Many school library media specialists now have the added responsibility of integrating coding and computer technology into their library curriculum. Thanks to Google's free resource called CS First, students in grades four through eight have increased access and exposure to computer science activities, meaning school library media specialists do not have to be computer science experts to teach this subject. The program itself is comprised of eight different themes, or activities, with a range of difficulty levels for students. The themes (or "clubs," as they are called) range from art, fashion design, storytelling, sports, game design, and more. Each club focuses on individual student interests and CS First reports that each lasts about one to two weeks if 40-75 minutes are dedicated to them each day. Flexibility is accounted for of course, and school library media specialists and educators can move at a pace that works best for them and their students.
CS First can be part of an in-school computer science club, classroom, or library curriculum kit, as well as an after-school activity or as part of enrichment. All of the activities are project-based, and students are first introduced to their club and activity through a set of videos relating to computer science. CS First is aligned to ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) and CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association) learning standards, and the lesson plans integrate with ELA and math standards as well. There are also built-in collaborative projects where students work together and can share their projects with the whole class, enhancing students' interactivity and engagement. The project-based learning activities rely on a program called Scratch, which is a web-based coding tool provided by MIT. It works on all web browsers and can even be used offline, however online use is recommended. Headphones are also a recommended accessory.
One of the major benefits of using this program over other computer science education curriculums is that little to no prior experience or knowledge in teaching computer science is necessary or required before getting started. This program provides free supplemental materials within the teacher accounts, including in-depth lesson plans, a "passport" tool which contains all student usernames and passwords, badges to award students, contingency plans, class rosters, and more. The easy-to-understand vocabulary is truly one of the best features of this product.
CS First guides teachers through the project-based activities step by step and empowers everyone to try and learn something new. Once a free teacher account is created on the CS First website, teachers have access to a variety of videos and helpful resources to get started and everything is very well organized and detailed. There is even a ten minute "starter" activity included in the welcome email to help teachers see how simple it is to learn coding basics, and to illuminate how the program will work for students using the Scratch program and blocks to code. There is also a free kit with handouts, stickers, and paper format lesson plans available when a teacher account is created on the site. This is a powerful free resource that is highly recommended for all middle grade school environments looking to increase computer science programming for students.