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CS Fundamentals Unplugged

We've compiled a list of all of our unplugged lessons for you to use in your classroom. Now you can teach the fundamentals of computer science, whether you have computers in your classroom or not!

Unplugged lessons in CS Fundamentals 2022-23

The following lessons can be found in CS Fundamentals 2022-23 .

Course A		Sequencing	Close
		Loops
		Events	Close
Course B		Sequencing	Close
		Loops	Close
		Impacts of Computing
Course C		Sequencing	Close
		Loops	Close
		Events	Close
		Binary	Close
Course D		Sequencing	Close
		Sequencing	Close
		Conditionals	Close
Course E		Functions	Close
		Impacts of Computing
		Digital Citizenship	Close
Course F		Variables	Close
		For Loops	Close
		Data	Close

Additional Unplugged lessons

The following lessons are organized by concept and can be found in earlier versions of our CS Fundamentals courses. Additional resources you may want to consult as you plan to use these lessons include:

• 2019 Course A-F Curriculum Guide | 2019 Course A-F Supply List | 2019 Course Amazon Lists
• 2018 Course A-F Curriculum Guide
• 2017 Course A-F Curriculum Guide (v2)
• Course 1-4 Curriculum Guide
• CSF Flashcards

​

Digital Citizenship		Close
	*Common Sense Education has a that includes many unplugged activities.
Binary		Close
Loops		Close
Functions
		Close
Algorithms		Close
		Close
		Close
		Close
		Close
Computational Thinking
		Close
		Close
Persistence		Close
		Close
Abstraction
Variables		Close

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7 High School Coding Club Activities & Projects

Thinking of joining an after school coding group? Starting a new chapter of Girls Who Code or Code Club at your school? Programming extracurriculars are a great way to build coding skills in a low stakes environment with people who share your interests. There are tons of different ways to engage with coding resources and build interesting projects together as a group. In this post, we’ll explore some high school coding club activities and projects that will bring your coding club to the next level.

Enjoy fun high school coding club activities and projects

Let’s break down seven great options for activities to do with your coding club. From taking classes together to hacking together, these options are all fun ways to bond over code and flex your coding muscles.

1. Try a new language as a group

If you’re starting a new group, chances are members will have a range of different skills and know a variety of languages. In this case, it may be fun to demo several languages, trying out options so everyone knows what’s out there. A great way to learn a new language is to take a free coding class.

It’s easy and (obviously) inexpensive, and lets people try something new. Take a few of our free coding classes , and experience a diversity of languages and programming styles. We’d recommend Scratch for newbies, Roblox or Minecraft for gamers, and Python for older students with some experience.

2. Code a project for social good

Meta’s Engineer for the Week program enables students to kickstart their coding or programming career. Meta provides everything students need to learn coding basics and then build games based on their newfound knowledge. At the end of the program, students build their own socially-conscious project which will get feedback from real software developers at Meta. Engineer for the Week would be a great activity to do as a coding group: you can learn together and beta test each other’s work. Explore Create & Learn's free Meta Engineer for the Week classes for live expert guidance throughout the process.

3. Make a game together

Not sure what to do for your first coding club meeting? Have all your members work on a project together! There are tons of great options for team projects: project the code up on screen and brainstorm together, or break into small groups and see all the different ways your members solve the same problem.

Pick a fun game or coding tutorial that students will relate to, and you’ll be coding together in no time. Here’s a cool Rock, Paper, Scissors Gam e that’s especially accessible for new-intermediate coders.

4. Take a class with your club

If your club is looking for a little more support, consider taking a high school coding course together! You can all sign up for the same session and participate either virtually or all in the same room. You’ll work on the same projects with teacher and peer guidance, and at the end, you’ll be more equipped to tackle the projects your team wants to tackle.

Classes depend on group interest. Check out Create & Learn’s live virtual options for Web Dev , Machine Learning , Python , and more .

5. Explore your hobbies in code

For more advanced clubs, a great way to move to the next level is to encourage members to build their own projects. Code is a great medium for exploring hobbies; while your members share an interest in programming, they bring a variety of other passions to the table that can be harnessed through code. Build games focused on sports, anime, or even cooking.

Here’s a cool, Pokemon-focused project that’s bound to be a hit with some of your members.

6. Host a student work showcase

A great way to engage your community and show off your club’s hard work is to hold a student showcase! Book your school or local library for a time where you can invite others to come and see your projects and in-progress work, and feature your member’s programming skills. It’s a great way to keep your club motivated and goal-oriented, and can be a lot of fun.

Keep an eye out for Create & Learn’s community showcases if you want to share your code online with students around the world.

7. Participate in a high school hackathon

Ready to show off your skills? A hackathon allows your club to compete against other clubs and solve a challenging problem. Hackathons are some of the best bonding activities for aspiring coders, and a great way to put your knowledge to the test. Some are sponsored by companies, and are thus a great way to network with other high school coding enthusiasts and industry professionals.

See if there are any high school hackathons in your area at this link .

