TSIN: Could you tell us
about your background? How did you discover your passion for computer
science?
Molly Plyler: I have been blessed to work with K-12 and/or postsecondary
schools for the past 17 years. I never thought I would be a teacher. In fact,
my undergraduate work was in business and biology. But after spending a year
teaching English at a Chinese university, I knew I wanted to be an educator. So
I completed my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction to do just that.
I discovered my passion for computer science while working
at theCO
, one of Tennessee's entrepreneur centers. As I began working with schools
across the state, I realized there were countless communities that lacked
reliable Internet and basic tech resources. I would hear stories of how
students would drive to fast food restaurants so they could have Internet
access to complete online coding tutorials. Students who were begging their
schools to offer coding classes but wouldn't get them because qualified
teachers couldn't be found. Stories of parents who knew their child was
talented in tech but had no idea how to develop that skill and were desperately
looking for help. I knew I needed to do something. From that point on I started
looking for opportunities. How can I help students and fellow teachers develop
their computer science skills?
What does the term
“digital readiness” mean to you? Why is it important that we are preparing students to be digitally ready?
MP
:
To me the term "digital readiness" means to be
prepared for the future. The conversation is no longer
if
a child has a career
using tech. But rather,
when
that child starts their career, will they be
prepared to fully optimize technology for their daily tasks.
The digital readiness
trainings
are designed for educators of all grade levels and subject
areas. How do the digital readiness standards support teaching and
learning within more traditional subject areas?
MP:
As a classroom teacher, I appreciate the holistic approach taken with
the new Digital Readiness Standards. Students are asked to understand
productivity tools, such as creating spreadsheets to collect lab data or
organize the events in a story. Through the study of computational thinking and digital citizenship they are also asked to think and behave in a way which prepares them for
their future, whatever that may be.
Every educator already uses some form of computational
thinking. We just use different subject-specific jargon for these concepts. For
example, algorithms are a list of ordered steps. Understanding algorithmic
design is critical in writing computer programs. A P.E. teacher might call
this process "rules" for how to play hopscotch. In science, students
are asked to write the procedure for their lab experiment. English teachers
might ask students to memorize the steps to writing an essay. In math, we call
it the order of operations. Regardless of the subject or grade, we all use
algorithms and other components of computational thinking in the classroom.
Besides the digital
readiness trainings, you are also serving as a facilitator for the Code.org Professional Learning
program. How does that program build upon
the concepts educators will explore in the digital readiness trainings?
MP: The Code.org Professional Learning Program is an excellent
way for educators to build on the knowledge and skills they gained at the
Digital Readiness Standards training. The idea of teaching students how to code
can be intimidating, especially if you are a novice programmer yourself.
The Code.org Professional Learning training provides
teachers with an introduction to computer science concepts and coding
activities which align to the
6th strand of the Digital Readiness Standards. It also provides
schools with grade specific computer science curriculum which includes both
plugged and unplugged activities. Thanks to the partnership between Code.org,
TSIN and the Tennessee Department of Education, the training and
teacher/student resources are offered to schools at no charge.
