Why Only 1 Week? Computer Science Education Week EVERY Week

We are wrapping up Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), which was December 5th through the 11th. This is an annually dedicated week to intrigue and inspire all students, kindergarten to 12th graders) to take the mystery out of computer science, coding, and other STEM-centered activities.


Initially, it fell to this week to honor computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who was born on December 9, 1906, a woman ahead of her time, and one of the first computer programmers in 1944

Since its beginnings in 2009, CSEdWeek has grown over time and in its own magnitute.  Code.org is an affiliate dedicated to furthering this education, feeling it should be part of core curriculums in all schools.  As we become a global community where technology advances are exponential, computing is certainly a core of many industries.

Of course, it begs the question--why only a week?!

Whether you missed it, want to relive it or extend it, or try your hand at the "Hour of Code" (or more), there's no reason that you should stop at only a week.  Here are some great resources to stretch your own awareness and build your coding and computer science curriculum--both in your school and in your own homes.  Who knows, you might find a resource or two along the way that might make a great Christmas present.

Articles & Information:

• CSEdWeek maps and stats comparing computer jobs to computer science graduates in a clickable map. The numbers for both my home state of Illinois and my current state of Maryland were staggering and differed by a factor of 10-20! The overall overwhelming stat: "There are currently 517,393 open computing jobs nationwide. Last year, only 42,969 computer science students graduated into the workforce.

• Ways to inspire students from CSEdWeek

• Eductopia article: Teach Your Kids to Code: 6 Beginner's Resources for Parents

Resources for Educators:

• Educator Resources from both Code.Org  and other 3rd party resources

• Free worksops from Code.org

• EdWeb.net Coding Webinars 

• Teachercast Podcast: How Can We Infuse Coding into Every Curriculum? 

• Teachercast Podcast: #HourofCode: What Can Your Students Accomplish with @Scratch & @Neprisapp

• Scratch Jr Curriculum

• ScratchED: Online community for Scratch users and teachers

• Kids Get Coding: Find both children's books about coding as well as online exercises from blue{shift}, a West London coding school.

Reviews from Common Sense Media:

• Coding Product Reviews for Elementary Student

• Best Coding Tools for Middle School

• Best Coding Tools for High School   

ScratchJr Website Video from Mitchel Resnick on Vimeo.

Images: STEM image from http://pixelkin.org/2015/08/07/coding-for-kids-4-ways-to-introduce-kids-to-coding/; Sylvia Duckworth photo from http://brianaspinall.com/10-reasons-to-teach-coding-sketchnote-by-sylviaduckworth/, Mark Zuckerberg https://csedweek.org/resource_kit/posters

Videos:  Hour of Code Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsOIlDT145A; ScratchJr Video from https://vimeo.com/101760650; Code.Org "Push Yourself. Anyone Can Code" video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyEBMU1xVP2be1-AoGS1BA