Why Google Cares about Computer Science Education

Meetings

Oct 26

Written By Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley

This Meeting’s Highlights

Program: Why Google Cares about Computer Science EducationSpeaker: Abby Bouchon

Meeting for the week of October 26th to November 1st, 2015

Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our meeting!Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 45 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time.Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!

Greetings

Mary Ellen's (Scary) America by Kevin Dooley from Flickr

Message from the President

Boo! We welcome you to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, where we hope cool, innovative, and inspiring ideas will scare you away from complacency!I write you today as I travel to Toronto, Ontario."Ah, that's cool," you say. "You can visit member Chris Cochrane while you're there."Nope, he just left yesterday for some work in Las Vegas. The bad news is that I'll miss seeing him in Canada. The good news is that he's traveling to see us after his work in Casino Country! We're hoping you'll be able to join him, me, and others in the club at a potluck at my house (I'll have returned home) on Saturday, November 7th. Watch your email for more info.The greater point being, we think it's a good idea for everyone to take every opportunity, whether it's a ghost-and-goblin-themed holiday party or a visit from a friend, to enjoy a little goodwill and fellowship.While you're at it, brainstorm a cool way to make the world a better place!Rotarian guests, we ask that you consider contributing something – perhaps what is for you is the regular cost of a Rotary meal, or just any other amount you might be willing to donate. Donations will go directly to power the efforts of our Rotary club. Here are some of the many options you have to complete a donation:

Send via our secure Happy Dollars form.
Send via Google Wallet to: ecsv.rotary@gmail.com
Send via PayPal to: ecsv.rotary@gmail.com
Send a check via snail mail (see below for instructions)

To pay via Google Wallet or PayPal, you'll need to log in to your account with those companies.Those of you who prefer a more traditional approach can mail a check made out to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley to our treasurer: ℅ Allen Thompson, 13500 Cascade Ct., Bakersfield CA 93314.Non-Rotarian guests, you are certainly welcome to help us out too if you would like! Even a small amount can help us make something good happen for someone in need.

Yours in service,

Rushton Hurley,

President

Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley

The Power of Images

We believe that there is power in imagery, and that great photos can inspire in its own unique way. Every week we feature a powerful photo to inspire you.

Photo from Keith Marsh:This image of the New York City skyline was taken from the top of the Empire State Building at dusk. I took it as an HDR image (5 hand-held captures-no tripod allowed). The first step was to convert it to HDR with an app called Photomatix. Then, using the same app, I selected one of the preset options for the partial Black & White image.

The Power of Ideas

Sometimes one good idea is all the power you need to get the engine of creativity moving. We would like to share with you one good idea to help you power your week.

Just in case you're dealing with scary voices inside your head:Make sure your worst enemy doesn't live between your two ears.- Laird Hamilton

The Power of Words

How do we share our messages? The following video is from a copywriting services and brand development firm in Glasgow, and does a strong job of conveying The Power of Words:

Events & Projects

This section of our meeting is where you learn about both recent and upcoming events and projects our club has going on. We welcome guests to all of our events and service projects listed here.

What We Do: Recent Events

Annual San Mateo Rotary's 5K/10K Fun Run at Seal Point Park, San Mateo:

This past Sunday (October 25) five of our members participated in San Mateo Rotary's annual 5K/10K Fun Run, helping raise money for local scholarships for at-need students. Here's a photo of our members with members of the Rotary Club of San Mateo. Great job (from left to right in the front row) Yvonne, Stephen, Mitty, Hardeep, and Andrew (Andrew is second row, far right) for completing the 5K and supporting local scholarships!

What We Do: Upcoming Events

“Meet a Canadian!” Social on Saturday, November 7

On November 7th, member Chris Cochrane from Ontario (Canada) is going to be in the Bay Area, and we’re gathering to spend time with him and each other. This will be a potluck at President Rushton’s house in Santa Clara, and we’d love to have you join in! Watch for more info via email, and feel free to let us know in the comments if you’ll be there.

World Peace Concert on November 14

Member Hardeep Singh noticed this posting about an upcoming Rotary World Peace Concert in San Francisco on November 14th featuring Brett Dennen and Crystal Bowersox. This celebration of peace, awareness and exceptional music will take place in the newly renovated Herbst Theater, the site where the United Nations charter was signed in 1945. To learn more and get tickets, see the Facebook page for the concert.

Christmas with Orphans Opportunity

A principal focus of our club is sharing the stories of those who do innovative work to make life better for others. In late August, we had a presentation by Ashfaq Ishaq of the International Child Art Foundation, and we're happy to learn that their summer camp was a success, and that they will have a "Christmas with Orphans" Winter Camp in Uganda this December 20th-30th. If you know young people who might be interested in this, find out more about the effort at the ICAF project website.

Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck with Rotaract Alumni on Sun. November 22 in Livermore

Our Rotary eClub has been invited to join the Big West Rotaract Alumni Association at their quarterly Rotaract alumni networking event. This particular gig is a pre-Thanksgiving themed potluck at the award-winning Steven Kent Winery in Livermore, California. The purpose of the event is to bring together Rotaract alumni and Rotarians to celebrate the friendships and the memories being in the Rotary/Rotaract family has provided.

- Event Address: Steven Kent Winery, 5443 Tesla Rd Livermore, CA 94550- When: Sunday, November 22, 2015 from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM- Who: Open to all Rotarians, Rotaractors, Rotaract alumni, and guests- Cost: $0 cash price. (Free!) In lieu of money, the hosts are asking that guests bring a dish to contribute for the potluck! (Wine tasting is separate; bring money if you want to do that!)

The World of Rotary

We are part of the Rotary International family with over 1.2 million members in over 180 countries in the world. Rotary’s reach is global. Here are some Rotary initiatives and events we think we should know about.

District Newsletter

Governor Susan Valenta put out the October district newsletter a couple of weeks ago, and it's a nice collection of cool info about the good that Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Interactors from our district are doing locally and globally. Give it a look!

#endpolio

As you know, Rotary, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others, is working to finish off polio as a threat to the world's children. Compared to where we were in the early 1980s, the job is 99.9% done. That last bit, though, still threatens so many.

Let's make polio history!

Service Survey

One piece of being a Rotarian is finding ways – both big and small – to help others. Our members report the good deeds they do and the good efforts in which they participate, not in order to brag, but to remind us of the many possibilities there are for using what we have for those in need.

This is the last week of the month, so if you haven't already done so, make sure to tell us what you've been up to! The idea is to share how we've helped others through time spent volunteering and similar. We'll gather what's submitted to share next week, and let that be a way of inspiring others to serve their communities, too.

The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey

Happy Dollars

Every week we offer the opportunity for guests and members to express their gratitude for something good that has happened to them this past week. Think of this like a digital karma jar.

Got a piece of good news or something fun to share! You can pass that along to the club along with a few dollars for our efforts using the Happy Dollars form, below!

From member Yvonne Kwan ($20):Spent an awesome weekend with amazing Rotaractors in Seattle at the 5th annual Big West Rotaract Conference!From member Linda Tangren ($20):So happy to have survived this year's flu shot. Beware of nurses who say, "you may experience flu-like symptoms"! Felt like the flu to me!

From member Rushton Hurley ($5):Had a great time running a workshop for a group of the Emerging Leaders from TechWomen two weeks ago. These women, from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, will take the ideas, networking, and goodwill from five weeks in Silicon Valley back to their home countries to develop possibilities for their communities. It was a pleasure to share ideas on technology, team building, and learning with them!

Birthdays

While it isn't happening this week, you might wish Camera Czar Keith Marsh a happy birthday, as his is coming up on November 5th. Keith, did you know you share a birthday with Roy Rogers?

The Tidbit

Every week, we feature a new tech tid bit or life hack to make your life more convenient.

While we normally make our own Tidbits, here's a short video to share with some cool science ideas that could even find their way into a Halloween trick:

A Little Humor

We feature a little bit of humor every week because we believe laughter is sometimes the best medicine, and we just want to brighten your day!

In the spirit of this week's program, we have this from LaughingMeme.org:"There are two hard problems in computer science: caching, naming, and off-by-1 errors."

Selected Comments from Last Week

Each week we ask our members and guests to leave a thought or two in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page. This is our chance to get to know each other a little better, engage over the ideas shared in the meetings, and even challenge the speaker with questions.

Here are some of the comments from last week's meeting, with the program by our own Stephen Zhou on why he joined our eclub.

From member Linda Tangren (California, USA):Stephen it was great to put a face to a voice! Enjoyed the presentation and learning more about you.

From member Heather Shaw (California, USA):Stephen thanks for a great presentation. I love knowing about your background and experiences. I have a few patients starting at Davis and will encourage them to check out that fraternity of service. I am also one of the guilty ones for the waiting 'til Sunday for the meeting, but it has become part of my routine, so it works.

From member Yvonne Kwan (California, USA):Stephen, it's been a pleasure getting to know you! I remember meeting you at the Greater Fremont Rotaract meetings, and I'm so glad you joined us in the Rotary world. Love the energy you bring to everything you do. See you in the morning for a Rotary 5K! :)And personally, I like the current schedule that the meetings are released (although, I am one of the guilty ones who sometimes do meetings on Sunday night at 11:50PM...)[Members, there's no harm in waiting until Sunday to do the meeting, as long as you do get to the meeting! - RH]

From member Andrew Taw (California, USA):Thank you for your enthusiasm Stephen! I've only been able to hang out with you once but, as I'm sure everyone who watched your presentation can understand, once was enough for me to think "I gotta be friends with this guy!" Look forward to seeing you soon!

From member François Tessier (Quebec, Canada):Dear Stephen...the power of your presentation takes me back to why I joined the eClub. In fact, I am not a former Rotarian or a young adult, but Rotary inspires me in building humanitarian projects that are important to me. Thank you for your inspiration!

