Fewer high school students taking computer science classes

This article points out some disturbing trends in education, and this is not just true at the high school level, but in higher education too. The articles are a few years old; not sure if the pattern holds into the present.

An excerpt from the first article, about high schools,

Nationally, the portion of schools that offer an introductory computer science course has dropped from 78 percent in 2005 to 65 percent this year, and the corresponding decline in AP courses went from 40 to 27 percent, according to a survey by the Computer Science Teachers Association.

Summit: Mobile computing is education’s future

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/06/21/summit-mobile-computing-is-educations-future/

"Keynote speaker Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of Qualcomm Inc., pointed to a successful initiative in North Carolina, called Project K-Nect, that uses mobile phones to help teach algebra as an example of how mobile technology can empower learning.

"At-risk ninth graders taking part in the project have access to specially created mobile applications that help explain algebraic principles, and they also can watch videos of other students explaining these principles. In addition, they can text or IM their peers for advice when they get stuck.

"According to early studies of the program’s efficacy, students taking part in this Qualcomm-funded project outscored their peers who did not have access to the mobile phones and content by an average of 30 percent in algebra proficiency."