Gov. Little launching online computer science course for middle school and high school students
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The following is a news release from Idaho National Laboratory.
BOISE – The Success in Education Foundation, Idaho Technology Council, Office of the Governor, Idaho STEM Action Center, Acahand Foundation, St. Luke’s Health System, and other leaders from industry, government, and education are collaborating on a new initiative.
The partnership is launching Idaho Codes, an online, self-paced, computer science course that teaches students in grades 7-12 statewide how to build websites and develop apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No prior coding experience is required. Urban and rural students alike can access 120 hours of professional-grade curriculum, earn high school and college credit, and find mentorship opportunities. The course typically costs $200, but thanks to donations from the Acahand Foundation and St. Luke’s Health System in partnership with the Idaho STEM Action Center, the first 1,000 students who register will get their fees waived.
Computing literacy is important to the State of Idaho. Computer science is one of the most in-demand college degrees, computing is used throughout many careers, and CS careers are the number-one source of all new wages in the country. In fact, CS jobs account for more than half of all projected job growth in STEM fields. The Education Commission of the States anticipates computing jobs in Idaho will grow 19 percent by 2027.
The Idaho Technology Council is spearheading the industry-led initiative in partnership with the Idaho STEM Action Center. The engine behind it is Salt Lake City nonprofit Success in Education, which offers a similar program throughout Utah and is handling registrations and managing the website for the Idaho initiative. Bottega, an accredited software development school, is providing the best-in-class curriculum approved by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (a division of Cognia) and the American Council on Education.
