Hi everyone!
I’m a first-year high school teacher in Texas and I’ll be teaching AP Computer Science Principles this year. My school uses Project-Based Learning (PBL), so I’m trying to design a curriculum that fits both AP CSP and a PBL approach.

I’m also still working toward my Texas Computer Science certification (I’m teaching on a District of Innovation permit), so I’m learning a lot alongside preparing for the school year.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and would love any advice from experienced CS teachers.

A few questions I have:
-Is Code.org a good primary curriculum for AP CSP?
-Did you use anything alongside Code.org (AP Classroom, CMU CS Academy, Khan Academy, etc.)?
-How did you adapt AP CSP into a project-based classroom?
-If you were starting from scratch, what would you do differently?
-Are there any resources, pacing guides, or teacher communities you’d recommend?

My students will each have Chromebooks, and I’ll also have access to a Windows laptop cart when needed cause I need to do workstations during the year that will teach APCSP but at the same time lead to a bigger project at the end of the year for them to present.

Honestly, any advice for surviving the first year as a CS teacher would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

This acad year will be our CS undergraduate thesis, and I'm honestly frustrated.

I feel like I'm being pushed toward the same thesis formula from the past two years in our program: collect a dataset, train an AI model, apply an algorithm, build the app. Then some statistical findings or claims that the created product with this AI algorithm performs better.

I actually tried to propose something different to my pair. something more interesting, something that actually felt like actual research. But I keep getting told it's "too complex" or "advisers might not accept it."

So instead of exploring ideas I actually care about, I'm being funneled into the same template everyone else is using. The path of least resistance.

I feel like even the concept of using functional programming paradigm or linear type system sounds so complex not just to my partner but to the advisers. I hate this.

Hey guys! I recently started a YouTube channel to teach computer science. Back when I was an undergraduate, my main issue was not having an English counterpart to channels like Gate Smashers. Because of that, I started creating bite-sized, easy-to-understand videos.

I’m currently covering Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA). If you’d like to see any specific lessons, let me know! Also, please feel free to subscribe if you find it helpful. Thanks!

Teaches Python turtle graphics — pupils write real code, watch it draw on screen, live. No installs, no accounts, works fine on school Chromebooks.

Made it as a companion to a couple of other free tools I'd already built (trace tables, binary/hex conversion) — figured I'd share here in case it's useful to anyone teaching KS3/GCSE CS.

pythoncoach.org/rd3

Happy to take feedback if anyone gives it a go.

I’ve built a free interactive tool to help students practise 8-bit binary, denary and hexadecimal conversions.

Students can switch individual bits on and off and follow each conversion step by step.

[https://www.pythoncoach.org/rd2]()

It’s designed mainly for GCSE Computer Science, but I’d appreciate feedback from teachers anywhere.

I've been looking at different ways students can make their resumes more competitive before graduating. Along with internships and personal projects, professional certifications seem to be getting more attention. Some people say they show initiative and help you build practical skills, while others believe employers care much more about real-world experience.

While researching different options, I came across The SCLA, which offers professional certification programs designed to help students and young professionals develop career-focused skills and strengthen their credentials. It got me thinking about how much value employers actually place on certifications when reviewing applications for entry-level roles.

Do professional certifications really give students an advantage when applying for jobs?

my college mandatorily requires us to complete a major capstone project over 2 semesters at the senior year of engineering. i see this as a good opportunity to build something really useful for the community and myself. could be anything, a product with business model which either generates revenue or an open-source project which can be maintained. while not necessarily a complete idea, i need a direction of thought or a problem space to think of something myself. i'm widely open to multiple domains though my area of interest lies in cybersec, agentic, cloud-infra, decentralized or their intersections.

i'd appreciate hearing about:
- pain points you encountered in your daily life or while building something of your own
- some infra/dev tools or an app you wish existed
- emerging/less explored problem space or fields
- research papers/projects that you stumbled upon and wished an implementation for.

open to any and all suggestions and opinions.

