The Henderson International School hosted a Middle School Tech Night on January 29, 2014, featuring discussions on the positive impacts of technology in education, responsible integration, and family partnerships. Activities included speed geeking sessions where students showcased various tech tools, and updates on digital citizenship and literacy topics were provided for different grade levels. The event emphasized the importance of computer science education and the need for increased participation, especially among girls, highlighting a projected shortage of computer science professionals by 2020.

1. Middle School Tech Night
Henderson International School
Jan 29, 2014

2. Essential Questions
• How does technology positively impact the learning
process?
• What does responsible integration look like?
• How can HIS and families partner to support our
children in this fast-paced tech world?

3. Agenda
•
•
•
•
Speed Geeking
Digital Citizenship/Literacy Update
Learning to code
Q&A

5. Speed Geeking 411
• Our “geeks” are setup at different tables
• Guests will rotate from table to table at predetermined 3-minute intervals
• We will have some time to share/reflect after all the
rotations have been completed

6. Speed Geekers
Name
Grade
Topic
Angelu
8th
Tenmarks
Bob
8th
Powerpoint
Michael
7th
Minecraft
Olivia
7th
iMovie
Sheen
7th
Anime
Jarod
6th
Quizlet
Mrs. Waldman
Digital Media / Art Teacher
Digital Portfolios
Mr. Bezsylko
MS Principal
Writing Practice Program

7. Speed Geeking – Time to Reflect
• What did we learn?
• What do we want to learn more about?
• Did we address any of our EQs?
– Impact of technology
– Responsible integration
– HIS/family partnership

9. Digital Citizenship & Literacy
Grade
Examples of Topics/Themes Covered
Fifth
-- Being a good digital citizen
-- Creating accurate keyword searches and secure passwords
Sixth
-- Personal v private information
-- How to prevent identity theft and scams
Seventh
-- How to be an ‘upstander’ in cyberbullying situations
-- Digital footprint
Eighth
-- Risks of sharing inappropriate information
-- Legal and ethical dimensions of creative online work

10. Digital Citizenship & Literacy
Grade
Examples of Upcoming Topics/Themes
Fifth
-- Cyberbullying
-- The role of media in shaping gender stereotypes
Sixth
-- Copyright, fair use, and creative rights
-- How to handle uncomfortable online situations
Seventh
Eighth
-- How to determine if a site is trustworthy
-- Identifying online gender stereotypes
-- Identifying risky online relationships
-- Purposes and contexts of digital image editing

12. Learning to Code - Why
• Computer science is a top paying college degree and
computer programming jobs are growing at 2x the
national average
• Assuming current national trends, by 2020 there will
be 1 million more computer science jobs than
computer science students
• Girls in the US compromise 56% of AP test-takers,
but only 19% of AP computer science test-takers
• In China, every student learns computer
programming. In the US, less than 5%.

13. Learning to Code – How?
• Intro to Computer Science course
– Series activities and tutorials
– Designed by folks at code.org
– Integrated into DM

14. Questions
• Revisiting our essential questions
– How does technology positively impact the learning
process?
– What does responsible integration look like?
– How can HIS and families partner to support our children
in this fast-paced tech world?