In the latest in a continuing string of initiatives designed to promote computer science, the U.S. House of Representatives Friday passed a resolution designating this Dec. 5-11 as the second annual Computer Science Education Week.
(Fear not, sports fans. Dec. 5 and 6 will also remain Week 13 of the NFL season.)
The week, created last year to promote education in a field where professionals are in increasing demand, coincides with the Dec. 9 birthday of the late computer scientist Grace Hopper, who among other feats worked on the famous Harvard Mark I computer, pioneered the development of programming languages, and may have coined the term “debugging.” The initiative is co-sponsored by the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and its website offers curriculum guides, research, community forums, and other resources to help engage students in the subject.
The designation of the second-annual week follows the July introduction of a Computer Science Education Act to Congress. That measure has been referred to committee, but has not progressed further, and was drafted as a response to decreasing computer science offerings many educators say they’re seeing in their schools.