The MagPi - July 2018

raspberrypi.org/magpi July 2018 13

GoPiGo

BrickPi

LEGO MINDSTORMS + RASPBERRY PI

20+ new projects for your Pi robot car.

http://www.dexterindustries.com

NEW COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSE FOR IRISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS News

NEW COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSE FOR

he third element of the Irish government’s

computer science curriculum will be trialled in

September, and the Computer Science Teachers’

Association of Ireland (CSTAI) is ready with resources

to help teach the new Leaving Certificate, Computer

Science course.

Following the previous Junior Certificate short

courses in Coding and Digital Media Literacy, the new

course aims to “develop an appreciation of the diverse

roles of computing technology in society and the

environment in which [students] live,” according to

CSTAI President Stephen Murphy.

The course specification outlines that “embedded

systems (such as the Raspberry Pi) will play a central

role in the practical component of this subject,”

explains Stephen.

He tells us that “over 200 schools applied for the

Leaving Certificate, Computer Science pilot scheme,”

of which 40 were selected. The Leaving Certificate,

Computer Science “will open as an elective subject for

all schools to offer if they so wish” in September 2020.

Supporting teachers

While the Irish government has been described

as providing “excellent” support for teachers

wishing to teach any of the three courses, the CSTAI

supplements that with “hundreds of teaching

resources (PowerPoints, worksheets, videos, etc.) for

coding, computer science, digital media, and general

computing courses,” Stephen reveals.

Access to these resources is free for CSTAI

members; to become a member, visit magpi.cc/dTiylU

or email [email protected].

The CSTAI was founded in November 2017 and has

“over 440 members from Ireland, UK, New Zealand,

and Dubai,” says Stephen.

T

Computer Science Teachers’

Association of Ireland helps

schools prepare

Above The CSTAI supports teachers of computer science, coding,

and digital media literacy

IRISH SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

Below The CSTAI collaborates with other organisations,

including CoderDojo; CSTAI President Stephen Murphy

meets CoderDojo’s Tara McGrath and the team from

the Cork Institute of Technology CoderDojo