Computer science Education Week
December 9 - 13, 2019
CS Ed Week is a week dedicated to celebrating computer science (CS), demystifying code, exploring impacts of computing, and giving it a try! The week is held in recognition of Grace Hopper’s birthday (12/09/1906), who invented the first compiler and coined the term “bug” (an error in a program) after removing an actual moth from a computer in 1947.
This year's theme is Computer Science for Good, inspired by the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Students are encouraged to consider how computer science can be used to address the world's challenges as technology and computer science will be the key to solving problems big and small. (Read more here!) No matter what subject or grade level you teach, you can participate - no experience necessary! Many activities don’t require computers. Read more below and explore our toolkit to see how you and your students can participate!
How you can participate in CS Ed Week
Highlight inclusivity within computer science, a field that has traditionally excluded many groups of people, specifically females, African Americans, LatinX, English language learners, and people with disabilities. In San Francisco, we are disrupting these inequitable trends and have committed to making CS accessible and engaging to all students, from all backgrounds. We have designed and curated activities that will support all students in learning CS and exploring related careers, particularly for those students who believe CS is not for them.
Use this planning guide to organize your event and share information with your school community!
Put simply, computer science (CS) is learning how to use the power of computers to solve problems. It’s the study of computers and algorithmic processes, their principles, their designs, their applications, and their impact on society.
CS teaches problem solving and important skills like communication, collaboration, and design. There are tremendous career opportunities, and CS is relevant to all career pathways. In San Francisco, Vision 2025 specifies computer science as a new core competency that is increasingly important in today’s world where computing is ubiquitous.