How to use and access CS First

Accessing CS First without setting up a club

All of our content and materials are free and accessible online. You do not need to have a CS First account or need to set up a CS First club to access the student or teacher content. You can work through the themes and activities at your own pace.

You will not be able to track student progress if you do not set up a club. If you are not sure whether you should set up a CS First Club, check out Benefits of a CS First Club.

How you might use CS First 

Click on a role below to expand.

Teacher

Set up a CS First club and incorporate it:

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

To get started, set up a club online.

Parent

  • Access student and teacher content online without setting up a club (see Accessing CS First without setting up a club section). You can work through themes and activities 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 club and incorporate it as part of a home school program, or host a neighborhood club and invite friends, neighbors, or family to join you. To get started, set up a club online.

Student

Other

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

  1. Minimum requirements
  2. Benefits of a CS First Club

  3. Accessing CS First without setting up a club​

Launch CS First throughout your network

Organizations that can launch CS First at scale include:

  • School districts
  • Libraries
  • Summer programs
  • Local and national non-profits
  • Community centers
  • and more!

You can launch CS First at scale by following these steps:

1) Identify your CS First Club location and teacher(s)

  • CS First Teachers can be volunteer teachers, community members, parents, adult members of your organization, local high school or college students, etc. Anyone can host, and no coding experience is needed.
  • Each club needs at least one person to set up and teach the club.
  • Share training resources with the CS First teachers.
  • Coordinate club dates and times with your teachers’ availability.

2) Explore the curriculum and decide what theme(s) you will use

  • Review the curriculum and try out student activities. Themes include Sports, Art, Storytelling, Music, Game Design and more – there is something for everyone.
  • We recommend selecting one theme per club. This provides space for students to be social and collaborate, and the teacher can focus on one set of solutions at a time.
  • There is no limit to the number of clubs you can run. After completing one, try a new theme for the next!

3) Create clubs and order materials

  • Have your CS First Teachers visit the CS First website to sign in and set up a club.
  • If a teacher would like more than seven kits, please contact us with the following information:
    • Organization name
    • Where your clubs will be located (Country, City, State)
    • The number of students you intend to reach

We will review these and if an exception is granted, you will be issued a code to enter so you can order more than seven print kits. 

  • Kits come in sets of 30 and will be shipped to each club host within a few days of the club’s start date. You can also download and print extra sets of materials (passports, lesson plans, and solution sheets) on your own at any time!
  • If you are eager to review your materials ahead of time, visit the curriculum page, click on "View Lesson Plans," then click on "Materials" in the upper right corner.

4) Market your club and sign students up

  • Feel free to download and distribute this flyer to help spread the word.
  • Marketing ideas
    • Create something unique and specific to your audience community. For example, profile local professionals that have a CS education or use computer science in their daily jobs.
    • Connect with local businesses or community centers to host a launch event and encourage sign-ups that day.
    • Interview students, parents, and teachers about how excited they are to participate in CS First, then circulate the video on social media.

5) Have a great time teaching kids to code with CS First Clubs!

  • "CS First builds a community of volunteers and mentors while providing opportunities for students to learn the many applications of computer science," – Jenell Leonard, commissioner of the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office
  • "Offering children computer science activities in a relaxed, informal setting will stimulate their natural curiosity and help develop skills that will be useful to them throughout their academic and professional lives," – Dennis Walcott, Queens Library CEO

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 club

CS First is a free tool and resource that we've 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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