LeadCS.org: A Promising Practice in Providing Resources for Computer Science Educators

LeadCS.org disseminates resources for K-12 district and school leaders, teacher leaders, and others who wish to develop computer science education programs. The online collection of resources includes

• summaries and syntheses of current information, data, and projects;
• recommendations from educators on the most critical supports, barriers, and lessons learned in the process of implementing a computer science program; and
• guidance and frameworks for leaders ready to take actionable steps toward bringing computer science to their students.

The resources cover a variety of topics related to courses, equity, infrastructure, instructional resources, and standards.  Examples include:

• What exactly is “computer science?” How does it relate to other terms, like “computational thinking,” “programming or coding,” “digital literacy,” and the like?
• How should I think about computer science in relation to other high school courses? What sort of connections with other disciplines and courses can or should be emphasized?
• What standards for K-12 computer science education exist? Which ones should we use, for which purposes?
• How can I introduce computer science to students in my school who have no prior computer science experience?

LeadCS.org’s resource dissemination is a promising practice in promoting K-12 computer education because of the wide variety of resources in provides and of beneficiaries it services. LeadCS.org was developed by Outlier Research & Evaluation at the University of Chicago with the support of a National Science Foundation Grant.

For more information on people with disabilities and computing fields visit AccessComputing. Locate tools for K-12 computing educators at AccessCSforAll.