TechStart, a non-profit organization founded by the Software Association of Oregon, launched their new website recently. TechStart’s mission is:
To promote technology education to strengthen the teamwork, critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills of K-12 students and, in so doing, awaken a passion for technology among all Oregon students.
I had the pleasure of working with President Chris Brooks and his team to develop TechStart’s new website. Working with non-profit organizations is personally gratifying; my frequent non-profit projects are one of many reasons why I love working at Concentric Sky. I’m particularly happy to work with TechStart, and hope that the next generation of students will benefit from an early introduction to math and science as much as I have.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chris Brooks, president of TechStart presented to the local SAO chapter today. We discussed a number of significant issues with educators who were present. There was a lot interest in the how-to’s of Open Source software implementation for schools with limited budgets. We discussed the need for easy to use CS curricula and the difficulties faced by technical educators. We also got a glimpse of the Oregon Virtual School District and its work with Moodle. A topic of particular interest was the Oregon Game Project Challenge - a program that encourages Oregon youth to develop technical skills by competing in a statewide programming competition. The next event is scheduled for May of 2009 and it sounds like there will be an interesting line up of submissions.
[Disclaimer: I am president of the local SAO chapter.]
Subscribe
