MaSSSoftech

College of Computing Receives $2.5 Million for Operation Reboot
ATLANTA--(Business Wire)--
In today`s economy, unemployment rates have spiked and out-of-work professionals
are forced to either join the thousands looking for jobs or seek new career
paths. Through a recent $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation,
the Georgia Tech College of Computing will mitigate the stress of joblessness
for unemployed information technology (IT) professionals over the next three
years. Operation Reboot, as the project is aptly titled, will transform an
initial set of 30 IT workers in Georgia into high school computing teachers. The
initiative began September 1.

Operation Reboot will combine Georgia Tech's innovative high school computing
teacher training program and the successful Georgia Teacher Alternative
Preparation Program (GaTAPP) to pair an IT worker with an existing computing
teacher. They will co-teach at least two computing classes for one year,
allowing the IT professional to learn the ins and outs of a classroom and the
teacher to get an education in IT. Simultaneously, the IT worker will receive an
initial teaching certificate and a computer science endorsement, a special area
of expertise for teachers to add on to their certification.

"A teacher's motivation, self efficacy, job satisfaction and commitment to
teaching are closely linked with their professional identity," Barbara Ericson,
Director of Computing Outreach at the College of Computing and principal
investigator for Operation Reboot, said. "Through the teacher workshops at
Georgia Tech, courses needed for certification, co-teaching and mentoring we
will transform these IT worker's identity into that of a computing teacher."

Operation Reboot ultimately aims to improve the computing education of 4,600
students over the next three years by increasing the number of well trained
computing teachers and the number of computing classes being offered. By
creating highly engaging curricular materials, improving the content and
educational knowledge of computing teachers, Georgia Tech expects the number of
students receiving a computing education to increase by at least 30 percent.
This is especially important for the economy and students interested in
computing careers, as jobs in the field are expected to be some of the fastest
growing through 2016.

With computing a critical component of every American business, the need for
innovative, skilled IT professionals is more vital than ever. The demand for IT
professionals, as predicted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is not
currently being met by computer science enrollments in American universities and
the United States still faces a tough challenge in remaining competitive in
overall science and technology education.

Georgia Tech will publish results of the project and share materials with other
states to serve as a model on how to successfully transform unemployed IT
workers into high school computing teachers.

About the Georgia Tech College of Computing

The Georgia Tech College of Computing is a national leader in the creation of
real-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress.
With its graduate program ranked 9th nationally by U.S. News and World Report,
the College`s unconventional approach to education is defining the new face of
computing by expanding the horizons of traditional computer science students
through interdisciplinary collaboration and a focus on human centered solutions.
For more information about the Georgia Tech College of Computing, its academic
divisions and research centers, please visit http://www.cc.gatech.edu.





Georgia Tech College of Computing
Stefany Wilson, 404-894-7253
stefany@cc.gatech.edu