Try these high school coding club activities and ideas

We hope some of these ideas help you guide your coding club in an exciting direction! Looking to get started with coding for teens , but not sure exactly where to begin? Join our accelerated Scratch class to conquer coding fundamentals while making awesome games with the help of a live expert.

Up next, discover some leadership activities for high school students .

Written by Sarah Rappaport, who graduated from Northwestern University with undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and music. She's now working on a masters in data with Georgia Institute of Technology. She taught math and computer science with Teach for America for two years, and now works as a Systems Engineer.

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Teaching Algorithms for High School Students

Teaching computer science and coding to students can often be a difficult task – many of the concepts and skills involved can seem dauntingly complex at first glance. This is often the case for algorithms , which are an essential part of computer science – but which many students can easily get confused by if they aren’t taught effectively. “Algorithms” is also one of those technical sorts of words that can cause panic just because of the associated difficulty with them.

Algorithms don’t have to be a challenge, though – there are a number of ways to make them simple to understand for students of all ages. This guide will cover everything you need to know to successfully introduce your high-school students to the concept of algorithms and begin to explore how they relate to the wider topics of computer science, coding, and digital technology.

Try out Zenva Schools with your students for free! Contact our team via this form and we’ll be in touch to set up your free access .

What Is an Algorithm?

In simple terms, algorithms are a series of ordered steps that are required to carry out a task, sort information, or solve a problem. In order for an algorithm to work, it needs to be structured correctly, with each step in the sequence placed in a logical order. 

Algorithms are everywhere, not just in computer science. At their simplest level, algorithms can be understood as a series of instructions that enable us to carry out basic tasks and solve simple problems. For example, a recipe is essentially an algorithm for creating a specific type of food; and a morning routine is an algorithm for getting ready for work efficiently.

In terms of computer science, algorithms provide programs with rules and sequences to follow in order to take a specific course of action or solve a problem. They’re a fundamental aspect of how many programs work, so any coding or computer science student should have a firm understanding of how they operate.

How Are Algorithms Used In Daily Life?

One of the best ways to help students understand how algorithms work is to introduce them to some of the algorithms they encounter on a daily basis. Algorithms are used in a variety of scenarios in order to complete a task efficiently or with the desired results – for example, the directions your students take to get to school can be considered an algorithm for getting there as fast as possible (unless you have a student who likes the scenic route). 

Another example would be the recipe for baking a cake. If you don’t complete the steps in the recipe in the right order, then you won’t end up with a particularly good cake. Likewise, if an algorithm’s steps aren’t sequenced logically and correctly, then it will fail to carry out its intended purpose.

Algorithms are present in the technology your students use on a daily basis, too. For example, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok use algorithms to decide which posts and content to show them based on who they follow, what their interests are, and their typical browsing habits.

Another example is Google. Google’s search algorithm is used to sort search results for a particular term according to their relevance. While the primary factor is the search terms used, Google’s algorithm also takes note of a wide range of other information to sort results, such as location and previous searches. These factors are used to provide further context to the algorithm, enabling it to pick out the most relevant results for each user.

Finally, another way to examine algorithms is by considering the rules and win/loss conditions that govern how games work. This works for both board games and video games. 

For example, in chess, you could consider determining check and checkmate as an algorithm, as the player must examine all possible actions until they find one that gets their king out of danger, and if they can’t then checkmate has been achieved. Video games, meanwhile, may use more complex algorithms to determine how AI opponents react to the player’s actions.

Important Algorithm Concepts To Teach

As well as explaining how algorithms work on a basic level, it’s important for high-school students to understand some of the broader concepts that underpin algorithmic functions. An important starting point is to explain linear algorithms – a simple form of an algorithm that uses a linear, step-by-step process to achieve a particular outcome.

Linear algorithms can be contrasted with branching. Algorithms that incorporate branching can take multiple different actions and operate on multiple potential sequences depending on a specific set of conditions and the information they’re provided with. For branching algorithms, it can be helpful to use flowcharts to represent the different pathways and the conditions which trigger them.

Branching algorithms link to two other important algorithmic concepts: conditional statements and loops. 

A conditional statement is a step in the algorithm’s sequence that is dependent on certain requirements being met, and they are therefore one of the main drivers of a branching algorithm. For example, a streaming website might ask you for your age when you log on. An algorithm could then use a conditional statement to decide whether you’re old enough to access age-restricted content and change what content you’re shown as a result.

Loops, meanwhile, are an action or group of actions that are repeated by an algorithm until a conditional statement returns a different result. A practical example is boiling a kettle – the kettle keeps boiling water until the water is boiling hot, then turns off. The conditional statement required to end a loop and progress the sequence of an algorithm is known as the exit condition.

By learning about branches, conditional statements, and loops, your students can gain a firmer understanding of how algorithms perform highly complex functions that rely on a variety of different conditions being met.

Exercises For Teaching Algorithms

One of the best ways to teach algorithms to high school students without overwhelming them with complex theoretical concepts is to explain different aspects of algorithms through practical activities. These don’t necessarily need to be coding activities – there are many exercises you can run with your class that don’t even need a computer, meaning that the less technically experienced students in your class can still get to grips with algorithms easily.

