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Educational Design & Technology

Digital Learning Resources

Digital Content Resources - Computer Science

These resources have not been examined for compliance with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) and Education Law 2-d, therefore schools that choose to utilize any of these resources must ensure compliance where applicable. For more information on Education Law 2-d and data privacy and security in general please refer toViva88’s Data Privacy and Security webpage.

The sites below are provided as options and sources for ideas and inspiration only. The list is also not exhaustive; there are many quality resources and learning activities available online.

General

  1. (Grades PreK-12)
    • A nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.
  2. (Grades K-12)
    • The Computer Science for All (CS4All) Blueprint is an academic and implementation guide for teaching computer science in New York City public schools.
  3. (Grades 2-12)
    • Amazon supports free computer science during COVID-19, this is a growing list of free CS courses and resources.
  4. (Grades K-12)
    • Computer Science Teachers Association compiled resources to support seaching during COVID-19. Teaching CS is already difficult, and moving to a virtual environment can be challenging, so we have compiled this list to help teachers support their students during this trying time.
  5. (Grades K-12)
    • Engineering & Technology. Discover resources and projects that connect students to engineering design practices and future careers.

Programming/Coding

    • Code.org includes “unplugged” activities, as well as smartphone-compatible activities for students who may not have immediate access to reliable internet or laptops.
  2. (Grades K-12)
    • Tynker offers self-paced online visual programming courses for children to learn coding at home, as well as specially designed curriculum for schools and camps. Tynker makes it fun to learn computer programming for kids ages 5+.
  3. (Grades 9-12)
    • Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages including Python, Java, JavaScript (jQuery, AngularJS, React.js), Ruby, SQL, C++, Swift, and Sass, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS.
  4. (Grades K-3)
    • CodeSpark’s mission is to make computer science education accessible to kids everywhere by having no reading requirements, closing the gender gap and being free for schools. It is a learn-to-code platform for kids ages 5-9.
  5. , (Grades 3-12)
    • Vidcode offers research-backed standards-aligned computer science courses, focused on open-ended projects for teens. Vidcode courses teach computer science, object oriented programming, web programming, design, & JavaScript.
  6. (Grades 6-8)
    • Codesters combines a fun online coding platform for students, a powerful learning management system for teachers, and built-out coding lessons so you can start teaching kids to code in your school today.
  1. (Grades 3-11)
    • Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations. With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games.
    • also available (Grades K-2)
  2. -(Grades K-5);(Grades 6-12)
    • Alice is an innovative block-based programming environment that makes it easy to create animations, build interactive narratives, or program simple games in 3D. Alice is used by teachers at all levels from middle schools (and sometimes even younger) to universities, in school classrooms and in after school programming, and in subjects ranging from visual arts and language arts to the fundamentals of programming and introduction to java courses.
  3. (Grades K-5)
    • Kodable teaches kids core programming concepts through engaging games developed with real teachers and kids at home or at school and gives teachers a complete K-5 coding curriculum for the classroom.
  4. (Grades K-3)
    • This free, fun iPad and iPhone app has an easy drag & drop interface that kids of all ages can use to animate Daisy and make her dance on their screen. Kids will intuitively grasp the basics of objects, sequencing, loops and events by solving this app's challenges.
  5. (Grades K-3)
    • CodeMonkey is a fun and educational game-based environment where kids learn to code without any prior experience.

Game Creator

    • Kodu lets kids create games on the PC via a simple visual programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem solving, storytelling, as well as well as programming.
  2. (Grades 2-12)
    • Gamestar Mechanic uses fun, game-based quests and courses to help you learn game design and make your own video games! Gamestar Mechanic is a game and community designed to teach kids the principles of game design and systems thinking in a highly engaging environment. It is designed for 7- to 14-year-olds but is open to everyone.
  3. (Grades 6-12)
    • Codea for iPad lets you create games and simulations — or any visual idea you have. Turn your thoughts into interactive creations that make use of iPad features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer.