Educators From Loudoun County Virginia Learn Computational Thinking Approaches Through New Professional Development Initiative
District Teachers Experience Best-in-Class Trainings Through the Ignite My Future in School Program – Gaining Lessons to Promote Computational Thinking and Advanced Problem Solving
HAMILTON, Va. and NEW YORK, April 1, 2019 /3BL Media/ – Tata Consultancy Services, (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms, delivered the Ignite My Future in School TECHademy Day of Discovery to local Loudoun County teachers at Harmony Middle School in Hamilton, Va. This professional development initiative connected local educators with curriculum experts to explore and learn to integrate computational thinking concepts into all core subjects using a transdisciplinary education approach.
Ignite My Future in School is vital for teachers to prepare their students for in-demand careers, considering The Bureau of Labor expects the number of tech employees to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, which would make tech the fastest growing industry. However, only 158 VA schools (34 percent with advanced placement (AP) programs) offered an AP Computer Science course during the 2017-2018 school year.
Ignite My Future in School offers educators curriculum support through free instructional resources with computational thinking strategies embedded into subjects such as math, science, language arts, and social studies, available on a digital platform. The program also offers year-round engagement through its Learning Leaders, a responsive and dedicated nationwide network of teachers. This interdisciplinary approach enables students to obtain critical thinking and technology skills that will be required for future careers in every field.
“This partnership with Loudoun County will help students, educators and schools be connected to foundational skills for 21st century careers,” said Balaji Ganapathy, Head of Workforce Effectiveness, TCS. “Ignite My Future in School empowers educators to use standards-aligned resources and prepare students with skills for in-demand careers, which will help sustain the economy of Virginia for decades to come.”
On a national level, Ignite My Future in School aims to engage 20,000 teachers and one million U.S. students by 2021. As a first step towards this goal, TCS and Discovery Education have already partnered with U.S. school districts in Metro Washington, D.C., Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and California to launch this initiative. Since debuting in 2017, IMFIS has provided training materials valued at more than $2 million and engaged over 300,000 students 5,100 educators from all 50 states.
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About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS):
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for the last fifty years. TCS offers a consulting-led, Cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of IT, Business & Technology Services, and engineering. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India's largest multinational business group, TCS has over 417,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $19.09 billion for year ended March 31, 2018 and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS' proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index
To stay up-to-date on TCS news in North America, follow @TCS_NA. For TCS global news, follow @TCS_News.
About Discovery Education:
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms and primary schools in the U.K., and reach over 5 million educators and 51 million students in more than 90 countries. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com. Stay connected with Discovery Education on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @DiscoveryEd.
Media Contacts:
Ben Trounson, Tata Consultancy Services, b.trounson@tcs.com
Marguerite Pinheiro, for Tata Consultancy Services, marguerite.pinheiro@fleishman.com
Charmion N. Kinder, Discovery Education, ckinder@discoveryed.com