For example, a simple way of explaining algorithms as a series of instructions is to run an art-based activity. Get students into pairs, then provide one student in each pair with a drawing that they must describe to their partner, who then draws it themselves. Compare the drawings they produce with the original image to see how close they get.

Then, read out a specific set of instructions to the entire class that clearly explains how to draw an object. With any luck, the clear set of instructions will result in more accurate drawings than the first time around. This can then be linked to algorithms by explaining how taking the proper sequence of clear instructions is vital to producing the desired result with an algorithm.

Another option for explaining sequencing within algorithms is to run a water measuring challenge, tasking students to measure a certain volume of water with a series of smaller containers. They should develop a methodology to measure the water as efficiently as possible, which can then be linked to the way that algorithms can be used to sort information efficiently through proper sequencing.

To explain branching algorithms, one effective and engaging activity is to task your students with creating a choose-your-own-adventure story using a flowchart. This story should have multiple pathways depending on the choices made. The exercise is a fun way of explaining branching and conditional statements, as well as demonstrating how flowcharts can be used to map out algorithms to make them easier to plan and design.

Finally, for a more technical activity, your class can take on a robot programming challenge – either with real robots, a simple game or program, or even by having your students act as the “robots” themselves. Tasking your class with programming their robot to navigate an obstacle course through a clear set of instructions is another way of demonstrating how sequencing works within algorithms.

Resources For Teaching Algorithms

In addition to the exercises above, it can be helpful to look online for resources that can help you to effectively teach your high school students about algorithms, The following are some great examples of online courses, resources, and tools to use in your lessons.

Zenva Schools

Zenva Schools is an online learning platform dedicated to teaching coding in schools. It features a varied library of project-based coding and computer science lessons and courses made by industry professionals, including various modules that teach students about algorithms with coding itself. 

Since Zenva Schools focuses on practical learning through projects spanning web design, game design, app coding, and more, it keeps lessons fun and engaging for students. In addition, it features in-browser coding and on-demand video, meaning that students can access Zenva’s resources even when they aren’t in the classroom. 

Zenva Schools also functions as a learning management platform for teachers, enabling them to track students’ progress through different courses. Thanks to all of these features, Zenva Schools is not only a great tool for teaching high school students about algorithms, but it’s also extremely helpful for teaching wider coding and computer science subjects as well.

Scratch is a fun and intuitive block-based coding platform which is highly popular as an educational tool in schools. Since it uses block-based coding rather than a text-based programming language, it’s much easier for beginners to use, so it’s a great way to introduce students to new concepts without needing too much technical experience.

There are a variety of lesson plans available as part of Scratch’s library of teaching resources as well as from other teachers and education websites, many of which offer fun and engaging ways of using the platform to teach algorithms. As an example, Scratch could be used in place of an actual robot for the robot-programming exercise outlined above.

Essentially, Scratch provides an easy-to-use platform for practical coding exercises, meaning it’s an ideal option for when your students are ready to start creating their first algorithms.

Hour Of Code

Hour of Code is a library of roughly one-hour-long coding activities covering a variety of subjects, including algorithms. Most of the lessons on offer focus on using game or app design as a means of explaining different coding concepts to students, meaning it can be a fun way to keep students engaged while they learn about algorithms.

The Hour of Code activity library contains exercises designed for a wide range of ages and experience levels, so you should be able to find suitable activities centered on algorithms no matter the needs of your class.

CS Unplugged

CS Unplugged is a site dedicated to giving teachers the resources to teach computer science without the need for students to have any previous coding experience. It does this by providing lesson plans and activities that don’t require a computer, instead focusing on practical, physical activities. 

CS Unplugged has an extensive library of resources for different computer science subjects, including a variety of exercises and lesson plans designed to teach students about algorithms. As such, it can be a great place to start if you want to introduce your students to algorithms without needing to explain the coding technicalities first.

Algorithms are a vital subject to cover when teaching coding or computer science, as they form the backbone of many programs and technologies that we use in everyday life. As such, it’s important that teachers have the right approaches and resources to teach students about algorithms effectively.

Using the information and resources from this guide should make algorithms a much easier subject to handle for high-school teachers. Whether you opt for some of the practical exercises listed above or rely on ready-made courses and lessons from the likes of Zenva Schools and other online learning sites, these resources will enable you to explain algorithms to your class with ease.

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Computer Applications | Student Engagement | Teaching Strategies

5 Bell Ringer Activities to Engage Computer Applications Students

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September 5th, 2024 | 10 min. read

Mike Cescon

With past experience in teaching, a couple of degrees in writing, and an upbringing immersed in medical jargon, Mike is positioned well to hear out the most common questions teachers ask about the iCEV curriculum. His goal is to write content that quickly and effectively answers these questions so you can back to what matters - teaching your students.

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Even though your students spend so much of their lives connected to the internet, it can still be difficult to grab their attention when they walk into your computer class. Maybe they prefer using their phones, or maybe they’re just so immersed in technology that computers no longer impress .

