Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual call to action for educators and families working to inspire the next generations of K-12 students to learn computer science. The goals of the week include advocating for equity in computer science education and celebrating the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field.
As part of CSEdWeek, we’re excited to celebrate Hour of Code - a global learning initiative encouraging students to participate in one hour of introductory computer science that is proving that all learners can code! Anyone can organize an Hour of Code at any time, but we’re excited to celebrate this week along with over 200,000 other educators as part of our ongoing commitment to improve access to CS lessons, especially early in students’ academic careers. The Hour of Code won’t instantly make you a computer scientist, but it might spark an interest that grows into lifelong learning.
You can find webinars, a kick-off live-stream and educator workshops at the CSEdWeek main page to engage your students in this international celebration, as well as additional activities on the Hour of Code How-To page, but here are some of our favorite resources for inspiring interest in computer science!For learners under 5:
• Kodable, a self-led online coding adventure for pre-readers
• My First Computer, a printable design game for early learners, complete with lesson plan
• Robots that can be programmed simply using buttons, like Bee-Bot®
For learners 5-9:
• Code Spark Academy, a site with games, lessons and educator resources for CS and Code
• Scratch Jr, an app for kids to program their own interactive stories from Tufts University and MIT
For learners 10+:
• Code Monster, an interactive site for learners to explore basic Javascript coding
• Scratch, a site for learners to program creative games, animations and stories from MIT
• Lightbot, an app with a free Hour of Code option that teaches basic controls and code commands
Part of the CSEdWeek and Hour of Code missions are to improve access to CS curricula and give everyone a chance to get interested in CS. Let us know if you’ll be organizing an Hour of Code and tag us on Twitter @eie_org! Get free CS Week activities and more here.
