ISTE NCWIT Panel


June 24, 2017 San Antonio ISTE CTN CS Firehose

  • Aspirations panel Hosted by Jannie Fernandez
    • Jannie is the NCWIT K-12 Alliance Manager and TECHNOLOchicas Program Manager. She obtained her BS in special education with a focus on learning disabilities from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Prior to moving to Colorado, Jannie taught various Science subjects, including Biology and Physics, and also served as Special Education Department Head for a public high school in Miami.  She continued to work with students with disabilities at the University of Colorado Boulder, coordinating accommodation services through the Disability Services office.
  • Aspirations winners include Morgan King, Corrina Alcoser and Adrianna Lopez
    • Morgan is a Computer Science major at Trinity University, graduating in 2020, and is the Women in Computing club Treasurer. She was a National Runner-Up for the Aspirations in Computing Award in 2015 and 2016.  Moran is currently interning at Globalscape in San Antonio, TX.  Her field of  interest is bioinformatics.
    • Adriana was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico where she spent her first 15 years of her life. In Puerto Rico, she participated in programs such as CS4Girls (Computer Science for Girls), SWE (Society for Women in Engineering) and AOSA (Arecibo Observatory Space Academy). Later on, she worked as teacher assistant in AOSA. Her interest in CS started when she discovered that you can code art, her passion. In the 9th grade she decided to sign up for the NCWIT Aspirations Award and she got an honorable mention, which motivated her to go for the award again in the 10th grade. She won the award this semester, and received it in Houston. Now she lives in Houston, Texas looking for more opportunities to participate in. Currently she is studying at the Cywoods High School. She is interested in studying computer science. Her goal in life is to become an animation director. Adriana also has several hobbies. She has studied the violin for over 11 years, which has earned her a place in the CyWoods Symphony Orquestra. She has also been taking art seriously for over 5 years, creating a beta comic called Quantum Physics. Her professional blog sites include:
      Instagram: (aliens_and_drawings)  and Youtube: (aliens and what)
  • Teacher of the Year Trenton Hall
    • Trenton Hall has been a teacher and cross country coach at Brenham High School for 15 years. He began the first computer science classes at Brenham in 2013. Hall has been recognized for bringing innovative learning into the classroom and leading his students in programming, 3D printing and design, prosthetic development, and many other real-world applications. In 2016, Hall was named one of 16 national finalists for the Allen Distinguished Educator Award. He was also named Brenham High School and Brenham ISD Teacher of the Year for 2016. He was selected as the 2016 We Teach CS Texas CS Change Maker. His classes have been featured on KHOU, USA Today, and news outlets across the globe.
  • Aspiration coordinators include Joe Kmoch and Karen North

KNOWLEDGE IS ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS,
THE MORE QUESTIONS THE MORE KNOWLEDGE

Discussion ideas enhanced with audience questions:

  1. What kind of experiences did you have in school or out of school that motivated you to learn more about CS?
  2. What advice would you give the teachers in our audience about messages or strategies they can use to encourage more girls to experience CS.
  3. If there was one thing you would advise teachers to AVOID doing when it comes to motivating girls to engage in CS, what would that be?
  4. Do you have any role models in computing? What makes someone an effective role model for young girls today?
  5. What role did your family play in your decision to pursue technology?
  6. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a young woman with aspirations in computing, science or technology? If you could go back, what advice would you give to yourself?
  7. What impact has the Aspirations award made in the goals of NCWIT?
  8. What are your favorite programs NCWIT provides to inspire females to study computing?
  9. What inspired you to apply for the NCWIT Aspirations award and what impact has winning the award made on you?
  10. How has winning the NCWIT teacher award made a difference in your computer science program?
  11. What inspires you to be an NCWIT Coordinator and What impact has this made in computing outreach in your community?