Smart Start Grant
The 3 C's of Cyber Success: Coding, Computational Thinking, and Cybersecurity
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Have you ever considered a career in the cyber workforce? What are some of the best lessons and strategies for teaching coding and computational thinking? How can the integration of the NYS Computer Science/Digital Fluency (CS/DF) standards be implemented, and integrated with other standards? Can we use devices such as a Dash floor robot or a pocket sized Micro:bit effectively to teach CS/DF, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and humanities standards?
This summer, in three separate cohorts, for three days each, 80 teachers from 13 districts, and BT BOCES, considered the scope of these questions during a virtual institute led by Cyber.Org. Cyber.Org guided educators from various disciplines in grades K-8, with experiences that helped them become familiar with using and integrating “cyber content” in their classrooms.
This institute, and year-long ongoing professional learning, is supported by a five-year New York State Smart Start Grant. The purpose of the Smart Start grant is to develop, implement, and share innovative programs that provide professional development and support to increase expertise in computer science, engineering, and/or educational technology among teachers in grades K-8.
Collaborating with professional partner Cyber.Org, the region will focus on four project goals:
- Developing regional integrated curricula for Grades K-8 that will target the knowledge and skills included in the NYS Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards;
- Increasing teachers’ knowledge and skills, and ultimately their confidence and comfort to teach coding, computational thinking, and cybersecurity awareness;
- Integrating Computer Science and Digital Fluency standards into other content areas to increase engagement and learning;
- Creating a foundation for a school-to-career cyber workforce pipeline
Cyber.org, formerly The National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center (NICERC), is a cybersecurity workforce development organization that targets K-12 students with cyber career awareness, curricular resources and teacher professional development.
A few quotes from the the institute participants:
“I really loved the format of the course. These are great, engaging tools that are kid-friendly.” K-1 Teacher
“I was initially hesitant to sign up for this since I am not currently in a teaching role and usually require time to adjust to new technology, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how interested I've become and how much fun I've had interacting with Dash and talking with the other participants.” District Staff Member
“I am a person that does not have a high level of confidence when it comes to technology. This workshop has been wonderful because it lends itself to all ability levels. The pace and presentation style allowed for those of us with the beginner's mind. My confidence level has grown during the past three days. I am very excited to see the student's engagement level and love of learning that I am sure they will show as we progress through this curriculum. Thank you for the obvious effort you all put into making this workshop a wonderful experience.” K-1 teacher
“This training has helped me to see all the parts of my job as our K-5 STEM teacher and how they all fit together so nicely. I was really excited before this training, but now I am even more excited because I can see how the pieces of this giant STEM puzzle fit together and have so many great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and all of your resources with us!!!” Intermediate Teacher
BT BOCES PLIC will be seeking additional educators to join the SmartStart project next year! If you are interested in participating, please contact your district curriculum staff or Suzy Kitchen at skitchen@btboces.org .
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Teacher Leader Group Develops Website for Special Education Teachers |
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Over the last six months, Special Education teachers from fifteen districts came together through the TRLE grant as leaders in their field. In order to be selected for this group the teachers first had to be recommended by a school administrator. They then completed an application process. The teacher leaders in this group teach students who range from age 4 to 21. They represent a variety of classroom models from self-contained classrooms, resource rooms, direct consultant teachers, and work/life prep classes.
During their time together they met as a large group, small grade band groups, and individually with an Instructional Coach. They spent time studying the High Leverage Practices (HLP’s) and the Barriers to Remote Learning for Students with Disabilities developed by the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR), the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). All of this was done with the intention of developing resources and materials which could be used by other educators around the state.
On August 19th, 2021, BT BOCES and the TRLE Teacher Leader Group launched the website: Meeting the Needs of All Students in a Remote and Hybrid Learning Environment. The website holds over 100 examples of lessons, activities, and resources which utilize the HLP’s to help students overcome barriers to remote and hybrid learning. In addition to these resources educators can find information about the HLP’s, the educators who created the website, and check-lists to start the year off on the right foot.
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Adding Organization and Efficiency to Your Outlook Calendar & Email |
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Back to school season isn’t just for students! August is a great time to consider how you might leverage technology to make the upcoming year more organized and efficient, and to better connect with staff, students, and families. For this month’s Tech Tip, we’ll focus on visually organizing your Outlook inbox and calendar to give you at-a-glance information.
Creating an organizational system in your inbox can go a long way towards keeping your emails and appointments manageable. Color coding your calendar and inbox allows you to quickly determine meeting types, formats, and categories. For example, you might color code “out of building” meetings in red, “in building” meetings in blue, and “conference calls/webinars” in yellow. When you pull up your calendar on Outlook, you can quickly see what types of meetings you need to anticipate during the day, week, and month ahead. In addition to color coding your calendar, you can also color code your inbox using conditional formatting. Adding color categories to emails highlights important messages so you can prioritize your responses.
Here’s how to add Visual Organization to your Outlook Calendar:
In your calendar, click Appointment, then click Categorize
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At the bottom of the Categorize drop down, select All Categories, then Click New to create a new, color-coded category:
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Once you have created your categories, you can add them to your calendar appointments at any time by selecting an appointment and following the first three steps above: Click the Appointment tab, click Categories, and choose one of your set colors/categories. |
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You can also add Conditional Formatting to your Outlook Email:
Click View and then View Settings
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Click Conditional Formatting, then click Add
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Give your new format (rule) a Name like "emails from..." and then click the Conditions button and select filters by keywords or sender, then select OK:
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Finally, select a new font/color by clicking the Font button.
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Learn ~ Collaborate ~ Explore ~ Register Today! |
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Reintegrating Your Formally Remote Students:
[Sept. 20, Sept. 27, Oct. 4]
[Sept. 23, Oct. 21, Nov. 16, Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 24, Mar. 24, Apr. 21, May 19]
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Looking for more Professional Learning opportunities?
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