When Jim Gilroy enrolled in the University of South Florida College of Education's computer education master's program in the early 1980s, personal computers were still a novelty in many classrooms. Most teachers had never written a line of code, and the internet as we know it didn't exist.
Yet the USF College of Education saw what was coming.
On April 28, 1983, Gilroy graduated among one of the college's very first master's degrees focused on computer education. The program blended education coursework with intensive computer programming and prepared educators to teach a subject that was only beginning to emerge in K-12 schools.
"I picked computers as a way to advance in the mathematics department," Gilroy said. "Computer science was a relatively new field that offered opportunity, and USF's master's program came at the perfect time."
That decision shaped the rest of his career.
"I did go to Brandon High and look through old yearbooks and found one joke picture of me choking Pete Barker in my AP class. 3 of the 5 students in that class, including Pete, went on to computer related careers. Pete is a good friend now, living in Ocala who actually showed me that picture about ten years ago."
For more than two decades, Gilroy taught computer programming at Brandon High School and Bloomingdale High School, offering courses ranging from introductory programming to AP Computer Science before later transitioning to teach calculus. Along the way, he also taught introductory computer courses at Hillsborough Community College.
He witnessed firsthand the remarkable pace of technological change.
"I watched calculators go from basic math to scientific functions to solving calculus problems in a short period of time," he recalled. "In 1984, another teacher and I implemented our first grading system where we could keep our students’ records, post their averages for their parents to see and contact them with concerns. At that point I was sure there were no bounds.”
While today's technology has far surpassed the tech in 1983, Gilroy says many of the ideas driving innovation today were already being discussed decades ago.
"We were thinking about artificial intelligence back in the '80s," he said.
More than four decades after Gilroy helped pioneer computer science education in local classrooms, the College of Education is once again helping shape what's next.
This year, the college launched a new generation of programs designed to prepare educators for an increasingly technology-driven world, including a Computer Science certification, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Education K-12 and a minor and graduate certificate in AI in Teaching and Learning. The bachelor’s degree is the first-of-its-kind in the state of Florida.
For certified teachers already in the workforce, the new fully online Computer Science Add-On Certification course offers a pathway to earn Florida Computer Science certification in just 10 weeks, helping school districts expand access to high-quality computer science instruction.
Stephanie Arthur speaking about the graduate certificate at the 2026 education in action, which focused on AI in education.
“Together, these programs reflect a mission that has remained consistent over the past four decades: preparing educators not only for today's classrooms, but for tomorrow’s,” said Assistant Professor of Instruction Stephanie Arthur, who leads the graduate certificate in AI in Teaching & Learning.