Support CS education
There's great promise in using rapid technological advances to help solve the many challenges present across the globe today. Education is essential to ensure that we can collectively build a society that provides inclusive economic opportunity to everyone, no matter their background.
Computer science (CS) education and other emerging technological fields will continue to be important to prepare our students for the workforce and to become impactful digital citizens.
But first, you may be asking yourself, what is computer science? According to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), computer science is “The study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their implementation, and their impact on society.” We’ll commonly use the term CS throughout this Learn module, but you may also see the term Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in some materials in the Resource Guide which refers to the integration of both infrastructure and components, “both different types of communications networks and the technologies that use them.” Many educational institutions focus on making ICT investments in their educational institutions, including hardware upgrades and upskilling teachers on different learning technologies.
The "Microsoft CS Education Resource Guide" , which we call the Resource Guide in this module, can connect you to resources to jumpstart your CS education journey no matter what role you play in your educational community. This module is designed for a wide variety of audiences: K-12 educators, school leaders, administrators of non-profits that support schools, and even parents/guardians. The Resource Guide focuses on primary and secondary education, but some resources also support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) settings.
Microsoft has been supporting the CS education space for more than a decade and this Resource Guide is a tool for the public to use to help support their CS education journey, no matter where you’re starting.
The Resource Guide is divided into four main sections. You may find you have needs in more than one area:
- Establish CS program
- Set up classroom
- Support students
- Extend student learning
Each unit in this module reviews highlights from the subsections of the Resource Guide. You’ll also find reflection questions after each section specific to your role (K-12 educator, school leader, administrator of an educational non-profit, or a parent/guardian).
Download this "reflection worksheet" to help you take notes and write action items you want to take after reading each section. You can use this module for independent study or for collaborating with other CS advocates in your community.