West Fork technology teacher brings new knowledge to the classroom

Over the summer, West Fork Middle School technology teacher Jennifer Otten had the opportunity to travel to Houston, Texas, to attend a summer training program hosted by Code.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the career path.

Otten was one of over 500 teachers from across the country that had the opportunity to travel to Houston (at no expense thanks to a grant she applied for and received) to attend the training, called TeacherCon, from June 18-23. The intensive five-day workshop provided foundational experiences with computer science and the Code. org suite of curriculum tools, to help teachers gain experience prior to their first year of instructing Code.org courses at their respective schools. It is the first year that Code.org curriculum has been made available to schools across the country.

Now that school is back in session, Otten has begun integrating her new knowledge and the curriculum gained this summer into her seventh and eighth grade classroom at the West Fork Rockwell campus, and said that the experience she picked up will fit in nicely with the material she was previously teaching students.

Read the full story in the October 12 edition.