Homegrown Computer Science for Middle Schoolers

Tess Rinearson:

It's CSEdWeek, everyone! CSEdWeek is a nationally recognized celebration of K-12 computer science education. This week, CSEdWeek is December 9 to December 15, 2012.

Now, I am by no means an expert on computer science education. But I, along with several of my friends, started programming in middle school. I'm grateful for that. I truly think that that was the right time to be introduced.

Unfortunately, not many schools teach computer science as part of their formal curriculum. I couldn't find statistics on middle school CS, but, at the high school level, only 27% of American high schools teach rigorous computer science courses. I'm sure the number for middle schools is stunningly small.

But you don't need a "formal" introduction to CS. Really, a homegrown introduction to computer science is just as good (if not better). I want to share some ideas on introducing your daughter/son/sister/brother/niece/nephew/cousin/friend to computer science. (These were all suggestions that I made via email to a family friend who wanted ideas on how to get his 12 year old son involved with computer science.)

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 13, 2012 2:44 AM
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