Computer Science Opportunities, Development, and Education in Rural Schools View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Keri Franklin,  Diana Piccolo,  Judith Martinez,  Andrew Homburg  

During the post-Pandemic era it was evident that the digital literacy became an essential skill for success and stay connected to a community. This is when a group of five faculty members: Dr. Keri Franklin, Dr. Diana Piccolo, Dr. Tammi Davis, Dr. Razib Iqbal, Dr. Andrew Homburg, and Dr. Judith Martínez from Missouri State University who were awarded a four million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Our main objective is to expand and improve, computer science education while teaching in different content areas in rural schools. We seek to promote integrative pedagogical practices that involve STEAM areas into their everyday teaching. We have named this project Computer Science Opportunities, Development, and Education in Rural Schools (CODERS). We represent three colleges, The College of Arts and Letters, College of Applied and Natural Sciences, and College of Education. We offer expertise in six disciplines: Computer Sciences, Physics, Math Writing, Literature and Language, Music, and Education. We have worked with two cohorts of rural teachers from Missouri, USA, 33 educators. We provide them with tools, artifacts and professional development training and guidance to offer integrative pedagogical STEAM practices that students from specific populations, such as low socio-economic status and other disadvantages that neoliberal practices leave excluded in our society. Thus the goal is to reach out and bridge the gap for those students and educators who otherwise would not have.