Atlanta, Georgia | December 4, 2023
Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC) is participating in Computer Science Education Week (CSEd Week) by offering a variety of online activities for students, teachers, and families. CSEd Week, which runs from December 4-10, is a nationwide initiative to inspire K-12 students to learn more about computer science and explore its impacts on society.
CEISMC participates every year in one of the local staples of CSEd Week, the Georgia Day of Code. This half-day event was developed by the Technology Association of Georgia and TAG Education Collaborative in partnership with Code.org through CEISMC’s Regional Partnership in Georgia. This year's partners include Tech’s Constellations Center for Equity in Computing, the Georgia Department of Education, and corporate support from tech companies and organizations, including Microsoft, Cisco, Apple, Google, Ed Farm, BVC Advisors LLC, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.
“We believe that coding is a creative and empowering skill that can open up many opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds,” said CEISMC Program Director Alba Castillo Gutierrez who will lead an Hour of Code with Code.org as part of the event. “We are committed to supporting Georgia’s teachers and schools in integrating computer science education into their curriculum and fostering a culture of innovation and problem-solving.”
Virtual attendees can join the Georgia Day of Code via Zoom, but registration is required and can be completed online: https://tagedonline.org/day-of-code.
Another way that CEISMC will be celebrating CSEd Week is by hosting one-hour EarSketch workshops every day focusing on various aspects of the free, web-based platform that uses Python or JavaScript to create music. More than one million learners in over 100 countries worldwide have learned coding skills through EarSketch, which was co-created by Tech School of Music Chair Jason Freeman and Professor of Digital Media Brian Magerko over a decade ago.
“EarSketch is a fun and engaging way to learn coding skills and create music remixes. In fact, the popularity and ease of access has led to other organizations such as Black Girls Code and GoldieBlox to incorporate EarSketch into their “Build a Beat Challenge” that is currently running,” said CEISMC Program Director Sabrina Grossman, who organized the workshops. “We hope that students using EarSketch will discover the joy and creativity of computer science and music and be inspired to pursue further learning opportunities in these fields.”
One of the EarSketch workshops will be co-hosted with Tech’s GoSTEM program, a collaborative partnership between CEISMC and Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion promoting STEM academic achievement and college attendance among Latino students.
“Since the EarSketch library includes Latino beats and sounds added for another project called REMEZCLA, we thought it would be a great opportunity for students to explore the diversity and richness of this music and culture by creating their own remixes,” said CEISMC Educational Manager Michael Turner, who co-leads GoSTEM. “EarSketch is a powerful tool to help students discover the connections between STEM and the arts, and how they can use both to make a positive impact in their communities and the world.”
Along with Latino music samples, students can use sound clips from Ciara, Pharrell Williams, and Khalid to develop original songs. Country music is the newest genre in the EarSketch library with the recent edition of vocals, guitar, and banjo loops from The BoykinZ, a sister quartet from Atlanta whose music is a blend of pop, rock, hip-hop, and soul.
“We are thrilled to support [this] initiative aimed at fostering computing education and creativity among K-12 students,” said The BoykinZ. “We believe in the power of music to engage students in computing education and are honored to contribute to the growth and development of students through [the] platform.”
Teachers and students can join in the fun as all EarSketch workshops are free but require registration which can be completed online: https://www.teachers.earsketch.org/cs-education-week-2023.
--Joëlle Walls, CEISMC Communications
