 This week the Department of Education and Early Development announced statewide availability for a program that uses the popular game Minecraft to teach coding.
Coding in Minecraft, by Prodigy Learning, uses Minecraft: Education Edition to teach block-based coding at levels suitable for upper elementary, middle, and high school. The program is designed so that teachers with little or no experience coding can incorporate coding in their classroom.
“Alaska’s workforce already has opportunities for people with coding experience to have a rewarding career, and the ability to hold a high-paying coding job in rural Alaska will only grow as broadband connectivity improves across the state,” said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. “As a former educator, I know how important it is for learning to be engaging. Coding in Minecraft will open the door to a world of possibilities some students might not have otherwise explored.”
“Increasing career, technical, and culturally relevant education to meet student and workforce needs is one of five priorities of Alaska’s Education Challenge,” said DEED Acting Commissioner Heidi Teshner. “In recent years Alaska has already seen increased opportunity and participation in students learning to code through existing partnerships. Coding in Minecraft will increase opportunities for student learning and provide educators with the knowledge they need to bring coding into the classroom.”
Teachers who want to use the program in their classroom can sign up for training at https://codingcredentials.com/ak/.
Statewide licensing for Coding in Minecraft and supplemental licensing for Minecraft: Education Edition was secured through funds from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.
DEED Welcome Statewide
Coding and Computer Science Career Coordinator
In August DEED welcomed Faye Tanner as the Statewide Coding and Computer Science Career Coordinator. This position was created to develop and improve software engineering and computer science education programs in Alaska, and to partner with programs and institutions that prepare Alaska’s students for fulfilling careers in fields like coding, cybersecurity, telecommunications infrastructure engineering and network engineering.
Prior to joining DEED, Tanner worked in the computer industry focusing on both hardware and software development and has taught computer science at the post-secondary level, and has held STEM classes for K-12 students in public and homeschool settings.
Increasing career, technical, and culturally relevant education to meet student and workforce needs is one of the five strategic priorities of Alaska’s Education Challenge. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 1.6 million jobs for software developments in 2021, with a median pay of more than $109,000. The field is expected to grow 25% between 2020 and 2030.
“Computer science is driving innovation in almost every sector of the US economy,” Tanner said. “Findings show that over 80% of software engineers are currently working remotely full time, and working from home is becoming the new normal work arrangement. All of these present to our students tremendous career opportunities with competitive pay while they continue to live and thrive in the communities that they and many generations before them grew up in.”
Alaska’s Computer Science Standards were adopted in 2019.
“At the beginning of the standard it states that there is ‘an urgent need’ for improvement in computer science education in K-12 to help students become the ‘creators of computing technology,’” Tanner said. “I believe that we need all the help we can get, and all our efforts would be one of the best investments that we can make in Alaska’s students.”
Tanner is eager to work with all teachers, administrators, industry leaders, and Computer Science education enthusiasts to continue pushing forward the expanding K-12 Computer Science education in Alaska! She can be reached at faye.tanner@alaska.gov or 907.631.2158.
|
 |
Alaska Health Schools Learning Collaborative
Virtual Conference October 25-26
The Alaska Healthy School Learning Collaborative conference aims to address new emerging health and safety topics while providing important professional development opportunities for staff.
The conference will be held virtually on October 25 and 26 and registration is free. Sessions will be recorded and available for all who register for 12 months after the event.
Topics include but are not limited to:
- School Nursing / Chronic Pain
- Trauma Informed Practices
- Mental Health / Behavioral Health
- Social Emotional Learning
- Violence Prevention / Healthy Relationship
- Resiliency
- School Policy Development
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
- Special Education / Specialized Disabilities
- Evidence-Based Programs, Policies, and Practices
The Alaska Healthy Schools Learning Collaborative is hosted by the Alaska Department of Health and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
For more information, contact Pat Sidmore at pat.sidmore@alaska.gov
|
