On March 10, 2017, the Center for Career and Workforce Programs at Skyline College participated in the Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) Computer Science Fair hosted at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. This event brought together 800 students from 15 high schools around the Bay Area who have been learning advanced placement computer science (CS) courses as a result of participation in the TEALS program. The TEALS Computer Science Fair is a capstone event that provides a site for students to learn more about college and career paths in the computer science pathway. Student participants were able to attend panel discussions and presentations that spoke about traditional and nontraditional CS careers, high school internships and CS in higher education. Students also participated in interactive workshops put together by Code Day, LinkedIn and Microsoft’s Garage.
Skyline College staff Claudia Paz and Elizabeth Tablan hosted an informational and engaging booth promoting Skyline College’s programs in Network Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering. Other educational institutions that also joined included UC Berkeley’s EECS Department, Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford. In addition, students were able to speak with top Silicon Valley technology companies to connect their CS knowledge to real life careers. Companies in attendance were CodeHS, Meyer Sound Laboratories, Mission Bit, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Zillow, Hacker Fund, HERE, and Electronic Arts.
Skyline College Engineering Professor Nick Langhoff joined our efforts at the fair by being part of the CS Higher Education panel session and sharing his expertise in electrical engineering and computer systems. He was also able to share information about the Engineering and Tech Scholars Program and the Fabrication Lab at Skyline College. Langhoff also shared his experiences being a Skyline College alumni with the high school students who visited the Skyline College booth.
The TEALS program helps high schools throughout the United States gain exposure to CS and creates literacy to advance technology. TEALS pairs trained CS professionals with high school teachers to co-teach CS courses. TEALS was started in 2009 by Microsoft employee Kevin Wang, who developed and ran the program in his spare time, and is supported by Microsoft Philanthropies.
For more information about the TEALS Computer Science Fair, please contact Director for the Center for Career and Workforce Programs, Andrea Vizenor at vizenora@smccd.edu
Article by Elizabeth Tablan | Photo by Claudia Paz
