The Tata Consultancy Services, (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, recently launched Ignite My Future in School in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). As early adopters of this system, DISD teachers will receive professional development, educational resources and year-round support to integrate computational thinking into core subjects such as math, sciences, arts and social studies. In turn, students will learn foundational skills for 21st century careers across industries through this transdisciplinary approach.
The Ann M Richards STEAM Academy Middle School in Dallas, will serve as a ‘lighthouse school,’ acting as the opening hub and eventual archetype for the regional initiative. local teachers and parents will have the opportunity to apply computational thinking at the Day of Discovery and Community Night events. The DISD includes more than 2,100 teachers and 32,000 middle school students who could potentially benefit from the programme.
Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science enrollment and attainment in the district are below the national average, while salaries for a career in computer science nearly doubles all professions in the region. Ignite My Future in School hopes to address the disparity by developing relevant skills for 21st century job opportunities, particularly the new digital economy, with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT).
On a National level, Ignite My Future in School has a goal of engaging 20,000 teachers and one million US students by 2021. As a first step towards this goal, TCS and Discovery Education announced that 10 US school systems across the country — with more than 6,700 teachers and 194,000 students — joined the effort as early adopters of this transdisciplinary approach in a five-year educator training and learning commitment to help empower middle school teachers. These select schools will experience the unique opportunity to learn and apply computational thinking through an annual free day of professional development for educators and community night for parents.
TCS and Discovery Education have also launched an online programme, TECHademy, which will engage teachers nationwide in an exclusive, cost-free, virtual professional development experience that includes curriculum resources, elearning courses, webinars, and more. These resources are aligned to national standards, as well as the recently launched K-12 Computer Science Framework.