Exploring Computer Science

This book was made by Joanna Goode and Gail Chapman. They work at the University of Oregon. The book is called Exploring Computer Science. It helps teachers teach kids about computers. Teachers can use it in their own classroom, but they should not copy or share it without asking first.

Who Helped Make This Book

Smart groups called the National Science Foundation gave money to help make this book. They wanted to help more kids learn about computers — especially African American kids, Latino/a kids, and girls. Many people helped write and check this book too.

What's Inside This Book

This book has six main parts, called units. Each unit teaches something different:

1. Human Computer Interaction (how people and computers work together) — 4 weeks
2. Problem Solving — 4 weeks
3. Web Design (making websites) — 5 weeks
4. Introduction to Programming (giving computers instructions) — 6 weeks
5. Computing and Data Analysis (working with information) — 6 weeks
6. Robotics (building and controlling robots) — 7 weeks

The book also talks about how computers affect our world and our lives.

What Is This Course About?

Exploring Computer Science, or ECS, teaches kids about many parts of computer science. Computer science is the study of computers and how they solve problems.

This course does not just teach one computer program or one computer language. Instead, it teaches the big ideas behind computers. It helps students understand why people use certain tools to solve certain problems.

The main goal is to help students learn to:

• build algorithms (step-by-step instructions),
• solve problems, and
• write computer programs.

Students learn using problems that matter to their everyday lives. They also learn about:

• how to design things people can use easily,
• what computers can't do, and
• how computers affect people and what is fair or right (this is called ethics).

This course first started in the Los Angeles schools. The goal was to help more kids learn computer science — especially girls and students of color, who often don't get the chance. It worked so well that schools all over the country now use it too. Helping more kinds of students learn computer science is still a very important goal.

The Rules and Skills Behind the Course

This course was built using two things: computer science facts and computer science skills (called "practices"). Together, these help students understand what computer scientists actually do. This course follows official guides called the K-12 Computer Science Framework and the CSTA Computer Science Standards.

What Students Should Know Before Starting

Students should take an Algebra math class before this course. ECS is meant to be a challenging but fair class that gets students ready for college. Students do not need to know anything about computer science before starting.

What the Classroom Needs

The best classroom for this course has tables, chairs, and computers, so students can work together in groups. It's best if every student has their own computer. But since students often work together, two students can share one computer if there aren't enough.