Our Annual Conference provides professional development opportunities for K-12 computer science and information technology teachers who need practical, relevant information to help them prepare their students for the future.

Take advantage of this opportunity for relevant professional development. Explore issues and trends relating directly to your classroom, network with top professionals from across the country, interact with other teachers to gain new perspectives on shared challenges.

Some of this year's sessions include:

• AP Computer Science
  


• Computational Thinking
  


• Increasing Enrollment in CS
  


• Programming
  


• Robotics
  




The online conference registration FEE is $100 for Early Bird (January-April 15, 2015) or $150 for General Registration (April 16-June 26). Workshop fees are $100 for the first workshop and $50 for each additional workshop. The cutoff date for registration is June 26, 2015. Registration onsite is $225. Workshops will not be included. All presenters and attendees must register online.





CONFERENCE FEES ARE NOT PRORATED OR REFUNDABLE.



Please note that we will not be accepting onsite registration for workshops nor will we be able to allow switching of workshops due to the advanced preparation and information needed to participate in a workshop.

Accommodations and Travel

Hotel or other accommodations must be reserved separately; the 2015 CSTA Annual Conference is not involved in any details of housing for attendees.

The Conference has, however, arranged for block reservations at reduced rates at the following location.

HIlton DFW Lakes Resort
1800 Highway 26 East
Grapevine, Texas 76051-9641

Single $149 (USD, does not include tax)*
*Rates are valid until June 18, 2015

Use the registration portal below for reservations.
http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/D/DFWAHHF-2CA-20150712/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG

Details on housing and travel can be found here at the: Main Conference Website.

Type of registration

CSTA 2015 is a conference for computer science educators. You must be 18 years or older to attend.

Do you need/would you like a certificate of attendance for the conference as a whole?

Do you need/would you like a certificate of attendance for the conference workshop(s)?

Contact information

Workshop Preference (if any)

NOTE: These are three-hour hands-on workshops. All attendees are required to bring their own laptops. The first workshop is $100 and each subsequent workshop is an additional $50. To be registered for a workshop you must be registered for the conference and also check the appropriate payment box on the payment page. For full workshop descriptions, please refer to the conference agenda. Pre-registration is required to participate in a workshop. No switching will be allowed.

Sunday evening workshops

Beauty and Joy of Computing (CS Principles) on edX
Presenter(s): Daniel D. Garcia, Tiffany Barnes, Eugene Lemon, Sean Morris and Josh Paley
Description: The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) is an introductory computer science curriculum developed at UC Berkeley (and adapted at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and NC State), intended for high school juniors through university non-majors. It was used in two of the five initial pilot programs for the AP CS Principles course being developed by the College Board and the National Science Foundation. Our overall goal is to support the CS10K project by preparing instructors to teach the AP CS Principles course through the BJC curriculum. In this workshop, we will share our experiences as instructors of the Beauty and Joy of Computing CS Principles course at the university and high school level, provide a glimpse into a typical week of the course with hands-on activities, and share details of the 2015-2016 edX SPOC course that teachers could use in their classroom.

Embedding Computer Science in Science Classes- Grades 6-12
Presenter(s): Paige Prescott and Maureen Psaila-Dombrowski
Description: During the 3 hour workshop, attendees will explore how models can be developed and used to allow teachers and students to investigate STEM topics through scientific inquiry and computational thinking. Using modeling and simulation in the STEM classroom not only allows students to more fully explore the scientific concepts being taught, they also learn computer science concepts and programming thus preparing the student to pursue a more formal computer science class in the future. In addition, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) inclusion of Computational Thinking Skills and modeling into the curriculum opens the door for the introduction of computer science at an early age. Two programming environments, StarLogo Nova and Netlogo, will be used to demonstrate the broad applicability and flexibility that computer models and simulations allows both the teacher and the student.

**CLOSED**The Internet and Creativity & Global Impact: Two Modules for the new AP CS Principles Course
Presenter(s): Richard Kick, Andrew Kuemmel and Lien Diaz
Description: This workshop focuses on content in two curriculum modules for AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) developed by the College Board. They highlight instructional approaches for teaching concepts about 1) the Internet and 2) the interplay between creative aspects of computing and impact of computing on society. The Internet module activities allow students to construct their own solutions to problems similar to some that the builders of the Internet faced. The topics in the Creativity and Global Impact module were chosen because they have rich potential for increasing interest with students, especially those from underrepresented demographics, and because they present instructional challenges for instructors new to AP CSP. Participants will learn detailed concepts addressed in the AP CSP course and will receive classroom materials from in each of the curriculum modules. These modules serve as exemplary resources for teachers.

