Data Privacy 101
What Every Teacher Needs to Know About AI Tools & Data When I first heard about data privacy, it felt like an abstract concern. Like something for IT departments to handle. But as I’ve learned, it’s also up to teachers to protect our students in the digital age, especially with the rise of generative AI…
Microsoft Supports CS Program & Workshops
For the last three years, KCI’s Computer Science Crash Course for Educators has been a hit with educators who want to learn more about how to integrate CS into their curriculum and classrooms. And last September, the State Board of Education adopted California’s first-ever computer science standards. Although not mandatory, these standards are expected to…
Popular FAME Program Expands to East Bay
KCI is extending the reach of its math professional learning program, FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence), for middle and high school teachers. After nine years of recruiting teachers from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, FAME will take place in Alameda at Saint Philip Nerit Catholic School with the intent of reaching more teachers…
New KCI Makerspace Initiative: Corporate Team Building
KCI was fortunate to receive a two-year grant from the state chancellor’s office through the California Community Colleges Maker Initiative. The grant is coming to an end, and KCI is actively pursuing ways to fund the makerspace moving forward. Luckily, KCI has an advisory board with creative members, and at the winter meeting, the idea…
CIO Program: A New Breed of Education Execs
KCI kicked off its first Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) program in summer 2018. Seventeen educators from across the state participated in this 27-unit program that trains educators to fill a real need at the school district level—a new breed of cabinet-level educational leaders who are also sufficiently trained in IT infrastructure. With appropriately trained leaders,…
Two Makerspace Coordinator Cohorts Graduate
Makerspaces are rapidly being implemented by schools, school districts, libraries, and community centers throughout the Bay Area, creating a need for trained staff to plan, implement, and run these spaces. KCI founded its own makerspace in 2017 and shortly after launched a new state-approved certificate—Makerspace Coordinator. This 10-month, 18-unit program is designed for people who…
Upping the Ante in Math PD
KCI doubled down on math professional development this summer. Not only was the FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence) program for middle and high school teachers offered for the ninth year, but KCI also launched EMPowered, a new math PD program specifically for 4th and 5th grade teachers. FAME is a blended program that consists…
MERIT 2018 Update & 2016 Retrospective
The MERIT program continued to shine this July as 44 educators started the 2018 program, a 10-month journey to transform their teaching. They represent districts from across the Bay Area and California. While the two-week Summer Institute is rigorous and demanding, it is only the start of the journey as participants will attend four follow-up…
KCI Launches New CIO Program for Educators
School districts across California face a critical staffing gap that can impact whether they are able to adequately prepare students for the future. To take full advantage of technology integration in the classroom, districts obviously need the infrastructure, but what is often lacking is the staff who understand both the back-end hardware and network side…
KCI’s Popular Crash Course Hits the Road
KCI successfully conducted two Computer Science Crash Course workshops for educators last summer, sponsored by Google’s CS4HS initiative. Over 60 teachers participated and the feedback was positive with high teacher satisfaction levels. As a result, the Infosys Foundation has selected KCI’s CS Crash Course to be included as one of the offered programs at its…
KCI Develops New FAME Program for 4th & 5th Grade Teachers
KCI has conducted the hands-on, technology infused FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence) program since 2010. In that time, 6th through 10th grade teachers from across the Bay Area, with largenumbers from east side San Jose school districts, have taken advantage of the program to increase their math content knowledge and improve their teaching practice…