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Overview

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Overview

In search of an answer to our project essential question, "How can we increase exposure and access to computer science for ALL kindergarten through high school students?", the Computer Science for Muncie Schools (or CS4MS+) project is made up of a team of immersive learning students who have connections to or are interested in computer science or computer technology. 

Our mission in CS4MS+ is to educate and encourage all K-12 students in the exploration of computer science and computational thinking by interacting with students, their educators, and the community.

We will accomplish this goal by providing resources, personal insights, and activities that will engage younger generations and help reinforce these concepts in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Furthermore, we will increase community involvement and awareness of the resources provided by CS4MS+ to allow our efforts to continue beyond this semester.

Research suggests that social and cultural factors may be behind the under-representation of many demographics in STEM fields, and in particular Computer Science (CS). As a result, students have little idea what it means to be a computer scientist and lose the opportunity to become one.

To facilitate this project, we partnered with a variety of local schools. They serve students from diverse backgrounds who frequently do not have the resources available to participate in CS and Computational Thinking (CT) activities.

The focus of this immersive learning course is to expose our partners' students, especially underrepresented minorities and females, to CS and CT. This project aims to assist the teachers by curating, developing, and documenting lessons and activities that incorporate CS and CT experiences for their students, which can ultimately lead to future STEM opportunities and careers for these students.

We encourage you to explore the various pages (see buttons to the right) to learn more about our efforts, and why we were selected as one of the recipients of the 2020 Immersive Learning Faculty Awards. The purpose of these awards is to recognize faculty for demonstrating excellence in the creation, mentoring, and execution of immersive learning projects. Our mentor, Dave Largent, fully acknowledges that he could not have accomplished any of this with out the interest and support of our BSU participants, our community partners, and the support of many levels of administrators at Ball State University. We also are very grateful for the generous funding provided to us through the Provost Immersive Learning Grant program.

Overview