Sophia Mendoza’s interest in technology integration in education started as a 3rd grader in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Her teacher brought in a TRS-80, a desktop microcomputer, and let students play with it. It was Mendoza’s first experience with programming.
Now, as LAUSD’s Instructional Technology Initiative director, ensuring every student has access to computer science education is one of her biggest priorities.
“We know that every job of today and the future will require some knowledge of computer science education,” said Mendoza, who has been an educator at LAUSD for 25 years and is also a board member of the International Society for Technology in Education.
Here’s what Mendoza had to say in a Zoom conversation with Education Week about LAUSD’s technology use, how schools can sustain innovative digital learning, and what her priorities are for this school year.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What are LAUSD’s biggest tech priorities?
We have focused on three big areas. The first being a foundation for technology integration, and that framework is the International Society for Technology and Education standards for students.
From that foundation, we build on the area of digital citizenship, really moving from safety, security, privacy—which are all important—but moving towards a more empowered approach, where we provide professional development for our educators in how to teach students to be inclusive, to be informed when they’re online, to be engaged, and to be balanced.
The third, which I’m extremely passionate and excited about, is computer science education—expanding computer science education to our youngest learners. By 2025, all students in elementary school should have a minimum 20 hours of instruction each school year in computer science; middle grade students should take at least one computer science course; and all high school students should have access if they choose to take a computer science course.
What are the best ways to use technology to improve student learning?
Learning First, Technology Second. It’s a great book by Liz Kolb. Another tagline that I have is “leading with instruction.” It’s always critical to lead with your instructional purpose. I had a lot of educators ask me, “What’s the best device I should buy to impact instruction?” So my response would be, “What are your instructional goals? What are you trying to accomplish? What is your student data telling you? Develop the strategies and look to digital tools and resources to help you along the way to accomplish your goal. So it’s a means to an end.”