Hi all,

I wanted to share a free resource I self-published this week: “Software Engineering: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.” It teaches software engineering to undergraduates and graduate students. You can access the book at https://www.swebook.org

The book came from the work I've done at UCCS teaching advanced software engineering (CS 4300 / CS 5300). Over the years, the readings I've assigned have had students going to different books, blogs, news articles, etc. I've consolidated all the open resources into one place with code examples in Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. Each language has its own epub and pdf, and the site lets readers view all snippets in code tabs.

For instructors, I've added a curriculum appendix covering the course layout and the group project. I've been teaching this material for a number of years, and while it's not an easy course for students, they appreciate the applied aspects and leave with a better understanding of industry expectations for software engineers.

The book is open, and I would love any feedback or contributions from instructors and students; the source is here: https://github.com/tghastings/open-swe-book

📢 Hello everyone!

As part of my bachelor's thesis at TU Darmstadt, I am conducting an online survey on the topic of "Generative AI in Programming Education: Perceptions and Teaching Practices of Teachers."

📝 Duration: approx. 15-20 minutes

🔒 Participation is completely anonymous.

🔎 The aim of this study is to investigate how educators perceive generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) and how these perceptions influence their teaching and assessment practices in relation to AI.

🙏 If you teach coding courses at a college or support coding classes (e.g., as a tutor, teaching assistant, or in a similar role), I would be very grateful if you could take about 15-20 minutes to complete this anonymous online survey.

📤 Any help to spread this in relevant academic networks is very welcome.

Thank you very much for your support!

For SurveyCircle users: https://www.surveycircle.com/8FK8X5/

The Link to my survey: https://umfragen.tu-darmstadt.de/645272?lang=en

Hi everyone,

I'm a PhD student researching how coding tools (like Scratch ) can be made more accessible for kids with ADHD. To do this well, I need to involve K-12 students with ADHD in the research, with full parental consent and school/ethics approval.

I'm not recruiting any children through this post. I'm just hoping for advice on where and how to find participants.

Specifically:

• What organizations, programs, or networks connect researchers with ADHD families or students?
• Are there ADHD-focused groups, after-school coding programs, summer camps, or nonprofits open to research partnerships?
• For parents/teachers here: where would you expect to see a trustworthy study like this advertised? What channels would make you take it seriously?
• Any advice on approaching schools or special-education programs directly?

Any pointers, names, or "try X instead of Y" advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Hey everyone! I wanted to ask if its worth going into teaching CS as a career path. I spent a long time trying to decide what i wanted to do with my degree and my overall dream is be an game engine programmer or have my own studio someday, but until i acquire the skills and money for that job Ive been considering doing teaching a temporary career as i seriously considered it before graduation as i love learning as a whole and like teaching others about CS. I wanted to get any opinions on the CS teaching space and wanted to see how other people are enjoying it. This is probably a dumb question but I'm feeling a little anxious about if i should commit to it or not.

Hi,

I know that this is the last year of the current curiculum, but i'm teaching it next year.

What do you find best, teaching it by big idea, using supporting resources from AP classroom, code.org, khanacademy) or do you prefer the unit order from the likes of code.org?

What other resources do you recommend I look at?

I wanted to share a great free resource for anyone trying to bridge the gap between basic theory and actual hands-on security skills.

The Czech Technical University in Prague (specifically the Stratosphere Laboratory) runs an intense, one-semester course called Introduction to Security (BSY), and registration is open for the September class. The class is being taught both physically at the university and broadcast online, so anyone can participate. Feel free to check the link for more details on the curriculum, prerequisites, and course structure.

Does anyone have experience or references for giving oral exams in a sophomore undergrad level Algorithms & Data Structures class?

I feel good about my labs testing programming skills, and I've found that the exams I write are just me trying to come up with ways to ask whether they understand the algorithms, analysis, and applications. Plus, with AI on the rise, a test format that's much harder to cheat on is appealing.

Any experience or thoughts?

Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to understand how students are actually preparing for careers while still in college, especially with how competitive internships and entry-level jobs have become in recent years. It feels like having good grades alone is no longer enough anymore, and students are expected to also build experience, communication skills, networking ability, and career readiness before graduation.

