The history of CS Ed Week

Every year, the week of December 6–12 is dedicated to computer science (CS) education. CS Ed Week was launched by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in 2009 along with the support of CSTA, NCWIT, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Anita Borg Institute (ABI), the Computing Research Association (CRA), Google, Inc., Intel, and Microsoft. All of these companies and organizations had one thing in common—a desire to raise awareness of the importance of computer science education.

But, it wasn't just companies that were passionate about increasing access to CS. A congressional resolution was introduced recognizing the first CS Ed Week after one of the congressmen became aware of decreased enrollment in computer science at the college level. The need for more interest in and awareness of computing was clear to everyone.

And so, CS Ed Week was born, taking place each December during the week of Grace Hopper's birthday, one of the first computer programmers who invented the compiler. CS Ed Week has continued to grow each year, with millions of K–12 students participating and coding together.

How you can participate

CS Ed Week is an amazing opportunity for students to learn about computer science and all the opportunities it affords them, but it can be overwhelming as an educator to plan CS activities on top of your already busy schedule.

Here are 5 things you can do to celebrate CS Ed Week in your classroom, even if you're new to coding!

1) Unplugged activities for younger kids (K-2)

It's never too early for kids to learn to code! If you teach younger students, try celebrating CS Ed Week with unplugged activities that teach them the foundational principles of coding. Skill Struck provides built-in curriculum that not only helps you teach students how to code, but also provides you with plenty of unplugged activities for early CS education!

2) Knight Puzzles for grades 3-5

Block coding is a great introduction to computer science that allows students to visualize what lines of code can do. Students can learn a lot through block coding problems like the Knight Puzzles in Skill Struck's Launch Pad.

3) Code challenges for grades 3-5

It's important for students to see how much they're capable of. Teaching computer science is important, but so is allowing students to show off what they've learned. Coding challenges are a great way for students to put their knowledge into practice and increase confidence in their abilities.

4) Build a website using HTML for grades 6-12

What better way is there to celebrate CS Ed Week than by helping your students build a website? Building a website is not only a great introduction to HTML, but it also shows students exactly how personal and fun coding can be.

5) Learn some basic Python for grades 6-12

Python is a great introductory language in CS education because it is easy to learn, but also powerful with many applications, including data mining, backend processing and web development. This CS Ed Week, introduce older students to Python and show them what's possible with this versatile language.

You can download a free code platform and curriculum here so that you have access to all of these activities and more for this CS Ed Week.