Classroom Story

Many teachers are unsure about where to start, as they don’t have the expertise or background, as such, there is a barrier to entry. There are also a lot of different platforms and languages for coding, so it’s hard to find one place with reliable and relatable content.

CS First tackles these challenges head on. It creates an easy point of entry by offering structured lessons, broken down into themes that relate to students’ interests, and engaging resources, including a lot of video content. It also provides one platform through which all content can be accessed, meaning teachers do not need to be expert coders to bring CS into the classroom.

With Google’s support, we’ve developed sessions that equip teachers with the skills to teach computer science in the classroom. We use a train-the-trainer approach where we go out to education centres across Ireland to train teachers, and they then go on to train other teachers in their local areas.

From a small pool of trainers, we’ve reached hundreds of teachers and students. The fact it’s free is a big thing for schools – it means more teachers get the opportunity to try something new. It shows teachers that there is an accessible way to introduce CS to their students. Essentially, it is about giving everyone the opportunity to explore CS and take it on.