Transcript MAXA - The Official Aransas County ISD Website

MAXA
A MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
ACADEMY
FOR ARANSAS COUNTY ISD
RATIONALE
WE LIVE IN A DIGITAL
WORLD WITH A HIGH
DEMAND FOR QUALIFIED
TECHNOLOGY
PROFESSIONALS!
This technology-oriented era
requires a new approach to
learning.
The traditional K-12
curriculum has been slow to
adapt to this.
The demand for qualified
technology professionals
and engineers is at its
highest peak ever and will
continue to increase!
We must start now and start
young in preparing our
students to meet this
demand.
Many technology leaders,
including Microsoft’s Bill
Gates in a recent pep talk to
UT computer science
majors, urge schools to step
up the technology learning
process.
Waiting until college is too
late!
The learning must begin
earlier, and Aransas County
is already leading the way in
South Texas and statewide.
It’s time to take the next
bold step and start younger
with the brightest minds in
the 5th through 8th grades
who are hungry and ready
to learn at this high level.
WHY MATH AND
COMPUTER
SCIENCE?
Because these two
disciplines are the
foundation of the IT world.
One cannot succeed without
the other.
Engineers in all areas must
be fluent in both in order to
be productive and effective
in today’s demanding world.
WHAT WILL BE
TAUGHT?
MAXA will span a variety of
learning threads, including
math fundamentals,
programming, robotics, and
computer ethics.
MAXA will also teach and
develop new calculator
skills, reinforce proper
keyboarding techniques,
and sharpen quick-thinking
mental math and number
sense skills.
MAXA will teach both
individual learning and
team-based cooperative
work, including research
projects using the scientific
method.
MAXA will teach advanced
problem-solving, higher
level thinking skills, and
most of all, teach logical
thinking, a topic largely
ignored in the K-12
curriculum.
HOW WILL IT
BE FUNDED?
A grant proposal has been
submitted to The Education
Foundation to help with
startup and maintenance
costs.
 As a backup, all three involved
campuses, Rockport Fulton
High School, Rockport Fulton
Middle School, and Fulton
Learning Center, have
committed a significant portion
of their CAP money to support
this effort.
HOW WILL
MAXA WORK?
The MAXA class of the top
5th through 8th grade
students in ACISD will meet
for one hour each school
day morning, before the
regular class schedule.
MAXA students will work to
achieve ranks or levels, very
similar to how scouting
works.
Each student will advance at
his/her own pace.
Qualified high school
students will serve as MAXA
mentors and work with the
primary instructor to teach
and guide the MAXA
students.
These high school MAXA
Mentors will be able to use
this experience as an
advanced measure, applied
towards the Distinguished
High School diploma.
MAXA RANK #1
 The first rank will possibly include
the following items:
 Computer Programming – write
a simple output program using
the language QBasic
 Engineering – Build a 9-piece
Lego Dacta Robot and make it
perform simple tasks.
 Keyboarding – Baseline test,
minimum 35 wpm, 60%
accuracy
 Calculator - Learn the basics
of using an RPN engineering
calculator
 Math Fundamentals –
memorize multiplication
tables from 1 X 1 to 12 X 12
 Number Systems – Be able to
count to 32 in base 2 (0, 1,
10, 11, 100, 101, etc.)
 Ethics – Recite by memory
the first 5 commandments of
Ethical Computer Use
 Computer Basics – Be able to
identify the external and
internal parts of a computer
 Networking - Learn how to
terminate a CAT5 network
cable with an RJ45 jack.
 Logic - Solve a simple logic
problem.
Research - In a team setting,
conduct a simple research
project using the scientific
method.
HOW ARE STUDENTS
SELECTED?
We are currently at the end
of a process in selecting
students from the
elementary and middle
school ranks to be the
charter members of MAXA.
 Earlier this semester, teachers
at Fulton and RFMS nominated
over 60 children for MAXA.
 A screening process was
implemented, looking at
grades, test scores,
attendance, and discipline
records.
59 Students who passed the
first step were sent
application packets.
38 completed packets were
submitted.
A final interview process is
currently underway to
finalize the selection process
and choose the final 20
MAXA students, a limit
dictated by available lab
space.
Invitations to join MAXA will
be sent by the end of this
month.
MAXA begins on the first
day of school in August.
MAXA
It’s going to be a
great adventure!