In between a full slate of courses, violin lessons, and Junior Chorale, 7th Grader Rose Kile is finding time to program a quantum computer.
She’s learning the subject from teachers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earning high school credit that will appear on her permanent transcript.
“It’s fun, but there’s a lot of work and difficult concepts to understand,” Rose said. “But I like learning about things that most people don’t know about.”
Rose’s experience in the “Introduction to Quantum Computing” course is made possible because of the district’s Educational Options program. An Educational Option is a learning experience or activity that extends, enhances, supplements, or serves as an alternative to traditional classroom instruction. Such options can include distance learning or online coursework, independent studies, and mentoring programs.
The district’s Office of Curriculum and Instruction reviews each family’s request in consultation with the building’s guidance department. Dr. Bill Miller, who directs the office, said options are granted on a case-by-case basis. Among the factors considered are the student’s current academic performance and the content and rigor of the experience or activity. The next round of requests are due by April 1 for this coming fall.
Rose’s course started in August 2021 and goes through May; more than 1,000 U.S. students are enrolled with her. She attends weekly lectures on Wednesdays and labs on Sundays (both virtually). Some assignments require her to log into a quantum computer owned by IBM and write code. (What is quantum computing, you ask? Quantum computing harnesses the phenomena of quantum mechanics to deliver a huge leap forward in computation to solve certain problems.)
The course is designed for high school students in grades 9 through 12, but Rose was able to earn an exception based upon her interest and by completing a related summer course. She spends between four and seven hours a week in the course, in addition to her regular OH homework. Facilitating her participation is mom Kara Buehrer Kile, who has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and is a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Toledo.
“The exposure to the terminology and the concepts is such an amazing opportunity,” said Dr. Kile. “I think she’s getting a lot out of it. I highly recommend it.”
The course was written by Qubit by Qubit, the online learning initiative of The Coding School, which aims to empower the next generation through computer science education.
Original source can be found here
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