CSTA Chapter Toolkit

I have had a few CSTA folks ask, so here are some tools weve been using for the CSTA - Central VA Chapter.

The hardest part of running a chapter is communication - who is a member? How do we let folks know about meetings? I have found this collection of tools really helps.

• Dominoes Pizza App - because pizza makes things better. It also lets you save a standard order to speed things up. We have some gluten free folks, so we use Dominoes. Insert Foodstuff of choice.
• Doodle Poll- lets you easily poll several people to find a common meeting time. We use this when the leadrship team needs to meet.
• Evite - We use these for chapter meetings. It really helps since it lets folks RSVP so you have an idea of how many folks to expect.
• Facebook - I put all the links here and meeting info. A lot of folks start with Facebook searches.
• Google Contacts- I keep our membership list here and have a canned response saved every time we get a new member.
• Mail Chimp - We use this to create a membership form. In hindsight I could have used a Google form too. Here is what the page looks like.
• Wordpress - This is our chapters main landing page. I have it set so I can post using emails, and this email is included in our distribution list, so any updates or Evites I send to the chapter are automatically posted on the blog. Warning - dont put personal phone numbers in these emails, not that I have done this or anything...

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CSTA Central VA April Meeting

We had a great meeting last night. Thank you so much to Lynne Norris at Deep run for hosting.

Some news:

David Walter from Virginia State was with us. VSU will have a Google 4 HS teacher program this summer. Details soon.

Several folks are going to the JMU event this summer. This is a great way to get some college credit if you are working towards certification

We also talked about

Teacher licensure - the state is still planning on updating the CS endorsement - we need to be a part of that conversation. We especially need input from colleges. It was pointed out that the courses required should go by the ACM list of college computer science courses.

Where should CS fit? Several states are letting Computer Science classes replace a math or science for a graduation credit. Should Virginia follow?

Updates to the new APCS Principles course - first test in 2016-2017. We need to work on getting the state DOE to add a course number for it.

Changes to APCS, specifically no more Gridworld after the 2014 exam Competitions and camps for kids - looking at ways to get more kids involved

Possibly building some kits of materials owned by the chapter folks can check out to use - like a library. Especially for some of the more expensive items like the Mindstorms.

Eileen  showcased the new Lego Mindstorms. Top secret stuff that I cant put in writing, but they will be out hopefully later this year. You will want one.

We also looked at the Finches with both BYOB Snap and Java. Email me if you would like some sample programs in Java to try with the Finches.

And if you havent already please fill out the membership info. We need this to report to national CSTA: http://vacsta.wordpress.com/membership-information/

Thanks!

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Join the Central Virginia CSTA

Hi folks! Were trying to streamline the membership list for the Central Virginia CSTA Chapter. Our first goal building a teaching community to support computer science education in Virginia. That means getting as many people to the table as possible.

Please take a second to fill out the form to become an official member.

Click here to Join CSTA Central VA

• Who can join?
  YOU! Anyone passionate about computer science education in Virginia is welcome. Our members include K-12 teachers, parents, college faculty and folks from the business community that all believe in the power of computer science education.
• Why Join?
  Because there is power in numbers. There are a lot of issues facing computer science education, from training in curriculum and instruction to advocacy for equity and access. The CSTA is on the front line.
• I am already a member!
  Please fill out the form anyway - we are trying to centralize to one list.
• How can I help?
  There are a lot of ways to become involved. Local chapter meetings are the best place to start. By meeting other people working to improve computer science education you become a part of a great community working to improve the education of our kids.

And if you prefer a QR code:

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