Whatever the reason, it can be incredibly frustrating for computer teachers to wrangle students at the start of every class period. As a computer applications curriculum developer, we’ve heard hundreds of teachers voice these complaints about student engagement , and in response, we’ve developed a list of activities--called bell ringers--designed to hook your students in as soon as they walk through your door. 

In this article, you’ll discover five of the best bell ringers you can use to quickly engage students in your computer applications class:

• Question of the Day
• Educational Games
• Gauge Student Knowledge
• Student Check-Ins with Google Forms
• Keyboarding Warm-Ups

By the end of this article, you’ll have a keen understanding of each of these strategies so that you can use the ones that fit your classroom the best.

What Is a Bell Ringer Activity?

A bell ringer is a short assessment, activity, or assignment that students complete as soon as they enter a classroom. 

Typically, bell ringers indicate to students that class has begun and immediately engage students’ attention by priming them to think about the course material. 

There are many examples of bell ringers, but they vary depending on the subject matter of a class:

• Math classes frequently have students complete practice problems at the beginning of class to refresh their minds on a previous lesson’s theorems or equations.
• English classes often include writing activities like Write for Fives, where students spend five minutes journaling their thoughts going into each lesson.
• Science classes may have students complete short vocab quizzes on important terms they learned in a prior lesson or from a textbook.

While these activities are helpful for other subjects, when it comes to computer applications, there are more specific bell ringers that use technology to win over your students. 

Bell Ringer 1: Question of the Day

A great way to both prepare your students for a lesson and refresh them on a prior lesson is to ask them a Question of the Day. 

Questions of the Day can come in many forms, but generally they should be specific, thought-provoking questions that relate to a previous day’s lesson.

In other words, if your students pay attention , they should have all the tools they need to answer it!

What Are Some Example Questions of the Day?

To effectively use a Question of the Day:

• Either write the question on a board or otherwise present it to your students. 
• After you’ve written it, give your students a few minutes to think about or write down their responses. 
• When they’re done, you can either call on one of your students, have each turn in their response, or use the Question of the Day as a springboard to start a class discussion.

Try to make your Question of the Day interesting so it grabs your students’ attention. For example, if you’re teaching a unit on trustworthy web research , some solid Questions of the Day might include:

• How common do you think it is for misinformation to spread over the Internet? Why is this the case?
• Do you think people often lie about themselves when posting on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter? Have you done this?
• What are the ways you think the internet can cause people harm?

Rather than just forcing students to list off facts or figures, with the right Questions of the Day, you can engage your students’ critical thinking skills and get them to expand on their existing knowledge.  

Bell Ringer 2: Educational Games

Digital games can sometimes be a slippery slope to use in your classroom. After all, it’s really easy for students to become so focused on winning that they stop paying attention to the actual course material. 

However, it can’t be denied that games go a long way toward engaging your students in class. If you use them correctly, gaming can be a great bell ringer to kick off your computer applications course.

Games have stakes, force students to think quickly and critically about course material, provide an incentive for interacting with the class, and perhaps more than anything else, are exciting and fun! 

What Are Some Example Educational Games?

There are a few different kinds of games you can incorporate in your computer applications class to ensure it gets off to a strong start:

• Computer applications games are some of the easiest and most fun games you can have students play. These games test your students’ skills and knowledge when it comes to tech-centric concepts. For example, when teaching digital citizenship , Interland is a valuable interactive game you can have students play to explore the various concepts involved. 
• Trivia games are another exciting tool computer apps teachers have in their toolbox. Gaming systems like Kahoot! allow teachers to start class with customized trivia games for any topic they can think of, including computer apps. Playing a trivia game using Kahoot! with laptops and interactive screens can even double as a soft lesson showing students how versatile technology can be.

Gaming can be one of the simplest ways to engage your students and keep them interested in the course material. After all, no student will mind entering a classroom when the first thing they get to do is hop on a game.

Bell Ringer 3: Gauge Student Knowledge

Gauging your students’ knowledge can be another solid bell ringer to kick off your computer applications class. After all, students often like having their knowledge of specific topics probed by teachers in preparation for a lesson. 

If it’s a topic the student is already confident they know well, answering your questions correctly will get them excited about enhancing their understanding. And if they don’t know the answer, no big deal! That just gives them more room to learn the topic in the first place. 

In many ways, this bell ringer may play out similar to a Question of the Day activity, but while a Question of the Day is focused on a previous day’s lesson, gauging student knowledge takes place before the lesson on a topic.

What Is an Example of Gauging Student Knowledge?

When grasping how much students know about a subject, try to be intriguing with your questions. 

For example, if you’re about to teach a unit on responsible social media use , here’s a way you might gauge student knowledge:

• Ask students what irresponsible social media use looks like, or maybe if any of them have ever regretted posting a thought on social media. 
• Have them respond either written, digitally, or verbally.
• Take into account their responses, and focus on an answer that will serve to spring into your lesson for the day. 

When you effectively leverage this bell ringer, your students will feel encouraged about their knowledge, and you’ll also get a sense of where their understanding rests regarding the lesson at hand. 

