I鈥檝e seen this in my own community. Parents like me are feeling nervous about education given the last few years of inconsistency. Our educators are also feeling that and other burdens. It seems like instead of getting lighter, in a post-COVID world, this weight is getting heavier.

A study by the earlier this year found that 44% of public schools reported either a full- or part-time vacancy. Meanwhile, found that 53% of elementary to high school public schools felt understaffed entering this school year.

Teacher burnout is another issue. A found that K-12 workers鈥� rates of burnout was higher than all other industries across the country, outpacing even healthcare and law. According to a 2022 , only slightly more than half of teachers are satisfied with their jobs, and only 12% are very satisfied,聽 which compares to 39% 10 years ago.

Research also paints a concerning picture of the pandemic鈥檚 impact on students. , using data from 5.4 million U.S students in grades three to eight,聽 found a 鈥渟izeable drop鈥� in reading and math test scores. The authors note that the math dip is larger than the estimated impact from other school disruptions, like Hurricane Katrina.

Is New Technology a Tool to Improve Engagement and Teacher Satisfaction?

Technology has played an increasing role in education. It has kept it afloat in many ways, but has it made it better? I believe that there are new technologies that may be able to help classrooms improve.

Case in point is a study, which found a strong association between the quality of digital learning tools and student outcomes. Put differently, the higher the quality of the technology, the stronger the connection to better student outcomes.

The Skill Immersion Lab

麻豆原创, in partnership with JFFLabs, a unit of national education nonprofit JFF, and spatial computing company Talespin, launched the Skill Immersion Lab in 2021. The program utilizes virtual reality (VR) headsets and top-notch immersive learning modules to train students in essential skills, like communication, problem solving and leadership.

Last year, we found that the program increased learner confidence, improved their ability to express ideas, and improved empathetic communication, among other findings. Key, and especially relevant today, in the Skill Immersion Lab, educators are freed up to better support student learning. This puts educators in a different role of guiding and supporting learners instead of being responsible for the design and implementation of classroom activities.

This year we rolled out the program at two new sites. Our results confirmed the findings from last year: The vast majority of students who participated in the program were significantly more satisfied with their education experiences, felt an increased sense of belonging, were engaged more with their work, and improved their communication skills.

In the words of Michelle, an educator from Arizona, 鈥淭hat’s what educators dream. Students owning their education, their skills, their abilities, and really understanding that they’re capable of so much more.鈥�

Jalen, an educator from Ohio, said, 鈥淚 felt like [the Skill Immersion Lab] opened my eyes to a new side of educational tools. There’s books and Googles and YouTube videos, but sometimes engagement is the hardest part with kids. So something like this technology, it meets that engagement tenfold, at least gets them started and ready for something interesting鈥�.鈥�

Breaking Down Year Two Outcomes

From the outset of the program, we saw impressive results. For instance, there was a 148% improvement in communication skills practiced during the very first VR lesson that learners completed.

Looking holistically at the program, 85% of students who completed the program felt they learned more about communication skills through these virtual reality lessons. Eighty eight percent of students felt engaged while experiencing and discussing virtual reality lessons, and 84% enjoyed their experience in the program.

As a senior from Arizona put it, 鈥淲e’re learning skills without even knowing that we’re learning skills. I think that’s a better way of learning.鈥�

When students are happy, engaged, and passionate about their learning experience, everyone, especially teachers, reap the rewards.

One learner said, 鈥淚 feel like it was a little more engaging than a classroom setting would be, as I get to experience what an actual interaction would be like.鈥�

With time, our goals for the Skill Immersion Lab have evolved: To help change students鈥� relationships with education to foster greater engagement and enjoyment. As Michelle said, 鈥淪tudents are engaged in their learning, they’re taking ownership of their learning.鈥�

Jalen also noted that he thinks 鈥渢he students got a new perspective on education鈥� and that it 鈥渕ade teaching a lot more interesting for me.鈥�

One unintended outcome from Skill Immersion Lab we鈥檙e seeing is that this type of learning increases a student鈥檚 sense of belonging. Another longtime time partner, 100kin10, has also completed important work on the importance of belonging in the classroom. the feeling of belonging was the most important predictor of whether a student persevered in STEM education.

