| Dear NCWIT Academic Alliance member,
Introducing the NCWIT Activity and Change Tracker (ACT) — a collaborative, online tool for NCWIT Alliance Members to share their broadening participation in computing efforts with all supporters and followers of NCWIT. Alliance Members can post activities related to recruitment, retention, mentoring practices, outreach programs, and more.
As an NCWIT Academic Alliance member, you’ve been selected to pilot this new tool, in support of Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek). CSEdWeek takes place December 9-15, 2013, the week of Grace Hopper’s birthday. This weeklong celebration raises awareness about the impact of computing on innovation and economic growth, as well as the need to bolster computer science education at all levels.
As CSEdWeek approaches, it’s a great time to think about the larger issues within your department. What strategies could you use to better engage students? How can you create a more inclusive environment for everyone?
What can ACT do for you? ACT can motivate you to set goals for broadening participation and to learn about and try new activities.
Using ACT
- View current activities at www.ncwit.org/activities. Filter the results by activity type, institution, and more to gain inspiration and insight from what others are doing.
- Post an activity. Use our how-to guide (PDF) to get started.
- Update your status. Track your progress and describe lessons learned. What worked? What didn’t work?
Gaining visibility with ACT
- Bask in the spotlight. Those member ACTivities that have a research basis can be highlighted on NCWIT’s homepage and in social media, should you choose to make them shareable.
- Contribute to NCWIT research. Activities from some member institutions are described as case studies in NCWIT Promising Practices. Will your activity be next?
We hope you will visit www.ncwit.org/activities, and take advantage of this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the system and collaborate with others. NCWIT has hundreds of free resources to help you get started.
As always, we’re here to help. If you have any questions or comments about ACT, please email us at [email protected].
Best regards,
The NCWIT AA Recruitment and Engagement Team
Kiran Bellam, Doug Blank, Amy Csizmar Dalal, and Sharon Mason
www.ncwit.org/aa
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