The National Science Foundation has just awarded CAITE a new grant to extend its reach across the state and expand its work to diversify participation in IT education and Massachusetts' innovation economy. Starting in 2009, 3 central Massachusetts public institutions (University of Massachusetts Lowell, Worcester State College, and Middlesex Community College) will become new partners. Each current region will also add a new campus--Northern Essex Community College in the east; Bridgewater State College in the southeast; and Greenfield Community College in the west--increasing to 15 the alliance partners. See more

CAITE continues to work on forging clear and nurturing educational pathways for students pursuing IT and computer science from middle school through college. The eastern region hosted two transfer meetings this fall, and the western region hosted an articulation summit--all of which brought together educators and transfer admissions staff. The eastern region is focusing on developing three introductory courses that could be offered at either high schools or community colleges, for college credit, to prepare students for more advanced classes. The western region is looking at a variety of approaches, including articulation with UMass Amherst's IT minor program and creating articulation agreements with computer information systems programs. All these efforts are designed to dovetail with the statewide initiative "MassTransfer," which will integrate and replace the Commonwealth Transfer Compact, Joint Admissions, and the Tuition Advantage Program into a single transfer policy. Watch the CAITE website for info about upcoming meetings; for info on MassTransfer, see http://www.mass.edu/home.asp

Hundreds of high schoolers explore IT careers at UMass Boston
UMass Boston was the site of the third annual Information Communication Technologies (ICT) Careers Day on November 25. More than 300 high school students and their teachers participated in workshops that covered topics from entrepreneurship to engineering careers, and GIS (geographic information systems) to RFID (radio frequency identification). Eight high schools from Boston to Lawrence brought students for the morning-long event, which also introduced students to computing majors and college possibilities. Participation by 11 industry professionals and several corporate sponsors allowed students to imagine themselves in real-world careers. More info.

IT Open House draws Springfield Tech CC Students
iJava adopted across Massachusetts
More than 100 high school students in 8 high schools across the state are learning introductory Java programming with the help of the iJava interactive textbook, thanks to a collaborative effort supported by CAITE. Teachers trained this summer are using iJava, and a dozen or so students who successfully complete a yearlong course may be eligible for college credit from UMass Amherst. Springfield Technical Community College also plans to adopt iJava in a programming course this spring. For more information about iJava, see http://iJava.cs.umass.edu/index.html.  If you are interested in an iJava workshop in your area or in using iJava in your classes, contact CAITE

Artbotics, a project launched at UMass Lowell, brings art and robotics together to interest students in design and technology. Watch the CAITE website for details about a summer 2009 workshop for educators who may want to adopt the Artbotics model at their college, after-school program, and/or museum. More info