How to use and access CS First

Access CS First without setting up a class

All of our content and materials are free of charge and accessible online. Teachers do not need to have a CS First account or need to set up a CS First class to access the curriculum or materials. See more details here.

You will not be able to track student progress if you do not set up a class. Students will not be able to save their work in Scratch for CS First. Without a class, students will have to complete their projects with the Scratch coding editor at scratch.mit.edu. If you are not sure whether you should set up a CS First class, check out Benefits of a CS First class.

How you might use CS First

Click on a role below to expand.

Teacher

Set up a CS First class and incorporate it:

during the school day.
as part of enrichment time.
after school.
as part of a summer program.
as part of a homeschool program.
however it best works for you.

Parent

To get started, set up a class online.

Watch the videos and work on the projects with your children at your own pace.
Advocate to bring CS First to your children’s school. For more information on how to do this, check out our Advocate resources.
Set up a CS First class and incorporate it as part of a homeschool program, or host a neighborhood class and invite friends, neighbors, or family to join you. To get started, set up a class online.
Access student and teacher content online without setting up a class (see Accessing CS First without setting up a class section). If you opt not to set up a class, your child will not be able to access Scratch for CS First, but will need to work in scratch.mit.edu instead.

Student

Create CS First projects without being part of a class (see Accessing CS First without setting up a class section). You can work through the lessons at your own pace. Note: You will create your projects in scratch.mit.edu instead of Scratch for CS First.
Ask your school (or ask your parents to help you) to include CS First in its curriculum. For more information on how to do this, check out our Advocate resources.

Other

Anyone can use and participate in CS First. Check out the following articles for more information.

Creative Commons License

Transforming CS First Content

CS First content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

If you use or transform this material in any way, you must distribute your contributions under the same license.

If you're unsure about your use of this content, consult with a legal professional.

Charging a fee for your class

CS First is a tool that is free of charge and developed with several objectives, one of them being to provide computer science education to all students in an accessible way.

It's our hope that students don't face any barriers to participating in CS First, but charging a fee is ultimately your decision.

You can read more about the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

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