The inaugural "Washington Computer Science Education Extravaganza" has been rescheduled/postponed.
New Dates: The Extravaganza will now commence in February 2024 and conclude in December 2024.
This decision was taken to ensure that we provide an enhanced and memorable experience for all participants. We are committed to offering the best event possible, and this additional time will be instrumental in achieving that goal.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and continued support.
Stay tuned for more details.
CSTA Puget Sound (WA) (aka "PSCSTA") is piloting the inaugural "Washington Computer Science Education Extravaganza" - an online competition for schools running through the end of 2024. Computer science teachers and their students participate in various pro-CSEd activities to earn points for their school and determine "the most fabulous" computer science high schools in Washington state. We need volunteers, sponsors, donors, and passionate supporters of CS education to make this event even more fantastic for all the teachers and students involved. Contact csta.pugetsound@gmail.com to help.
CSTA Puget Sound (WA) (aka "PSCSTA") is piloting the inaugural "Washington Computer Science Education Extravaganza" - an online competition for schools running through the end of 2023. Computer science teachers and their students are invited to participate in various pro-CSEd activities to earn points for their school and determine "the most fabulous" computer science high schools in Washington state. Points will also help schools win a drawing for various prizes. Preliminary details are below. This is a big effort and we need help in the following areas:
- Volunteers to help with competition planning, judging, and logistics.
- Sponsors for SWAG, events, Hour of Code content, entry fee scholarships, and prizes.
- Speakers for CS Ed Week speaker series.
- Development support for point submission and verification, scoreboard, and hackathon entries.
- Donors to provide additional financial support for this competition and other PSCSTA activities to support Washington CS teachers.
- Passionate supporters of CS education in Washington to evangelize the event and help with all of the above.
If you can help in any of the areas, please contact csta.pugetsound@gmail.com by Sep 25 to participate in the next planning phase. Our current thoughts are outlined below.
Extravaganza Overview
Teachers and their students participate in a variety of pro-CSEd events from Sep 18 through Dec 10 for points. CS Ed Week is Dec 4 – 10 and provides the capstone for the competition. Points earned will be used to recognize schools in various categories with the “most fabulous” CS program and enter schools in a drawing for various prizes.
Neither teachers nor students will be required to travel beyond home/school to earn points for their school. In general, points will be self-reported and verifiable.
“Washington CS Education Extravaganza” is a tentative name. Considering the late start, this inaugural year is a "pilot".
Objectives
- Create a stronger community of K12 CS teachers in Washington. Promote membership in CSTA chapter.
- Increase interest and participation in various CS education channels throughout the Washington education system.
- Create a channel for sponsorships and donations
Preliminary Schedule and Eligibility
- Sep 11: Initial announcement of the competition. This will provide us with the opportunity to
- Encourage teachers to start engaging in "point-getting" activities.
- Recruit sponsors, donors, and speakers.
- Recruit volunteers to help with planning, execution of many events.
- Tweak the point system/structure (student and teacher points accrue to school).
- Oct 6: Open registration for the competition, details of rules, start collection of points, a brief description of CSEd week "Hackathon".
- Oct 23: Close registration for competition.
- Nov 10 - 13: Send out SWAG boxes to teachers/schools in competition.
- Nov 29: Detailed rules for CSEd Week events released.
- Dec 4 – Dec 10: CSEd Week. Crescendo of events to gain points including "Hackathon", "Hour of code" participation, virtual lecture series for students/teachers (e.g. UW CSed week lectures example) .
- Dec 17: Deadline for point submissions
- Jan 8: Winners announced.
Entry fee at $60 (approximately, per school). Includes 3 t-shirts – we need to design something fabulous – and all the SWAG we can source, including from sponsors and put in a reasonably sized box. Scholarships will be available. Additional t-shirts will be available at extra cost.
Only teachers who are PSCSTA (or CSTA Washington) members can register for their schools.
Preliminary Ideas: Ways to Earn Points (with Point Estimates)
Item | Points |
Fill out survey regarding computer science education at school | 25 |
Provide a syllabus of a CS class | 10 each |
Complete CSTA online PD | 10 each clock hour |
Attend Impacts of Computing Summit on Oct 14 (show with certificate of attendance) | 40 |
Submission to Congressional App Challenge | 25 |
“Winning” Congressional App Challenge entry | 75 |
NCWIT Aspirations Entry (student) (sponsorship?) | 10 |
NCWIT Aspirations Entry (teacher) (sponsorship?) | 25 |
GwC Club as of Dec 10 (sponsorship?) | 10 + 2 each student |
IGNITE Club as of Dec 10 (sponsorship?) | 10 + 2 each student OR 5 per each distinct participant |
Computer Science Honor Society as of Dec 10 | 25 + 5 each student |
FIRST Washington Robotics as of Dec 10 | 10 + 2 each student |
CyberPatriot club as of Dec 10 | 10 + 2 each student |
Attendance at “Happy” Office Hour | 3 each hour |
PSCSTA Communities post | 2 each post over 100 chars |
Attendance at a PSCSTA Open Chapter Meeting | 10 |
Attendance at Nov BOF meeting | 10 |
Hour of Code Completed from sponsored providers Dec 1 – 10 (sponsorship?) | 3 * students |
Attendance at CSEd Week Virtual Lecture Series Dec 1 -10 (sponsorship? Need much more planning) | 3 * student or teacher |
Valid “Hackathon” entries | Varies |
Awarded “Hackathon” entries | Varies |
End of contest survey | 15 points |
- Need to come up with a way to verify
- Google forms to apply for points? self-reported
- Leaderboard?
- Drawing - All prizes go to the school, not individual teachers/students
Preliminary Ideas: CSEd Week Virtual Lecture/Roundtable Series (Dec 1 - 10) for Students and Teachers
- Introduction to CSEd Week (Lecture Series, Hour of Code opportunities, Hackathon) Rules
- State of CS Education in Washington and nationwide
- Attending a post-secondary computer science program in Washington state
- Alternatives to “computer science” in post-secondary education; CS requirements in other majors
- AI in Education/society
- Social Justice issues in Computer Science/Social Impacts of Computing
- The wild and growing computer science family tree
- Diversity in the tech industry and what’s being done
- CS to help you succeed in gaming, eSports
- Roundtable and interest areas of current CS majors
Brainstorm The “Hackathon”
- Entries due by Dec 10 11:59 PM
- Topic is something that can be used to teach CS education or used to advocate for CS education
- In addition to standard “hackathon” submissions, submissions could also be CS Heroes, Future Me, lesson plans (including sample questions), videos, posters, essays, websites, etc.
- Share out on Social Media or MemberNova?
- Integration with what is being done by CSTA for CSEd week, www.csedweek.org
- Winners and points awarded in the following categories: Technical merit (may want subcategories here), Design/Creativity, Potential Social Impact, others
- Maybe look at doing an in-person poster session event