**CLOSED**Media Computation in Python
Presenter(s): Mark Guzdial and Barbara Ericson
Description: Come to a hands-on introduction to Media Computation in Python, which is a proven and engaging approach to teaching computing concepts. In Media Computation students write programs to manipulate media: pictures, sounds, and text. In Media Computation you can mirror a picture to create art or reverse a sound to look for hidden messages. Media Computation has been used successfully for over 10 years to teach introductory programming at the college and high school level. Media Computation can be used to teach basic computing concepts such as variables, loops, conditionals, string manipulation, and arrays.

Monday Morning Workshops

Supplement Conventional Teaching With Online Google Tool
Presenter(s): Afrin Naz, Amit Deutsch and Shahed Mustafa
Description: This workshop is on applying Google tools (such as Course Builder and Hangouts) to deliver online instructions. The proposed teaching methodology does not intend to replace conventional face-to-face instructions; rather, it offers supplements to conventional teaching with enhanced capacity and flexibility. All the software tools covered by this workshop can be readily downloaded from the Internet and are free of charge. The attendees need to bring their laptops to the workshop. The attendees will learn the software tools through plentiful hands-on exercises. Specifically, they will learn how to create online interactive instructions, how to record video tutorials with regular webcams, how to perform online assessment, and how to address students’ online questions effectively. The attendees do not have to possess any prior experience in online teaching.

Code.org's K-5 Courses
Presenter(s): Katherine Apone, Kiki Prottsman and Evelyn Zayas
Description: Have you been looking for computer science curriculum for your K-5 students? Code.org has developed 3 courses to introduce and engage students in computer science education at the elementary school level. During this workshop, you’ll learn about Code.org’s Courses 1, 2 and 3, which are a mix of two kinds of lessons: online and unplugged. In online lessons, students write programs on the computer to achieve certain goals or express their creativity in more open-ended environments. In unplugged lessons, educators lead classroom activities that teach computer science concepts without the use of a computer. In this workshop, you’ll also model activities from the curriculum and discuss equitable practices for K-5 educators while getting a glimpse of how Code.org runs their PD sessions for teachers around the country.

**CLOSED** CS Principles: Decoded–A Curriculum from Code.org
Presenter(s): Baker Franke, Brooke Osborne and Brenda Remess
Description: Code.org is developing a rich set of instructional resources designed for high school teachers to meet the objectives of the AP Computer Science Principles framework. This workshop will provide to teachers materials from the course including daily lesson plans and instructional guides for an entire school year, along with new software and tools for students and teachers. The session will also give participants and a taste of the professional development program designed to support instruction. Code.org’s curriculum is designed to be rigorous but accessible for both high school students and instructors, allowing adequate time to explore and learn the principles of computing through a series of engaging activities, plugged and unplugged, employing a variety of instructional strategies. Participants will experience lessons, both as students and teachers, in the fashion of the professional development program, which helps teachers prepare lessons from the curriculum in realistic contexts.

Mobile Computer Science Principles: Teaching Computing through Mobile Technology
Presenter(s): Ralph Morelli, Chinma Uche and Pauline Lake
Description: The College Board’s CS Principles (CSP) Project is an effort to develop a language-neutral, breadth-first advanced placement (AP) course in Computer Science. Mobile CSP is an NSF-funded effort to train high school teachers to teach a CSP course that engages students in building mobile apps with App Inventor. The workshop will provide an overview of Mobile CSP training including a hands-on workshop with App Inventor and a representative sample of CSP-based lesson plans, assessment materials, and other resources. Mobile CSP training will be available for free to all teachers in summer 2015 through an online course which will begin in June 2015. Information about the summer 2015 training will be available on our website. *Target audience: Primarily high school teachers, but middle school teachers will also benefit from this workshop. Laptop required.*

Game Design as a STEAM Course
Presenter(s): Gary Gongwer
Description: Game Design has recently become a very productive lens through which to teach computer programming skills. The immediate, visual feedback that arises from programming in a game-based environment is an ideal platform from to demonstrate principles of computer science. Such a course, however, ought to incorporate influences from many fields beyond computer science. The Engineering cycle of prototyping, testing, and feedback is integral to the design process. The mathematics of movement is involved from the very beginning of a game. The literary idea of “The Hero’s Journey” underlies virtually every story behind a game. And finally, artistic decisions influence nearly every bit of code that a designer implements. The purpose of this session is to present the idea of a Game Design as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) course. The session will give an overview of a syllabus of such a course.

Monday Afternoon Workshops

Problem Based Learning in Computer Science: A case study in Robotics Camp
Presenter(s): Joshua Block
Description: Come learn how a school district's robotics camp allowed for true differentiated problem based learning in a computer science setting for grades 5-12. Attendees will experience some of the hands-on problems done in robotics camp and learn how to create an course or lesson where students can acquire content, skills, and receive feedback in a problem based environment. Attendees will leave the workshop having written a student-centered problem and implementation plan for their own classroom.

