This is a three-year project designed to build the capacity of high school teachers to provide physical computing (an emerging field in pre-college education) experiences for their students. Physical computing is a participatory activity in which the computer becomes aware of the human and produces environments or objects that express the technical, aesthetic, social or political vision of the human designer in ways that amuse, amaze or inform. Its intellectual merit is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach of applying STEM knowledge and skills to develop original and creative products and environments that, while firmly rooted in science and mathematics, also encompass the arts and humanities. The inquiry-based approach of the initiative promotes discovery and deepens understanding of physical computing and the STEM knowledge and skills it embodies. Over the course of three years the project's goals will be reached by serving approximately 90 high school teachers and 270 students, primarily low income youngsters and underrepresented minorities, through their courses and after school programs. The deliverables include: a physical computing curriculum guide, training programs for teachers and students; a project website; networks; professional development programs and conferences. All written materials and professional development programs will be prototyped, reviewed and revised annually, with the final versions completed at the end of Year Three.
