In today’s world technology is everywhere and it is not going away anytime soon. In this fast paced ever changing world there seems to be a new piece of technology every month. Due to the recent pandemic, everyone has become a bit more familiar with technology and has become a bit more “tech savvy”. In the past year students as young as 5 years old all the way through college have had to quickly earn and understand how to use many different types of technology including but not limited to, chromebooks, google programs, zooms and many more. Those are considered the standard technologies that most schools are currently using. As we think back to the past school year, teachers not only had to reinvent the wheel and teach students how to use technology but they also had to make sure they were teaching to the standards. If we had adopted computer science classes for students and teachers prior to the pandemic there would not have been as much of a mad rush to understand and implement the technology into our teaching.

With all of that being said my recommendation would be “Computer Science Fundamentals (k-2; 3-5)” from Code.org. When I began doing my own research into this site, it was one of my favorites for a few reasons. First off, it was very user friendly, especially as it was my first time using any kind of “coding” software. The set up of the tutorial was not overwhelming or difficult to follow. The information given was set up like a game and was given step by step, it was very engaging and fun while you learned how to code. Students are given tasks to complete that are taking place in a familiar game, for example “Mine Craft”, this is a very familiar game to many students of all ages. Once students enter the game they are taken through different levels that progressively get harder. Each level allows students to have multiple trials to implement the correct code to pass the level. After completing each level you are shown a new “how to” video on the next task you will be presented with.

Now that you understand the format of the program and can agree it seems user friendly you must be thinking about its cost. Well as i, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that this program is actually quite practical, not only because it is user friendly but also because it is offered for no cost. According to the article by Gallup, “Trends in the State of Computer Science in the U.S. K-12 Schools” we understood that “lack of funds” and “lack of qualified teachers” are two of the biggest barriers in the way of bettering CS implementation in schools. The article specifically says, “a majority of principals and superintendents report that there is not enough money to train or hire a CS teacher (55% of principals and 57% of superintendents)” (pp. 22). However, the curriculum and software are free AND “all professional development opportunities are currently available at no cost to educators” when signed up for coge.org. There is not much else you'd need to implement a CS program into your district besides the technology. For code.org all you need is “one device per two students is recommended, with one-to-one being ideal”. In New Bedford most schools are already equipped with one to one chromebooks due to COVID which makes the implementation of code.org even easier.

The last and most outstanding piece of the site is that it also has English Learner Supports. This is very helpful seeing as the student population in New Bedford is 22.2% ELL.

To close, I feel that New Bedford Public Schools would hugely benefit from the implementation of Code.org into their curriculum. According to the article, “The vast majority of parents (84%) and majorities of teachers (71%), principals (66%) and superintendents (65%) say that offering CS is more important than or just as important as required courses like math, science, history and English.” (pp. 3). With this being said I think we better reevaluate our curriculum and begin to implement CS education ASAP.