We know elementary school is a critical time for students’ career interests. By the end of fifth grade, some students have already decided to pursue a career in STEM, while others have concluded such a career is “unthinkable” (DeWitt, 2011). The good news is that teaching about professions at the elementary level can affect this trajectory: students with greater knowledge of STEM careers are more likely to aspire to careers in those fields. (Blotnicky, 2018).

World Computer Literacy Day is December 2nd! This celebration of computers began in 2001, founded by the National Institute of Information Technology, an Indian computer company, after research suggested that the majority of computer users around the world were men. What started as an initiative intended to encourage the development of technological skills, particularly among children and women in India, has since expanded with aims to "create awareness and drive digital literacy in underserved communities worldwide.”

Monday, September 19th marks the beginning of National Coding Week, promoting tech skills and tech education in the workplace and schools. National Coding Week was founded in 2014 by former headteacher Richard Rolfe and tech entrepreneur Jordan Love with the intent of encouraging all people to learn new digital skills. During the observed week, STEM educators and computer science professionals focus on promoting coding and digital literacy to everybody in a fun and engaging way. This year’s theme spotlights how learning new digital skills can help solve problems for ourselves, others and society.

We’re thrilled to announce that our Computer Science Essentials™ curriculum was selected as  Educator’s Pick Best of STEM Award in the Trailblazer: Inspiring Computational Thinking category! “STEM educators praise [our] curricular materials for providing teachers of young learners with activities that develop computational thinking.” 

Our Computer Science Essentials™ program takes computer science instruction beyond coding, fostering the computational thinking and digital learning skills students need to thrive in a fast-paced, tech-savvy future.

“EiE’s supplemental curriculum focused on Engineering and Computer Science Essentials is filling a huge need in STEM at the elementary level,” Dr Lance Brand, Educator Judge, said of our units. “Their learning units are well-designed, creative, have hands-on coding components and help students learn to structure their habits of mind.” 

 Research has shown that direct family involvement in learning has a significant impact on a student's academic achievement and future goals. That’s why we’ve created EiE Families! Designed for families with kids ages 4 to 11, our new online experience includes at-home and on-the-go activities to support learning wherever you are. Improved accessibility features on the site like interactive read-alouds, animations, and more make learning more engaging, and fun. EiE Families also offers detailed instructions to support educators in hosting their own community STEM event.