[LINK] Young Aussies losing ground in digital economy

[Stephen Loosley]

Computer Science For All

January 30, 2016 by Megan Smith

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/30/computer-science-all


Computer Science for All is the President’s new initiative to empower all American students from kindergarten through high school to learn computer science and be equipped with the computational thinking skills they need to be creators in the digital economy, not just consumers, and to be active citizens in our technology-driven world. 

Our economy is rapidly shifting, and both educators and business leaders are increasingly recognizing that computer science (CS) is a “new basic” skill necessary for economic opportunity and social mobility.

Last year, there were more than 600,000 high-paying tech jobs across the United States that were unfilled, and by 2018, 51 percent of all STEM jobs are projected to be in computer science-related fields. Computer science and data science are not only important for the tech sector, but for so many industries, including transportation, healthcare, education, and financial services.

Parents increasingly recognize this need — more than nine of 10 parents surveyed say they want computer science taught at their child’s school. However, by some estimates, just one quarter of all the K-12 schools in the United States offer high-quality computer science with programming and coding and 22 states still do not allow it to count towards high school graduation, even as other advanced economies are making it available for all students.

Wide disparities exist even for those who do have access to these courses. In addition to course access challenge, media portrayals, classroom curriculum materials, unconscious bias and widely-held stereotypes exacerbate the problem and discourage many of our students from taking these courses. For example, in 2015, only 22 percent of students taking the AP Computer Science exam were girls, and only 13 percent were African-American or Latino students. These statistics mirror the current makeup of some of America’s largest and more innovative tech firms in which women compose less than one-third of their technical employees, and African-Americans less than 3 percent. We can do better!

Tech careers are exciting, fun, high-impact, and collaborative as well as being critical for our economy. We want all Americans to have the opportunity to be part of these teams. CS For All will help make that a reality and ensure every student has access to Computer Science in their classrooms at all levels.  

When it comes to computer science, we can all be students and President Obama led the way as our CS Student Coder-in-Chief when he became the first President to write a line of code himself. His first line of code was moveForward<100> and that’s what CS for All is all about: moving forward together. Who taught him to code? A middle-school student named Adrianna from Newark, New Jersey, who took a computer science course at her school. 


Media: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/us/politics/obamas-budget-urges-a-deeper-commitment-to-computer-education.html?emc=edit_ae_20160130&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=69713909

WASHINGTON — President Obama will call for spending $4 billion to help states pay for computer science education in the schools when he presents his 2017 budget to Congress, administration officials say.

If approved by the Republican-led Congress, the money will pay for teacher training and instructional materials to increase the amount of instruction in computer science, especially for girls and minorities, the officials said.

Mr. Obama announced the initiative, called Computer Science for All, in his weekly radio address Saturday morning. He urged lawmakers to support the program’s funding in the budget, saying such education would help the nation’s young people succeed in a changing job market.

“In the new economy, computer science isn’t an optional skill — it’s a basic skill, right along with the three Rs,” Mr. Obama said in the address. “Nine out of 10 parents want it taught at their children’s schools.”

Officials said the president’s budget plan also calls for sending $100 million directly to school districts to help start computer science education programs. And it directs the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service to spend more than $135 million in existing funds on teacher training over a five-year period beginning this year.

White House officials say the need is critical, in part because other nations are doing a better job educating young people in computer sciences, a fast-growing part of the global economy.

Only a quarter of the elementary, middle and high schools in the United States offer computer science classes, with 22 states not allowing such classes to count toward a diploma, officials said. Only 4,310 of 37,000 high schools in the country offer Advanced Placement computer science classes, they said, putting American children at a disadvantage.

“That’s what this is all about — each of us doing our part to make sure all our young people can compete in a high-tech, global economy,” Mr. Obama said. 

“They’re the ones who will make sure America keeps growing, keeps innovating and keeps leading the world in the years ahead.”

Cheers,
Stephen