As a Technology Innovation Coach, I know one of the most exciting weeks of the year is just around the corner: Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-14). I can already hear the objections: “But I teach English,” “I don’t know how to code,” or “My students aren’t ready for this.”
Let’s pause. The most powerful part of CSEdWeek is that it’s not just for educators who teach code. It’s for all of us. At its heart, computer science is about creativity, logic, persistence, and problem-solving. That sounds exactly like what we all teach, every single day.
You don’t need to be an expert—just a guide. Here are five great free resources to help you get started.
- Code.org and the Hour of Code This is the global starting line. It offers hundreds of one-hour activities, filterable by grade and subject.
- What to Look For: Don’t miss the new “Hour of AI” activities, which demystify artificial intelligence. You’ll also find cross-curricular gems like “Poem Art” for ELA or “Music Lab” for the arts.
- Scratch & ScratchJr From the MIT Media Lab, this free, block-based language lets kids create their own interactive stories, games, and animations.
- What to Look For: Use the ScratchJr app (scratchjr.org) for K-2 learners. Older students (3-12) can use the full Scratch platform to model a scientific process or build a game.
- CS Unplugged My favorite answer to “I don’t have enough computers!” This is a world-renowned collection of free activities that teach CS concepts without a computer.
- What to Look For: Use cards, string, and movement to teach algorithms with the “Human Robot” activity or learn binary by making bracelets.
- Amazon Future Engineer Career Tour This is a perfect, “no-code” way to participate. Amazon offers free, interactive virtual career tours for grades K-12.
- What to Look For: These 45-60 minute tours (often hosted on Kahoot!) take students behind the scenes at Amazon, showing them everything from robotics fulfillment centers to AWS data centers. It’s an ideal way to connect CS to real-world careers.
- The Computer Science collection from eMediaVA is a goldmine of public media content.
- What to Look For: Find high-school-ready videos from PBS Digital Studios (like Crash Course Computer Science) and K-2 activities from PBS KIDS shows like Ready Jet Go!, many of which integrate directly with ScratchJr.
CSEdWeek to explore it with your students. Your only job is to have fun and be the lead learner—not the expert. You might host an Hour of Code, try a Human Robot activity, or have high schoolers use Scratch to create a “choose your own adventure” story. Your students are already curious about this world. CSEdWeek is our chance to pull back the curtain and empower them to become creators—not just consumers—of technology.
Good luck, and have fun innovating!
Sandra Wilfong is an ITRT in Chesapeake Public Schools and an eMediaVA Ambassador.