Kindergarten students at Carlisle Elementary work on their trackpad skills during their technology special Tuesday. The district announced last week it would be incorporating computer science standards into technology courses at the kindergarten through first grade level.
Jennifer Ruhe | Delaware City Schools
First grade students at Carlisle Elementary work on introductory coding during their technology special on Tuesday. The district said the goal of the new course is to provide elementary students with a foundation of computer science knowledge that they can build on at the middle and high school levels.
Jennifer Ruhe | Delaware City Schools
Delaware City Schools will be incorporating learning standards for computer science into technology courses at the elementary schools starting next school year.
Delaware City Schools Chief Technology Officer Jen Fry announced the change to the Board of Education at its meeting last week. Currently, the Ohio Learning Standards for Technology grades K-5 are being taught in elementary classrooms and in the technology application course, Fry said. She added the new course of study will encompass both the learning standards for technology and the Ohio Learning Standards for Computer Science grades K-5.
“By designing a technology course of study that incorporates both the technology standards and the computer science standards, we believe we will develop technology literacy while also developing a foundation of computer science principals to help prepare all students for continued learning in their middle and high school years,” Fry told the board last week.
Fry said the team that designed the course sought feedback from the elementary schools along the way and convened a committee representing each building to get input before finalization.
“We’re excited to incorporate lessons in our elementary classrooms,” Fry told the board.
On Monday, Fry added the new course of study “seeks to intentionally build student vocabulary, consider the needs of diverse learners, and weaves digital wellness throughout grades K-5.”
For example, Fry said the district will be teaching the computer science standards that fall in the category of Network and the Internet – Internet of Things (IoT).
“(The course will) explore the benefits of the IoT with regards to convenience, safety, and health to gain an appreciation of the risks involved in using devices, including data theft, identity theft, tracking and other forms of criminality,” Fry said.
She added the district incorporates several technology standards when students reach fifth grade, including describing legal and responsible practices when utilizing technology; describing the advantages and disadvantages of technology (past, present, future) to understand the relationship between technology, society and the individual; identifying and discussing how the use of technology affects self and others in various ways; and demonstrating how applying human knowledge using tools and machines extends human capabilities to meet our needs and wants.
Fry said the district chose to align the technology and computer science standards because there is a “strong synergy” between the two and because “we believe that the incorporation of both sets of competencies will develop technology literacy while also developing a foundation of computer science principles to help prepare students for continued learning into their middle and high school years.”
The new course of study will go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year.
Glenn Batishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
