be taught as a semester or year-long introductory course (3-5 hours per week of instruction for 9+ weeks). The course takes a wide lens on computer science by covering topics such as programming, physical computing, HTML/CSS, and data. The course inspires students as they build their own websites, apps, games, and physical computing devices.
The CS Discoveries program offers year-round support. It kicks off with a 5-day summer workshop where you’ll have an opportunity to work hands-on with the curriculum and meet other teachers from your area. Throughout the year, we offer online support for upcoming units, forum support, and 1-day quarterly workshops. You don’t need any prior computer science experience to get started. And teachers love it! 90% rank it the best professional development ever.
As the Indiana Code.org Regional Partner, Nextech facilitates professional development activities for all of the Code.org curriculum, including Computer Science Discoveries, Computer Science Principles and Computer Science Fundamentals. Since launching in 2015, Nextech has provided professional development for over 1500 teachers across the state of Indiana. We are on the forefront of the statewide #CSforIN movement, and we’d love to have you as a future partner teacher.
To learn more about the Nextech program including commitments, stipends, and more, review this document.
Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for middle and high school teachers. To attend, you must be committed to teaching the Code.org CS Discoveries curriculum (either as a quarter, semester, or full-year course)
Workshop Details
- Length: 5 virtual days during the summer + 1 Saturday workshop per quarter
- Cost: $0
- Stipend: Yes
- Dates: Summer 2022 dates coming soon
Overview
This past school year many students learned remotely from home, but how many of them truly understood the implications of digital citizenship prior to being thrown into navigating this world of eLearning? Now, more than ever, it is important we give our middle school students a solid foundation to understand digital citizenship and how to be a good citizen in our online world. This workshop takes the digital citizenship curriculum you are currently using in your school (or teaches you about available resources) and helps you connect the content to the Indiana computer science standards to ensure your students are getting even more computer science in your classroom. At the end of the workshop, teachers will have a cohesive plan of how to adequately bring computer science into their digital citizenship lessons and help their students be good digital leaders of the future!Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for 6-8 Computer Science Teachers, Media/Library Specialists, Resource/Tech Teachers, and General Education classroom teachers.Workshop Details
- Length: 1-Day virtual workshop with zoom meetings and asynchronous work
- Cost: $0
- Dates: Various
Overview
Are you wondering how to integrate more computer science into your other subjects? Ever caught thinking about how to use the new found Code.org programming skills in cross-curricular projects? Look no further! This workshop will explore Code.org’s “Create” labs (sprite lab, artist, app lab, and game lab) and demonstrate how to integrate using them in other subjects to heighten your classroom projects. By the end of the workshop, teachers will be prepared to include Code.org’s “Create” labs into a variety of their classroom projects while also ensuring they hit Indiana’s computer science standards through cross-curricular projects.Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for 6-8 Computer Science Teachers, Media/Library Specialists, Resource/Tech Teachers, and General Education classroom teachers who are familiar with Code.org’s CS Fundamentals or CS Discoveries curriculum.Workshop Details
- Length: 1-Day virtual workshop with zoom meetings and asynchronous work
- Cost: $0
- Dates: Various
Overview
Did you know artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere?! It’s also in your classroom. This workshop will explore how to add AI to your computer science lesson and as well as integrate learning about AI and hitting the Indiana CS Standards through non-CS lesson plans. By the end of the workshop, teachers will have a strong understanding of how AI integrates into the Indiana CS standards and how to adequately bring dedicated AI content to their students.Eligibility and Pre-Requisites
This workshop is for 6-8 Computer Science Teachers, Media/Library Specialists, Resource/Tech Teachers, and General Education classroom teachers.Workshop Details
- Length: 1-Day virtual workshop with zoom meetings and asynchronous work
- Cost: $0
- Dates: Various
