UMass Amherst Holds Activities for CS Ed Week

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is contributing supplies and volunteer support to help advance computer science education in K–12, as part of national Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 5–11).

UMass Amherst, in partnership with the Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, will provide teachers at surrounding area schools with almost 200 kits that offer instructional materials (CS posters, buttons, etc.) and CS-activity ideas.

In addition, the university is facilitating activities taking place throughout the week at nearby middle and elementary schools – from helping students through “Hour of Code” online tutorials, to building web pages, to programming robots. UMass Amherst’s College of Information and Computer Science will also talk about real-world opportunities that utilize CS skills, according to information from the university.

“It’s critical that all students in our country have access to rigorous and engaging computer science education opportunities. CS Ed Week spotlights the amazing CS education activities going on nationwide and the increasing opportunities for access in local communities around the country. It’s great to be able to visit and experience firsthand the exciting local classes and programs here in the Valley,” commented Jim Kurose, assistant director of computer and information science at the National Science Foundation and a guest of honor at UMass Amherst this week.

Further information is available on the UMass Amherst site.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].

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