From member Manju Ramachandran (California, USA):I really liked that we broke up the intensity of previous presentations with a more informal meeting to get to know one of our own members! That's so cool. Would love to know a bit more of what kind of financial planning areas you are working in. We should talk offline.

From member Chris Cochrane (Ontario, Canada):The notice (and event) is appreciated about meeting on Nov. 7.  Actually you'll meet two Canadians: myself and my amazing better-half, Liz.  But we wonder... are Canadians an endangered species?  Or is meeting "one" so rare it calls for special recognition?[Members, you heard it here - joining the potluck will allow you to meet TWO Canadians! All for the price of bringing some food, a sense of humor, and a willingness to think up wildly cool ways to save the planet from disaster. Seriously good deal, this is. - RH]

From member Richard Knaggs (Western Cape, South Africa):Hello Stephen. Thanks for the meeting, and well spoken on the fly. I must admit I am still waiting for your phone call ;-p. Great Tidbit Rushton, it is amazing how many people fall for these scams. Please leave the schedule as it is, agree with you 100% Chris.

From member Shags Shagrin (California, USA):Great presentation, Stephen! I really appreciate your enthusiasm for Rotary.

From member Gene Tognetti (California, USA):Thanks Stephen - enjoyed hearing your story and learning more about you!

From member Hardeep Kaur Singh (California, USA):Thanks for telling your story, Stephen! I always love hearing about young professionals in Rotary. I can definitely relate, and I'm sure a lot of other folks around our age can too. Our club is lucky to have someone like you!

From member Catherine Liu (California, USA):Stephen is such a big asset for our club. He even showed up at his high school with his mother around :-) He always has a smile and energy.

From guest* Tzviatko Chiderov (California, USA):Stephen, it was great getting to know you. Thank you for sharing your story!  The Corning Glass video was really cool too. Very appropriate for "Back to the Future" week :)

From guest* Nathan Gildart (Tokyo, Japan):Thank you Stephen, and everyone, for your comments. As a member-to-be I gained a lot from this discussion. Although my father was a Rotarian, and my uncle is still a member, I think the Rotary Club is somewhat misunderstood by many people, hence a need for some kind of awareness raising. (I got involved following a completely unrelated chat with Rushton.)Perhaps Rotarians feel there is a certain braggadocio presumed if one talks about their work with the Rotary Club, even though work is done for the forces of good. As a professional teacher, I also think there is a sense that Rotary membership is more for members of the business community. (Just a feeling I get, and could be off base.) I'd be interested to see a breakdown of members' careers.Along the lines of participation, the eClub model is the only model that works for me. I could never get downtown for a meeting and back to school. The eClub flexibility is THE difference. (I'm on a 3-day autumn break, which is why I can view this meeting on a Wednesday) As much as I'd like to join the Hangouts, the time difference with Tokyo presents a challenge. I'm finding the connections in Rotary to be wonderful. (the RC of Tokyo has a Tohoku Child Care House project I intend to look into, but never would have looked into it had I not been attending these meetings.)I have two former students at Santa Clara. I'd love to pass through and send a phone call to Stephen asking to organize a hook up ...and perhaps try some of the local microbrews. :DThanks for the Corning video - I've already passed it on to faculty. I can see a use for it in someone's class![Nate, you get an award for combining quantity and quality in a very cool post - nicely done. We do have a good range of careers represented in the club, but we also probably have more people as a percentage (and perhaps in raw numbers) focused on education than any other Rotary club in the United States. That's a function of the flexibility. Over time, it may end up being similar with tech company people who can't break away weekly for a meal. We welcome anyone who is excited about service, can devote time (flexibly), and isn't afraid to lead an effort to improve a community! - RH]

The Program

In this week's program, Abby Bouchon of Google will be discussing the company's support of Computer Science (CS) education outreach efforts for underrepresented minorities in K-12 education. We'll take a look at some of Google's recent studies on the landscape of CS education in the United States, and talk through key takeaways about how to increase access and exposure to CS in your community for all students.

Abby works with K12 Education Outreach at Google, whose team mission is to support underrepresented K-12 students around the world by increasing access and exposure to Computer Science (CS). Her work focuses on community development and program management through the Google RISE Awards, a worldwide grant program for nonprofits teaching Computer Science to K-12 students in their communities. Abby also supports Google's research efforts in Computer Science Education. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill where she studied Biology, Chemistry and Entrepreneurship. An avid beekeeper and runner, Abby currently lives in San Francisco.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGx-LprfRjA#Blog Post on Why Google Cares about CS Education Google's website on CS Education Google's research on CS Education Computer Science First (clubs, etc.)National Center for Women and Information Technology Women's Audio Mission TECHNOLOchicas The Connectory Made with Code (from Google)

You’re Almost Done! The Attendance Survey..

Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting! You just have two last things to do before you’re done with this meeting. First, we have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.

Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.

Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you though.

More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below in our DISQUS comments area. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!