Bell Ringer 4: Student Check-Ins with Google Forms

Checking up on your students at the beginning of class every day is another excellent bell ringer you can use. This one is a bit different, too, because it focuses more on measuring your students’ mental or emotional states rather than prepping them directly for your course material. 

Using Google Forms, you can ask students to rate themselves on a scale of one to five for various criteria. For instance, Jacqueline Prester, the business teacher who created this bell ringer , asks students simple questions like how they slept the night before or how they are doing outside of class. 

There are many benefits to using this bell ringer. For one, it keys you into how your students are feeling, both about themselves and potentially about the course material. You can then use this info to track how they do throughout your class and, if necessary, make some changes if they need a bit of help. 

Another benefit is the open communication this method establishes. Students will appreciate that you’re listening to them and empathizing with them. If done right, they may carry that appreciation over into their course work. 

What Are Some Example Questions for a Google Form Check-In?

Jacqueline Prester divides her Google Form Check-In into four questions: 

• How did you sleep last night? (Scale from 1-5)
• How was your breakfast/lunch? (Scale from 1-5)
• In general, how are things outside of class? (Scale from 1-5)
• Anything you’d like to share with Mrs. Prester today? (Optional short answer response)

This framework is a great starting point for teachers to gauge their students’ overall state before each day’s lesson. Keeping it simple and quick will allow you to get the information you need to best adjust the class to your students’ needs. 

However, this isn’t the only set of questions you can use for your Google Form Check-In. You can quite easily change the questions to better fit your course and students. For instance, some questions on a computer applications Check-In might be: 

• How stressed do you feel from your other classes today? (Scale from 1-5)
• Are things going well outside of school? (Scale 1-5)
• Any thoughts about this? (Optional short answer response)
• How prepared do you feel to learn today? (Scale from 1-5)

By using even just one or two questions on a Google Form Check-In every day, you’ll go a long way toward understanding and empathizing with how your students feel about your class, and can make necessary adjustments to give them the best experience possible. 

Bell Ringer 5: Keyboarding Warm-Ups

Similar to games, keyboarding warm-ups can be another fun bell ringer to start off class. These are solid opening activities that prepare your students for the day and help them develop invaluable typing skills. 

After all, most professional jobs will expect employees to have a strong familiarity with keyboards. Providing your students with the right games and activities when they’re young will help cement a foundation they’ll use for the rest of their lives. 

What Are Some Example Keyboarding Warm-Ups?

There are a few different kinds of keyboarding warm-ups:

• Typing software is a kind of educational technology you can use to help students learn the best keyboarding practices. Depending on the software you choose , you may receive different structure and activities. Some products work best for personal use, having learners watch videos individually and test themselves on their abilities. Others are instead meant for classrooms, allowing teachers to keep track of student progress and receive feedback on the exercises they complete. 
• Typing games are fun and simple activities to help students practice in the first few minutes of class. There are several websites full of engaging typing games you can have students use to warm up, with varying levels of complexity. Just make sure you trust the websites that you end up using! 

Depending on your needs, one of these types of warm-ups will be more valuable to you than the other. 

Typing software will be more useful to teachers who want their students to undergo more in-depth keyboarding practice, with lessons and exercises designed to help them succeed. If you want keyboarding to play a significant role in your class, try using typing software as a bell ringer. 

Typing games are intended more for teachers who want something quick and fun to engage students productively. If you simply need a short educational activity to kick class off every day, a typing game would better suit you. 

Need More Strategies to Keep Your Computer Students Engaged?

Grabbing students’ attention as soon as they walk into your classroom is key to your class getting off to a strong start. However, it’s also something a lot of computer applications teachers find challenging. With how well students know technology these days, you’ll have to try new and interesting strategies to ensure students focus on you. 

In this article, you’ve discovered a few activities that will help you do just that. If you use these bell ringers to start off each class, it will go a long way toward ensuring your lessons hook your students right off the bat. 

But when it comes to the battle for student engagement, bell ringers are just the beginning. If you need more in-depth strategies to fully engage your students throughout your class period, check out our article on the best ways to keep computer applications students engaged . 

This article goes into the various ways you can gain--and keep--student interest in your computer class, exploring concepts like active learning, relatability in the classroom, and more. 

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Extracurriculars.

10 Computer Science Competitions for High Schoolers

What’s covered:, how impressive are computer science competitions, more extracurricular resources for computer science.

Are you a high school student who is interested in computer science? If so, you might be participating in computer science competitions as an extracurricular activity. In this post, we’ll explain how participating in a computer science competition impacts your extracurricular profile and share 10 computer science competitions for high schoolers you could consider joining.

Understanding the Four Tiers of Extracurricular Activities

Before we start, it’s important to understand the four-tier model of extracurricular activities. The tiers are defined as follows:

• Tier 4: These are basic participation activities. They require regular involvement but no leadership role or notable achievements.
• Tier 3: These activities still involve participation, but with some level of distinction, like a minor leadership role or local recognition.
• Tier 2: These are activities where you either have significant leadership roles, statewide recognition, or both.
• Tier 1: These are the most impressive activities where you demonstrate national level recognition, exceptional leadership, or extraordinary achievements. Tier 1 activities are the least common, but because of that, they are highly regarded by admissions officers.