Physical Computing Activities for the K-8 Classroom
Presenter(s): Dylan Ryder
Description: Make Computer Science fun and easy for students by turning computer programming into a hands-on activity. Make a video game controller with tin foil and an old take-out container. Make an electronic door alarm with LEGOs and tape. Make your own Operation-style board game with a cereal box and chopsticks. Make everything from anything! In this workshop you will learn how to implement classroom projects that integrate Science, Technology, Art, and Math together through computer programming and engineering design. We will survey a number of methods and materials that help students explore Computer Science such as Scratch, a drag-and-drop programming language for young learners. We will also use basic physical computing sensors like MakeyMakey, LEGO WeDo, and Make!Sense that allow us to program interactive objects from household materials. Beginner's welcome.

**CLOSED** High school CS breadth in depth: CSP x ECS x APCSA
Presenter(s): Owen Astrachan, Gail Chapman and Don Yanek
Description: Three courses are national exemplars, part of the CS10K/CE21 initiative, recognized by the CSTA standards for high school computer science, and integral to both Code.org and PLTW computer science projects: Exploring Computer Science (ECS), Computer Science Principles (CSP), and AP Computer Science A (APCSA). This workshop and the information and activities that are part of it are designed to help high school computer science teachers become well- and better-informed about these three courses, the student audiences addressed by each, the content and pedagogical practices embraced in each, and the role that each can play in paths and pathways for both teachers and students. The workshop provides a solid understanding about how the ECS, CSP and APCSA courses complement each other by using a set of activities that highlight differences and similarities among the courses from both content and pedagogical perspectives.

Transition to Java Using Alice 3
Presenter(s): Donald Slater and Wanda Dann
Description: This workshop, designed for pre-AP, Introduction to Programming, Programming for Non-majors, CS1 with transition to Java courses, will introduce the tools in Alice 3.1 specifically designed to support the transition to Java, reviewing both the software and the available course materials. The workshop offers hands-on experience programming with Alice3 and Java together. Participants will see how to use Alice3 to build virtual worlds and how to transfer these programs into a Java IDE.

TouchDevelop
Presenter(s): Michael Braun
Description:Would you like to integrate coding into any grade-level classroom? Join Michael Braun as he shares a revolutionary new web-based technology called TouchDevelop, which any K-12 teacher can use to integrate coding into any grade level, without having any previous coding experience. In this session, Michael will go beyond how to use TouchDevelop, which works on any phone, tablet, laptop, or PC - whether they are iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, or Linux- and provide suggestions for implementing coding across the curriculum.

Michael will cover suggestions for how you can create and cultivate an interest in coding amongst your teachers and students. He will also provide ideas for integrating coding into a variety of subjects and grade levels and include suggestions that your teachers can use to help them deliver coding instruction with TouchDevelop. Michael will also discuss the benefits of long-term integration of coding into a classroom, as well as ideas for implementing that integration so that students can develop strong coding and problem-solving skills.

Participants through discussions, modules, hands on activities and extended tutorials will learn how to use the TouchDevelop dashboard, create a classroom on TouchDevelop, and develop mobile apps. Participants will make their own apps on their own personal devices, which include pixel art, turtle drawings, color shaker app, flappy bird clone, and bubble popper app. Additionally, participants will learn how to program Minecraft through TouchDevelop.

Please select your choice of workshops. The selection will be used to compute the payment page content.

Workshop Selection (Reminder: All attendees are required to bring their own laptops.)

Monday Evening: UT Dallas reception

We invite you to join us on Monday, July 13, 2015, for an evening gathering on our campus from 5-7pm. Reception and tour, hosted by the Department of Computer Science at University of Texas, Dallas.

With more than 1,300 bachelor’s-degree students, 1,100 master’s students, 150 PhD students, and 75 faculty members, UT Dallas computer science department is one of the largest CS departments in the US, offering a broad range of courses in almost every area of computer science and software engineering at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Come and learn about our exciting research on cyber security, intelligent systems, data sciences, computer algorithms, computer networks and more. Learn about the largest University-based K-12 computer science outreach effort in the country, and our unique mentoring model that ensures that students actually learn.

Please join the UT Dallas faculty and students for an enlightening evening of conversation and computing project demos.

***Participants can confirm attendance on the payment page. If the tour item does not show up on the page, it means that there are no more places left.***

Lunch will be buffet-style. CSTA tries to the best of their ability to provide options for the following dietary restrictions: Gluten-free, Vegetarian, and Dairy-free.

Volunteer: I am interested in volunteering to help with the conference.

Additional Payment information

Will you be paying for your registration yourself or will your school or district be paying for you?

The 2015 CSTA Conference Code of Conduct.

NOTE

Please proceed to the Payment Page to complete your registration. You will receive a "registration in process" confirmation with a passcode from this website when you submit the information on this page, and you will receive a final registration confirmation email once you have completed the payment and the system has confirmed that the payment has been correctly processed.

Your registration is NOT COMPLETE until you have paid the registration fee and received the final confirmation from us.

Please allow five business days for your confirmation.