Computer science principles and the CS 10K initiative

Abstract

Welcome once again to ACM Inroads and its 2012 June issue that marks the continuation of excellence in the third year of ACM's computing education magazine. This June issue also marks a formal level of dissemination for the Computer Science Principles project. Amy Briggs and Larry Snyder, guest editors for this special issue, have assembled an exciting collection of stimulating articles all focused upon the National Science Foundation initiatives Computer Science Principles and CS 10K, which have been underway since 2009. The articles on the CS Principles and CS 10K theme form a tapestry of innovative thinking; the challenge is to create more educational opportunities in computing for more students. This topic forms the basis of this special issue of ACM Inroads. Jan Cuny of NSF has written a Critical Perspective where she appeals for innovative ways of thinking about computing and computer science. She not only seeks to garner support for the Principles project as part of a concepts-rich computer science curriculum, but also to work towards a goal of having this curriculum taught by ten thousand well-prepared computer science teachers in ten thousand high schools. I will not attempt to summarize the contents of the special section of this publication. Instead, I direct you to the preface to the special section by Briggs and Snyder that provides an overview of both the CS Principles and the CS 10K projects. The preface also contains brief summaries of the articles appearing in the special section.