EIU Rural School Initiative

Pathways to the Future: 
Planning the Southeastern Illinois P-16+
Computational Thinking Network

Suzie Bosler's 3rd Grade is one of six pilot classrooms selected to integrate a 7-10 week Computational Thinking program of  instruction in her classroom. This is part of the Southeastern Illinois P-16+ Computational Thinking Network which is funded by the Illinois Innovation Network.

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Pilot Classrooms Grant

The Southeastern Illinois P-16+ Computational Thinking Network accepted applications through October 12, 2022, to fund six pilot projects. The grant awarded $4000 to six teachers. Each teacher proposed their own 7 to10 week program. The funds are to purchase supplies, equipment, and training needed. Items purchased will stay with the school.

The original proposal is just the basic concept, detailed plans are not expected to begin with. Funded classrooms will have time and support to set up actual activities.

The expectations are to integrate short Computer Science/STEAM activities into your classes or a club. The final project will include:

• Short lessons involving problem solving and Computer Science activities

• Lessons integrating either Drones, Robots, or Circuits 

• The hands-on project will utilize skills from the coding activities to automate activities

• Finally, the teacher and students will host some type of sharing. This could be a school extravaganza for other teachers, a family night, or a community presentation

The application is simple and should be about 1 page.

During the grant, period teachers will collect lots of photos and posts. At the conclusion, a final one-page report. It will summarize the classroom experiences.

Timeline

• October 1st RFP available

• October 5th at 5 pm Central - online Zoom Session for Questions will be recorded and create a FAQ page. Will share ideas and examples, Will open a discussion question board

• Oct 12 - applications due

• Oct 18 - announce pilot classrooms and schedule initial meeting to plan their program

• Oct 19 or soon after begin student activities

• Jan 1 - 13 continue activities which includes a community sharing event

• Jan 27- teachers will provide summary and reflections on their experience (with photos/video)

If you have any questions, please contact Brian Reid (bdreid2@eiu.edu) or Terry Sullivan (tsullivan@eiu.edu).

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The purpose of this group is to develop a regional network of educators and stakeholders to support computational thinking and the new CS standards across the region. We also want to provide opportunities for students of all ages to visit locations that use these standards in the workplace.

The Illinois Innovation Network has provided preliminary funding to support the planning and network development as part of their seed grants.  

Communication: Facebook Page (@SoutheasternIllinoisComputationalThinkingNetwork)  

Initial Leadership Teams 

• James Munger (Lakeland College)  
• Ikemefuna Nwosu (Lakeland College)   
• George Reese (MSTE Center @ UIUC)    
• Brian Reid (Rural School Initiative @ EIU)  
• Terence Sullivan (Rural School Initiative @ EIU)  

Tasks  

• Develop P-16 planning team representative of the area and organize discussions across the region   
• Develop needs assessment and evaluation for educators and stakeholders  
• Plan and implement general PD and site visits  
• Develop workgroups –  
• Elementary 
• Secondary 
• Post-secondary/workforce development 
• Education & Business Partnerships 
• Develop resource database with online resources (Prototype site)   
• Summer 2022- focused PD for each group  
• Fall 2022 – 1-2 pilot groups in each workgroup.    

If you are interested in updates or to participate, please signup here. If you have any questions, please send to Brian Reid (bdreid2@eiu.edu)