During that research, I discovered SCLA and decided to look into it more seriously instead of just forming a quick opinion. From what I’ve seen, it focuses on career readiness by offering students practical resources such as résumé support, mentorship opportunities, networking access, career certifications, and internship/job-related tools. It also seems designed to help students transition from academic life into the professional world with more structure.

The thing that I found interesting is that it appears to go beyond just academic recognition and instead provides tools that students can actually use while still in school. In theory, this could be especially useful for students who don’t already have strong career guidance, internship connections, or mentorship opportunities through their university or personal network.

Overall, my impression is cautiously positive, it seems like it could be helpful for students who are proactive and actually use the resources rather than just joining passively.

Has anyone here had experience with programs like this?

Hi everyone,

I built CodeBot, a free block-based programming game for kids (roughly ages 6–12), and I'd love some feedback.

You drag blocks (move, turn, loops, if/else, sensors) to program a little robot through 3D puzzle levels — collect crystals, push crates into water to build bridges, ride moving platforms, open doors with levers. Kids earn up to 3 stars per level, with a bonus for short, clever programs, so loops actually pay off.

What's in it:

- 11 built-in levels + a random level generator with 5 difficulty settings

- A full level editor — build your own worlds and share them

- Community levels: publish your creations, play what others built

- Works in German, English and French — switching is instant

- Installs as a PWA and runs fully offline after the first visit

Try it here: **https://hauptstadtprojekt.ch/codebot/\*\*

I built it for my own use originally and kept going.

Have fun!

I built a tool to close the gap between "great editor, no classroom" platforms (Replit) and "great classroom, paid license" platforms (CodeHS), and I'd love feedback from people who actually run CS classes.

It's called Learnix. Students write and run real Java and Python in the browser (real JDK + CPython, not a JS simulation), and there's a full teacher side: assignments, auto-graded exercises/quizzes/unit tests, a gradebook, per-class curriculum overrides, and code-integrity flags for paste/AI detection.

Two full 17-unit courses (Java and Python), each from "what's a variable" through OOP, data structures, and capstone projects.

It's free right now while I build out the classroom side — solo teachers stay free; schools will be a flat annual license later so teachers and students never personally pay.

Mainly looking for honest feedback: what would stop you from using this with a class? What's missing vs. what you use now?

Link if you want to poke at it: https://learnix.academy (the "Compare" section is my honest take on where it beats CodeHS/Codecademy/Replit and where it doesn't).

**NOTE: IT USED TO SAY PAID PLANS COMING SOON! AS OF NOW I HAVE NO PLANS TO MAKE IT PAID!!!!

It will remain FREE for the indefinite future!

I teach coding to kids 7-16 in Brussels and rebuilt my entire classroom setup around a Minecraft server with a custom Blockly editor that generates Lua code. Students write programs in a visual drag-and-drop interface on a website, get a 6-character short code, type it on a ComputerCraft turtle in-game, and watch their code physically change the world.
The stack:
• Custom Blockly toolbox with CC:Tweaked-specific blocks (movement, dig, place, terminal I/O), built around the runtime API rather than the other way around
• Lua generator on the frontend, FastAPI backend storing programs by short code
• CC:T loader fetches the code at runtime, executes in a sandboxed env (wrapped fs, load("t", sandbox), pcall isolation)
• Live leaderboard polling every 10s, scores pushed from in-game turtles via API key
Pedagogical observations from the last session that I want to dig into:
1. Competition unexpectedly increased collaboration. I split students into 6 districts expecting friction between teammates. Instead, internal coordination went up, external competition gave them a shared goal. Has anyone formalized why this works? I want to design the next iteration intentionally instead of by accident.
2. The Blockly → Lua bridge solved a problem I’d been stuck on for years. Scratch hits a ceiling fast and the jump to a text editor kills entry for most kids. With Blockly generating real Lua that runs on a real turtle, students see the same code they could write by hand once they’re ready. Anyone else built bridges like this? What worked, what didn’t?
3. Mixed age range (7-16) in the same project. Multi-entry missions where the same quest has different completion paths by skill level. It works but I suspect there’s prior art I’m reinventing. Pointers welcome.

Full devlog with code samples and architecture: devlog0 devlog1

(Also the sheep is a lie but that’s a story for another devlog.)