We are thrilled to share that last week we officially wrapped up an incredibly successful, intensive three-day Smart Mirror Educator Training Workshop! This high-impact professional development initiative was a massive collaborative effort, proudly organized by the University of Hartford's College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA)'s Department of Computing Sciences, the Infosys Foundation USA, and the Computer Science Teachers Association of Connecticut (CSTA CT).
The goal was clear: equip Connecticut high school educators with the technical skills and pedagogical frameworks needed to bring cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) and physical computing concepts into their classrooms this fall.
The dedication of this cohort was unmatched. Over three days of hands-on, "Learn-by-Creating" design loops, they dove into:
- IoT Infrastructure & Physical Computing: Building and configuring custom smart mirrors from the ground up.
- Linux System Hardening & Security: Mastering local machine security configurations, process management, and API protection.
- Curriculum Mapping: Developing classroom-ready assessment rubrics aligned directly with CSTA and NGSS standards.
Every single participating educator walked out with a fully functional, localized smart mirror and the confidence to lead their students through the exact same engineering loops.
A profound thank you to the Infosys Foundation USA for their generous grant support, which makes this vital STEM outreach possible. Thank you also to our partners at CSTA CT for their leadership in teacher recruitment and workshop alignment, and to the faculty and staff at the University of Hartford for hosting this milestone event.
To our educator graduates: Thank you for your tireless energy and dedication to shaping the next generation of computer science innovators. We cannot wait to see the incredible student work that stems from this!