{"id":10061,"date":"2025-09-04T17:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/?p=10061"},"modified":"2025-09-04T17:00:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:00:21","slug":"from-computer-science-standards-to-ai-conversations-whats-next-for-nebraska-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/?p=10061","title":{"rendered":"From Computer Science Standards to AI Conversations: What\u2019s Next for Nebraska Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Written by: Shaun Young<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the past two years, my role as the Computer Science and Technology Education Specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education has revolved around helping schools prepare for something significant, and at times daunting &#8211; the rollout of our state\u2019s new computer science graduation requirement. We\u2019ve worked side by side with districts to align courses, train teachers, and make sure students across Nebraska can graduate ready for a future that continues to become more digital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And just as schools are beginning to feel settled with these new expectations, the conversation is shifting again. This time, it\u2019s not just computer science at the center of attention\u2014it\u2019s artificial intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even Code.org, one of the most influential organizations in K\u201312 computer science education, is pivoting significant energy toward AI. That signals something bigger: the national conversation about \u201ccomputing\u201d is broadening. And Nebraska schools, teachers, and tech coordinators will have to decide how to balance both realities\u2014meeting the requirement we just put into place, while preparing for the next wave.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why the Shift Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI isn\u2019t replacing computer science\u2014it\u2019s reframing it. A student who learns to code is building the mental models to understand algorithms, logic, and problem-solving. Those skills are exactly what\u2019s needed to think critically about how AI works, what it does well, and where it fails.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if AI is becoming the new focus, the practical questions for schools are clear:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Budget<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Can schools afford to expand professional development, devices, and digital tools to cover AI on top of CS? What will administrators need to prioritize?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Professional Development<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Teachers have just started getting comfortable with CS standards. Do we have the bandwidth\u2014and resources\u2014to prepare them for AI literacy too?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Curriculum<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Should AI be embedded into existing CS courses, or treated as a cross-disciplinary literacy for all teachers, like digital citizenship?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Equity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Rural and under-resourced schools, already stretched to meet the CS requirement, risk falling further behind if AI learning depends on cutting-edge tools and connectivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What Schools Can Do Now<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best path forward isn\u2019t to abandon computer science for AI. It\u2019s to recognize how the two complement each other. Schools can start by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Building teacher confidence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Invest in PD that doesn\u2019t just introduce AI tools but helps teachers model ethical and thoughtful use for students.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Framing AI as applied CS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Show students how the programming and logic they learn in CS class connects directly to how AI systems are built and evaluated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Planning budgets with flexibility<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: District leaders and tech coordinators should anticipate AI-related costs in the next budget cycle\u2014whether for training, devices, or licensing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Encouraging cross-disciplinary connections<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: AI isn\u2019t just for CS classrooms. English teachers exploring authorship, social studies teachers debating bias, and science teachers modeling data\u2014all can benefit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Looking Ahead<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The truth is, Nebraska is in a strong position. By requiring CS for graduation, we\u2019ve built a foundation of computational thinking that prepares students to engage with AI critically. But we can\u2019t stop here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the national conversation shifts, our schools will need to adapt with intentionality. That means planning for budgets, supporting teachers with PD, and ensuring equitable access\u2014so AI becomes a tool for empowerment, not another source of division.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For educators, this isn\u2019t just \u201canother duty as assigned.\u201d It\u2019s the next chapter in preparing our students for the world they\u2019re already living in. And just like with the CS requirement, Nebraska can lead by showing what\u2019s possible when we invest in both vision and practicality.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by: Shaun Young For the past two years, my role as the Computer Science and Technology Education Specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education has revolved around helping schools&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/netasite.org\/?p=10061\" class=\"gdlr-info-font excerpt-read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10063,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10061\/revisions\/10063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netasite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}