Kicking off Year 2 at Cohort Connect

It was wonderful to see our group of 8 returning SkoCode mentors come together as we got to reconnect and share their valuable experience and passion for our work.  We are grateful to Native American Community Academy (NACA) for providing us with classroom space to work, connect and plan for the year.

In addition to community building, we had some dedicated work time to create comprehensive curriculum maps that outline the year's educational journey. Key focus areas include:

• Centering Culture: We shared ideas about how to center culture and language, and bring in CS and AI literacy in meaningful ways.

• AI Literacy: We built a shared understanding of AI concepts, discussed possibilities and risks for Native communities, and designed AI literacy activities for students.

• micro:bit Programming: We got to do some hands-on learning, and discussed ways to bring the fun to the students!

What’s Ahead

Mentors are now spread across Arizona, New Mexico, and South Dakota at their sites, But, they’re committed to continue learning and growing together. We’ll meet virtually on a weekly basis to collaborate, continue developing pedagogical knowledge, and keep up to date on trends in CS education.

In addition to the ongoing cohort-level professional development and support, Indigitize staff has regular 1:1 meetings with each SkoCode mentor. We are beyond excited to start up site visits, where we’ll get hear from students about what they’re most excited about and see the amazing work educators are doing across out network.

Appreciations

A special thank you goes out to The Encantado Foundation for their continued support of this important work. Their partnership helps strengthen and empower our mentors, making our mission possible and impactful. 

We also extend our gratitude to Maȟpíya Black Elk for opening and closing Cohort Connect with beautiful community-building experiences.