In terms of our future with Skill Immersion Lab, Priya Chowdhary, Skill Immersion Lab program lead at JFFLabs, sums this up best: 鈥淲e look to scale this program in close collaboration with learners and educators themselves. They are at the center of this process and JFF together with 麻豆原创 will continue to look to them as experts as we build a future of immersive learning that is equitable, effective, and engaging for all.鈥�

Katie Booth is head of 麻豆原创 North America Corporate Social Responsibility.

I think of my own experience in high school. Two of my favorite classes were physics and chemistry. These classes relied on technical skills and computational thinking, along with experiments and hands-on activities that engaged me. I remember the thrill of seeing the pieces come together in my head and how that translated to our world. I felt a connection to the classroom and the material, all of which was made possible by teachers who made me feel like I belonged there and supported my excitement.

Of course, we are living in a different world from then. The pandemic has contributed to increasing stress among . It has had a similar effect on and has likely exacerbated many of the disparities and hardships that already existed in education.

Next week kicks off , which is aimed at inspiring students to 鈥渓earn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field.鈥�

With education, we often focus on students. However, I think we are doing a disservice to our teachers if we keep our focus too narrow. It is, after all, our teachers who are at the center of a learner鈥檚 experience — particularly in fields that are not usually a part of core courses, such as computer science.

Despite computer science being foundational to many jobs today 鈥� and 鈥� only in the U.S offer at least one foundational computer science course, according to data compiled by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition, Computer Science Techers Association, and Expanding Computing Education Pathways. This is up from 47% last year, but still means nearly half of public high schools in the U.S. are not offering basic computer science courses.

What鈥檚 more, disparities persist. This is particularly the case in rural and urban schools, and schools with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Also, high school students currently enrolled in foundational computer science classes are female.

It鈥檚 up to all of us to take action to address the computer science education disparity.

Support for the Computer Science Teachers Association

I鈥檝e admired the Computer Science Teachers Association () for a long time. It is a community of computer science teachers led by educators that share the latest best practices in K-12 computer science education across the U.S. and Canada. Not only are they focused on creating a strong environment to support K-12 educators, they鈥檙e also committed to equity in their community and for the students these educators serve.

Specifically, 麻豆原创 is supporting CSTA鈥檚 Computer Science Honor Society, a program that will award funding to local community projects that encourage elementary, middle, and high school students to explore computer science and learn about pathways outside of the classroom. The focus is bringing this computational thinking off the screen and into the real world.

In a recent Instagram Live, I spoke with Jen Rosato, 2021 CSEdWeek Committee Chair and Past Chair, CSTA Board of Directors, about the importance of building community and how we as individuals can all support computer science education and teachers. The perspective Rosato was able to share was both insightful and valuable, and I encourage you to .

Support for NAF

NAF is a network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college and career-ready. 麻豆原创 has partnered with NAF since 2016, and in that time, we have collaborated on a number of workforce readiness and IT pathway support programs, impacting approximately 500,000 students across the U.S.

In 2021, we continued the partnership by supporting a key initiative: The Academy of Information Technology (AOIT) Curriculum Collaborative Lab. There are currently 115 computer science of IT pathways within the NAF network. This incredible group of computer science teachers are creating and piloting new computer science content as it is developed. Examples of this work include NAF鈥檚 Passport to Tech and Passport to Engineering Expeditions, which inspire students to imagine innovative solutions to real-world issues in partnership with career experts. Topics covered include space, artificial intelligence (AI), eco-tech, virtual reality, creative coding, and user experience (UX). The program is built around one underlying premise: that it will help students better connect with the content.

Building Partnerships for the Future

There is plenty of work to be done, and our work does not stop with these two impactful programs. Other organizations making an impact in the field of computer science we鈥檙e proud to be supporting include Ignite Worldwide, Jobs for the Future, four early college high schools that 麻豆原创 has been supporting for nearly a decade, and 100Kin10. We鈥檙e also proud to be advancing data science with the 49ers in a new partnership we announced this year.

As a major technology company dependent on software development, 麻豆原创 has a duty and vested interest in preparing the future workforce, particularly in this field.

Technology is changing incredibly fast, and society becoming more reliant on it. If computer science is not accessible to every student, and if we鈥檙e not building bridges between computer science educators and the people using this technology every day, we will have a workforce wholly unprepared for the jobs of tomorrow.

One of our most fundamental corporate social responsibility goals is to ensure this outcome never comes to fruition.

Katie Booth is head of 麻豆原创 North America Corporate Social Responsibility.