This month CSTA Iowa shines a spotlight on Jonathan Vanderah. Jonathan teaches at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.
CSTA Iowa Spotlight on Jonathan Vanderah
District/Organization: The Diocese of Des Moines
Building: Dowling Catholic High School
City: West Des Moines
Describe your teaching position or role:
I started at Dowling Catholic in 2015-16 as a math teacher and have transitioned to teaching Computer Science and Engineering. I teach Intro to Computer Science, Computer Programming 1 & 2, AP CS A, and Intro to Engineering Design.
I also coach Girls Basketball (JV2 head coach and varsity assistant) and Girls Track and Field (high jump and long jump).
I also coach Girls Basketball (JV2 head coach and varsity assistant) and Girls Track and Field (high jump and long jump).
What 's your favorite CS concept or lesson to teach? Why?
My favorite topic to teach is covering Networking and the Internet in the Intro to Computer Science course. The students spend a lot of time online, and I think they take the most from our discussions on networking infrastructure and security issues because of that.
What 's your favorite CS resource? Why?
My favorite resource is Repl.it as an in-browser IDE. We are going 1-to-1 with Chromebooks this year and Repl makes it possible for us to not need to be in a classroom with desktops for programming. It also makes it possible for students to work on projects outside of school if they are missing class or to finish work (or code on their own!). We use both Python and Java throughout our courses and it is convenient to have one platform rather than separate IDEs.
Why did you join CSTA & CSTA Iowa?
I joined CSTA when I started teaching CS two years ago but didn't use it much at first. I joined CSTA Iowa when I started taking courses through UNI to get my CS teaching endorsement. I hope to use these memberships to connect to fellow CS teachers and to get resources and ideas to use in my classroom.