CS in Schools
CS in Schools is a completely free programme that helps schools build industry-relevant DigiTech pathways for students. There will be over 100,000 Australian IT jobs unfilled by 2024, and they believe that the key solution to filling those jobs is by helping schools create engaging industry relevant DigiTech education for their students and get them excited about careers in IT. They do this by helping teachers upskill in DigiTech with a focus on coding and by providing world-class teaching materials. This year, they are working with 40 schools across Australia to build stronger DigiTech programmes and supporting over 150 teachers. Together, they will be helping around 9,000 students learn how to code in Years 7 and 8 in 2021. Given the demand for the programme, CS in Schools hopes to double the number of schools in the programme for 2022.
CS in Schools has built rich online resources for teachers and students. They have created Introductory and Intermediate courses, aimed at 12 to 14 year old students, and the courses map to the Australian Digital Technology Curriculum. These courses are typically taught at Years 7 and 8, and CS in Schools directly support schools with training workshops, industry volunteers, and a microcredential for teachers.
They have just announced a new Year 9 course, which they are testing with schools who’ve adopted the earlier programmes. This new course gives students the opportunity to work on a real-world industry challenge, and then visit a company such as Domain or Carsales to share their work. They will be launching this to all schools that they work with in 2022, and are expecting to have 15+ projects that teachers and students can choose from. They will then follow this with a similar Year 10 elective course, and then to begin work on supporting industry-based projects at Years 11 and 12 .
If you would like to learn more, we encourage you to explore the CS in Schools website at https://csinschools.com and the course materials at https://csinschools.io
If you would like to speak to the team about involving your school, please reach out to Selina Williams at selina@csinschools.com