Hyderabad, India -- (SBWire) -- 08/29/2013 --For the first time in India, a National Talent Search in Computer Science for High School Students is being conducted by MyPal Online School and IMACS, FL, USA (Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science). The online test called Computer Science Aptitude Test (CSAT) consists of a series of questions that challenges a student’s logical reasoning and critical thinking skills. The questions have nothing to do with the topics covered in typical computer science courses and do not involve material covered in High School level courses and are not age specific. CSAT can also be taken by talented Middle School students.
STUDENTS DON'T HAVE TO STUDY FOR THIS TEST! CSAT can be taken Anytime and Anywhere! All that is needed is about one hour and a good Internet connection. Students can refer the sample questions available in http://www.mypalonline.com/courses/about-csat.html.
CSAT can be taken at students convenience with no fee and no obligation. The grading of CSAT is instant and results are emailed to the student / parent. To register for the test, they have to visit http://www.mypalonline.com/nts
Why have a National Talent Search in Computer Science?: Software has touched every field of human endeavor and use of internet has become widespread in the last 25 years. The field Computer Science and Programming which was once thought of as a useful tool that supports various core subjects of science, mathematics and engineering; has now emerged as core subject on its own. There many prominent people from the academia and the industry who are saying that “the 3Rs of education (Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic) should now be made 4Rs of education by including algoRithms through Computer Science as a formal part of K-12 education”.
The Royal Society in UK in their Jan, 2012 report, stated that computer science must be introduced in the curriculum in such a way that it is “ensured that the next generation of young people in this country can be creators of technology – not just consumers of it”.
In India, CBSE and ICSE have introduced formal computer science curriculum from IX grade onwards and in XI and XII grades as an elective. In a laudable initiative, the Computer Science Department in IIT, Bombay, has introduced CS curriculum in the local schools in Mumbai and consulted educators to develop a Model Computer Science Curriculum for Schools in March, 2010 covering elementary schools to high schools and released the same under Creative Commons license.
Wait for School Boards to Introduce Computer Science Curriculum or Should Parents, Educators / Schools Take the Initiative? While the advantages of introducing CS education in K-12 are compelling, the task itself is daunting when it comes to giving appropriate training the Subject Teachers, Class Teachers and School Administrators. Parents and Schools in our already overburdened educational system can either choose to wait or take the initiative by using free online resources like Scratch from MIT, Alice Programming from Carnegie Mellon, Java Script, Python and Ruby Programming from Code Academy or online CS courses from eimacs.com, udacity.org, coursera.org and edx.org . MyPal Online School believes that Kids can be self motivated and need the facilitation from Parents and Teachers or their involvement as co-learners.
About MyPal Online School
MyPal Online’s computer science courses, designed especially for middle school and high school students, are based on curriculum that has been used at MIT, John Hopkins’ CTY (Center for Talent Youth) and Duke University's TIP (Talent Identification Programme) etc. MyPal has an exclusive collaboration with IMACS, USA, which has developed these computer science courses that are very popular with bright high school students all over USA. Students who have taken these online courses have gone on to study at prestigious Universities like Stanford, MIT, Yale, Harvard, Princeton etc.
MyPal Online School has been launched by the promoters of Chirec School and Shri Shakti Group, to focus on Talent Development and Gifted Education which does not receive any special attention by School Boards or Schools, unlike in other countries. MyPal’s courses will help students ‘how to think’ rather than ‘what to think’ and realize the pure joy of learning which looks beyond test prep, entrance exams and ranks. MyPal is an acronym for My Project Active Learning wherein technology is leveraged for students to have active control over digital educational resources to explore information, solve problems and learn.
MyPal is the brainchild of DV Satya Kumar, an entrepreneur who is an alumnus of NIT, Warangal, University of Iowa and was Chevening Gurukul Scholar at London School of Economics. Satya Kumar was the co-founder of Chirec School (http://www.chirecps.ac.in), which currently has over 3000 students in 3 campuses in Hyderabad, enrolled in CBSE, Cambridge and IB curricula. Satya Kumar is a pioneer in clean energy and education and was instrumental in the development of Chirec School over the last 24 years.
About IMACS
IMACS was established in 1993, and the first eIMACS online course was offered in 1998. eIMACS is based in Florida, USA and serves students from across the US and around the world, including gifted and talented students, homeschooled students and students who want to study advanced math and computer science at their own pace.