How does your involvement in a competition stack up against the four tiers? Let’s take a look at how various computer science extracurriculars would be viewed by admissions committees. 

Tier 4: General Participation

At this tier, activities mainly involve regular participation without significant leadership roles or exceptional achievements. These activities demonstrate your interest and consistent involvement in computer science.

• Volunteering to help maintain the school’s website: This shows your practical application of computer science skills, as well as your willingness to contribute to the school community.

Tier 3: Participation with Distinction

Tier 3 activities involve a higher level of commitment or achievement, often including minor leadership roles or local recognition.

• Earning a certificate of distinction in an online CS course: Beyond simply taking an online course, earning a certificate of distinction often means you’ve scored in the top percentage of learners. This shows a high level of understanding and mastery of the topic.

Tier 2: Significant Leadership or Statewide Recognition

At Tier 2, your involvement in computer science activities has led to substantial leadership roles, statewide recognition, or both.

• Winning a state-level award for a CS project: Winning such an award signifies that your work stands out among a large number of students. This recognition illustrates your high level of skill and creativity in computer science.

Tier 1: National Level Recognition or Extraordinary Achievement

Tier 1 activities showcase exceptional talent and commitment, demonstrated through national recognition or extraordinary achievements.

• Having a research paper published in a renowned CS journal: Research publication, especially in a prestigious journal, is a rare and impressive achievement for high school students. This indicates that you’re producing work at a near-professional level, contributing new ideas to the field of computer science.

Computer science competitions can be a fantastic way to demonstrate your passion for the field and showcase your problem-solving skills. However, as you’ve gathered, their impressiveness, in terms of college admissions, largely depends on the level of the competition and your performance or role in it. Simply participating in competitions usually falls under Tier 3 or 4. If you take on a leadership role, guide your team to significant achievements, or win prestigious awards, your activity could reach Tier 1 or 2 status. These higher tiers are especially noteworthy to college admissions officers, as they denote exceptional talent, commitment, and initiative.

In order to better streamline the process of finding and searching for computer science competitions, which as mentioned earlier are great ways to create a more competitive and appealing application, here are 10 computer science competitions for high schoolers:

1. USA Computing Olympiad (USACO)

Dates : Dec 16-19, 2022/Jan 27-30, 2023/Feb 24-27, 2023

Type : National followed by an international competition

USACO is a highly esteemed competition that can challenge and develop your computer programming skills. To enter, you must first register on the USACO website and select the division that aligns with your proficiency, starting from Bronze to Platinum. The competition involves solving algorithmic problems that require logical reasoning and knowledge in various programming languages like Java, C++, and Python.

2. American Computer Science League (ACSL)

Dates : Nov 1-Jan 13, 2024/Jan 2-Mar 2, 2024/Feb 5-Apr 6, 2024/Mar 11-May 11, 2024

Type : International competition

ACSL provides an excellent platform for K-12 students to showcase their knowledge in computer science and programming. Interested schools need to register on the ACSL website. Participants are required to have foundational knowledge in computer number systems, Boolean algebra, data structures, and programming basics. ACSL encourages teamwork, so you’ll also have to collaborate effectively with your peers.

3. CyberPatriot

Dates : May 11-Jun 13, 2023/Jul 20-Aug 22, 2023

Type : National competition

CyberPatriot aims to inspire students towards careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines. It’s a team-based competition, where each team is given the task of managing the network of a small company. To participate, a coach, usually a teacher or adult coordinator, must register the team online. Participants should have a basic understanding of cybersecurity, though part of the competition’s aim is to educate students on these topics.

Dates : Mar 14-28, 2023

PicoCTF is an exciting way to immerse yourself in the world of cybersecurity. To participate, you’ll need to register online and assemble a team, which can be done a few weeks before the competition starts. Each challenge’s difficulty gradually increases, but they are all designed to be educational, so even beginners can enjoy the competition while learning about cybersecurity.

5. Google Code Jam

Dates : April 15, 2023

Google Code Jam offers you the chance to prove your coding skills on a global stage. To enter, you’ll need to sign up on the Code Jam website. This competition requires problem-solving skills and a strong grasp of one or more programming languages, such as Python, Java, C++, or JavaScript.

6. CodeWars

Dates : Continuous (Year-Round)

Type : International

CodeWars offers you a flexible, continuous platform to hone your coding skills. It’s less of a competition and more of a platform for self-improvement, but it does feature a ranking system. To start, you’ll need to sign up, select your preferred programming languages, and start solving the available challenges.

7. Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior

Dates : Jan 11-May 15, 2023

This competition, aimed at students aged 13 to 18, encourages participants to explore and integrate technology to devise innovative concepts that address global social issues. The goal is to empower students to leverage their technological and creative thinking skills to devise and develop solutions. To participate, educators or adults must first register their students or youth group. Participants are then expected to learn and brainstorm about AI and its implications, and develop a technological concept that could potentially have a positive global impact. Resources and materials are provided to aid the students in their journey.

