The 4th-annual CS Summer of Fun was an inspiring week of professional learning focused on integrating Computer Science (CS) into K-12 classrooms.
During the week, MMSA and Educate Maine collaborated to host 137 educators and administrators from 80+ communities in Maine, as well as a handful from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts on the University of Maine, Orono, campus.
“Providing educators with this type of professional learning sets off a ripple effect. This will be evident as these educator participants pass on their newly learned CS skills and strategies to more than 2,760 students collectively next year,” said Ian Collins, STEM specialist at MMSA.
With three learning pathways, including one just for administrators, and more than 50 session options, there were topics available for educators with no CS experience to those seeking more in-depth explorations.
Sessions focused on a broad range of subjects from CS Fundamentals, Using AI tools to Enhance Learning and Teaching, Computational Thinking Activities for our Earliest Learners, to Bee Bots + Art: Creative Exploration. Below are some highlights from the sessions.
To provide this extensive array of offerings, the best facilitators in the state were enlisted. Sessions were run by MMSA, Educate Maine, Code.org, the Maine Department of Education, The University of Maine and its RiSE Center, Education Development Center (EDC), the Roux Institute, as well as K-12 educators.
Both WABI and News Center Maine TV stations reported on the importance of offering this type of professional learning to educators and empowering them to equip Maine students with the computer science skills essential for today’s workforce.
With the goal of making CS education more accessible to students across Maine and New England, this week-long learning experience was free to Maine educators thanks to the generous support from the Harold Alfond Foundation. Support from sponsors Systems Engineering, Tyler Technologies Maine App Challenge, and the Roux Institute also helped alleviate barriers to participation.
The educators and administrators also participated in the inaugural Maine Computer Science Education Summit which brought educators together with business leaders, non-profits, policymakers, and higher education institutions to talk about the future of CS education in Maine.
CS Summer of Fun is just one of MMSA’s initiatives that comprise STEM Workforce Ready 2030, a collaborative project that involves educators, and Maine businesses to boost STEM literacy, education, and skills acquisition in Maine.
