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Abstract - In today's society, technology is considered a normal part of everyday life. Where technology was once considered a privilege, today it's something expected, especially within the educational system. Students in the 21st century have access to technology like never before. It is integrated throughout their entire world; everything they know probably has some technology related to it. Even adults are frequently outsmarted by their young children when it comes to technology. It is one virtue to know how to use technology, but to create technology is a completely different world. The young generations of today have no issues in learning the use of technology, however, many of them are never introduced to the power of creating technology. In the rural south, the state of Alabama is trying to change this. Recently, Alabama became the 15th state in the U.S. to have the State Board of Education adopt Computer Science standards for the K-12 curriculum. . Now that these standards have been established, the journey from adoption to implementation begins. How will tomorrow's teachers receive the appropriate training to teach Computer Science across the curriculum, especially in Alabama schools? This study follows two professors from Athens State University in Athens, Alabama as they collaborate and develop a plan and program to address the critical need for computer science teachers in K-12 schools.
Keywords - Computer Science education, certification, K-12 education
1Introduction
Today's world is much different than what it once was. People once joked about how in the future robots might take over jobs, but now this is reality, and a reality that society needs to understand and prepare for. Robots are not born, but created. People are still involved in their manufacturing and programming that allow them to do what must be done to accomplish tasks, but the more automation in the world, the more productivity. In 2002, over 50% of the job market consisted of non-digital jobs with an average salary of $30,000. In 2016, those numbers dropped by almost half and nearly 25% of job opportunities are now highly digital with an average salary of $70,000 [10]. Even with the shift that has taken place in society, still many students are not introduced to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)...