8. CoderZ League

Dates : Sep 12-Dec 7, 2023

The CoderZ League offers an engaging, educational, and competitive environment where students learn and apply STEM and coding skills. The competition is cloud-based, which means it can be accessed from anywhere, provided you have a computer with an internet connection. To participate, educators register their students, who then form teams and compete against others internationally. It’s a competition that not only cultivates programming skills but also encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. Throughout the competition, participants learn how to code virtual 3D robots to complete a variety of tasks and challenges.

9. Technovation Challenge

Dates : Submission due April 18, 2023 Type : International (girls only)

The Technovation Challenge is a global tech competition exclusively for girls aged 10 to 18. The competition fosters a combination of technical and entrepreneurial skills as it requires participants to identify a problem in their community and develop a mobile app to address that problem. A business plan outlining the app’s viability is also a component of the competition. To enter, girls need to form a team and register online. Each team is paired with a mentor who guides them throughout the competition, providing valuable insights into the world of technology and entrepreneurship. The competition nurtures not only coding skills but also promotes business planning, public speaking, and collaboration.

10. Topcoder Events

Dates : Year-Round events

The Topcoder High School competition is a global platform that promotes competitive programming among high school students. The competition primarily focuses on problem-solving skills using various programming languages. To participate, students need to sign up on the Topcoder website and select the relevant competition. They are then presented with problems of varying difficulty levels, which they need to solve using algorithms and code within a given time frame. In addition to problem-solving, participants also learn about time management and how to perform under pressure. This competition is a great opportunity for students to gauge their coding skills against other students globally. Top performers are often rewarded with prizes and recognition.

From intensive residential programs like the Carnegie Mellon University’s Summer Academy to online courses on platforms like edX , Coursera , Udemy , and Codecademy , there’s something for every learning style and interest. 

Consider joining local computer science clubs or participating in internships offered by prestigious institutions and organizations like Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) , or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) . These not only provide practical experience but also open doors for networking and mentorship. 

Finally, explore opportunities from nonprofits such as Kode With Klossy and The Coding School’s Code Connects , which offer affordable or even free programs.

Whether it’s online or in-person, summer or during the school year, there are numerous opportunities out there for those passionate about computer science. The key is to stay curious, keep learning, and seize the opportunities that come your way.

As you explore and take advantage of these computer science resources, it’s equally important to understand how these experiences could impact your college admissions journey. Knowing where you stand in the college admissions landscape can be an empowering tool, allowing you to strategize effectively and maximize your chances of success. To that end, we strongly recommend you utilize CollegeVine’s Admissions Calculator . It provides personalized guidance based on your unique profile, helping you understand your competitiveness for different colleges using your unique applicant input factors, like extracurriculars, GPA and more!

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Teaching Students to Manage Their Digital Assignments

Predictable routines can teach students how to use organizational tools and help them develop their executive function skills.

You just wrapped up an invigorating conversation with your 10th-grade students. They contributed brilliant ideas, and you’re looking forward to reading the written reflections you assigned for homework. But when you log into Google Classroom the next day to grade their work, you find that nearly half of your students didn’t submit the assignment. Only two-thirds of them even opened the document.

Sound familiar? 

So many students who are engaged in real-world learning activities struggle to complete assignments in the digital world. Digital work is often out of sight and out of mind the moment they leave our classrooms. It can cause teachers and parents to wonder if being organized is even possible in our tech-focused society. 

1-to-1 Devices are Permanent Fixtures in Today’s Classroom 

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic pushed most schools into a virtual teaching model, students spent much of their instructional time on a device. A 2019 study out of Arlington Public Schools found that middle school students spent 47 percent of their time and high school students spent 68 percent of their time on a device. Findings from the study suggest that devices are frequently used for “reference and research, presentations and projects, and feedback and assessment.” 

By the return to in-person learning, 90 percent of students had access to a one-to-one device for school, and it’s evident that technology in the classroom (and workplace) is here to stay.  

Teaching Digital Organization Skills is Key

Although they have access to a myriad of digital organization tools ( myHomework , Evernote , Google Keep , and Coggle , to name a few), students may still struggle to organize their assignments and complete them from start to submission. We often assume that students can transfer organizational skills from the real world to the digital world, and we often ask them to quickly and seamlessly transition from hard-copy work (reading a chapter in a novel, completing a science experiment) to digital work, such as writing a reflection in Google Docs and submitting it to a learning management system (LMS). 

Digital files are perceivable to the human brain, but they aren’t tangible in the same way that binders, notebooks, and folders are. And while an LMS may aid students’ access to information, it doesn’t do the heavy lifting of organizing information and prioritizing tasks. These actions are highly demanding cognitive skills that students can be taught and practice in the digital world—even if students have already perfected them in the analog world. 

Teachers can prioritize strategic, direct instruction of organizational and other executive functioning skills for a tech-focused world. 

Streamline Your Classroom Resources 

The first step in helping students organize digital work is to organize your classroom resources on the back end. In coordination with your department, grade level, or district, choose one LMS and three to four instructional resources, and stick with them for the entire year. For example, you could select Google Classroom as your LMS and use PearDeck, Google Calendar, and EdPuzzle as instructional resources. 

Though it’s tempting to adopt new and exciting technology as it evolves, a revolving door of programs is difficult for students to juggle and can lead to app fatigue. 

Teachers can further streamline their classroom resources by color-coding folders and files in their chosen LMS, posting log-in directions in easily accessible locations, and offering a landing page in their LMS that holds all of the links to digital resources. 

Create Predictable Routines Around Digital Work 

Next, it’s important for teachers to create clear and predictable routines around organizing digital assignments.   

One routine that I’ve developed in my classroom is a living table of contents document. I create and print out a blank table of contents for each unit, and students house them in their binders. I then project the table of contents at the start of each class with the day’s newest assignments, and students fill in these new items on their hard copies when they settle in. Each assignment is numbered, and assignments located online that won’t appear in their binders are labeled with an “S” (for us, that stands for Schoology) to note that the assignment is in our LMS.

Another predictable routine is entering homework assignments into Google Calendar or agenda books together at the end of every class. Prompting students to write down their homework may seem elementary, but even older students appreciate the predictability and consistency of this routine because it reduces anxiety (rushing to write it down before the teacher moves on) and frees up brain space for critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.

If you’re not sure that your current routine is clear and predictable, consider whether or not students could replicate your system in your absence. If students can’t get through the routine on their own, your routine may need to be articulated more clearly (such as being posted somewhere in the classroom), or it may need to be implemented more consistently.

Model a Variety of Organizational Strategies 

Similar to the process of how academic skills are acquired, teachers can model organizational skills for students. Consider creating opportunities to demonstrate strategies such as how and where to save documents, how to sync information across devices, how to share calendar events with peers and parents, and how to plan for long-term projects. 

You can also help students get more comfortable with organizational strategies by sharing “think-alouds” for task initiation, task prioritization, and time management. Consider using common language for reminding and prompting. For example, at the start of every new assignment, you could say something like, “Now that I’m ready to start, I’m going to open up Schoology, Google, and a Word document and close out of other tabs.”

Because executive functioning skills are not innate, providing language for them allows students to identify them, replicate them, and use tools to do them more quickly. Prioritizing these skills can improve student outcomes and prepare students for an increasingly tech-focused world.

High school football: Vermilion is 4-0; Avon…

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High school football: vermilion is 4-0; avon routs elyria.

The Eagles (4-0, 1-0 SWC) are ranked No. 1 in the Division II AP poll and No. 1 in Region 6 computer ratings.

Avon played the third of four straight home games. Next week, the Eagles face North Ridgeville, which is 4-0 after defeating Olmsted Falls in Week 3.

• Vermilion is 4-0 for the first time since 1997. Aaron Mathis scored three touchdowns as the Sailors defeated winless Elyria Catholic, 25-9, in a nonconference game.

Vermilion took a 6-3 lead in the first quarter when it intercepted a Panthers pass and cashed it in with a 1-yard touchdown run by Mathis.

The Sailors took advantage of another turnover, this time a fumble recovery, and Mathis scored again for a 13-9 lead.

Vermilion stretched its advantage to 19-9 in the third quarter on a TD run by Evan Kuhns.

In the fourth quarter, the Sailors returned a punt 56 yards, then Mathis scored his third TD of the game from 1 yard out to make it 25-9 with 6:02 remaining.

Vermilion has given up a combined 34 through four weeks. The Sailors travel to Sandusky (1-3) next week.

• Tyler Kitzberger scored three rushing touchdowns, and Brookside dominated Oberlin, 38-0, in a Lorain County League opener.

The Cardinals also scored touchdowns on a pass from Nick Arra  to Andy Bilczo, and a run by Colton Casey. Noah Adkins added a field goal.

Brookside ended a two-game skid and is now 2-2. Oberlin dropped its 23rd straight game.

• Host Columbia improved to 3-1 with a 35-19 victory over winless Firelands in an LC8 lidlifter.

The Raiders led, 14-13, in the second quarter before 21 unanswered points before the Falcons found the end zone again in the fourth quarter.

Columbia has scored at least 35 points in three of its four games, including 78 in the past two weeks.

Firelands’ opponents entered Week 4 a combined 11-1.

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THE 5 BEST Ryazan Upcoming Concerts & Shows

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1. Ryazan Drama Theater

2. Ryazan Regional Puppet Theater

3. Ryazan Regional Philharmonic Hall

4. The Ryazan State Regional Theater for Children and Youth

5. Ryazan Regional Musical Theater

6. pasage theater, 7. smile land children's musical theater.

8. Ryazan State Circus

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Ryazan State University

Ulitsa Svobody, 46, Ryazan, Ryazan Oblast, Russia, 390000

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School Director: Oleg Andreevich Sulitsa

Population: 8500

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http://rsu.edu.ru/