As technology continues to have an important role in education, educators have asked for help in staying current on the latest developments and resources in order to provide their students with the best tools and platforms available. The Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) conference brings together educators from K-12 to college and university to discuss the most recent research, developments, and best practices in computer science education. Microsoft recognizes the importance of this conference, participates in panels and discussions, and offers a variety of resources to assist educators. Here is a collection of the top Microsoft tools for helping educators implement technology into their computer science curriculums and deliver engaging and dynamic learning experiences for their students.
Microsoft / GitHub Services
Azure for Students This program provides eligible students with $100 in Azure service credits to be used over the course of a year. Azure service credits can be used to experiment with and learn about Azure products and services. Signing up does not require a credit card, but you must verify your academic status using your organization's email address. |
https://aka.ms/azure4student | |
GitHub Classroom This tool helps educators use GitHub to manage and organize their courses. It allows teachers to create assignments with starter code and directions, and automatically create repositories for students to work on. It also helps teachers track and grade student work, and provides feedback when students get stuck. |
https://aka.ms/GitHubClassroom | |
GitHub Codespaces Teachers can take advantage of GitHub Codespaces by using it with GitHub Classroom. GitHub Codespaces can provide students with cloud-based development environments that require no local setup. Verified teachers can also get a free monthly allowance of GitHub Codespaces hours to use in GitHub Classroom. |
https://aka.ms/GitHubCodespacesEDU | |
GitHub Copilot GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that can help students learn new languages and frameworks by providing examples and documentation. It draws context from comments and code to suggest individual lines and whole functions instantly. GitHub Copilot is free to use for verified students and teachers and can be used with Visual Studio Code. |
https://aka.ms/Copilot4Students | |
Microsoft Power Platform Microsoft Power Platform is a set of tools that enable users to create apps, automate processes, analyze data, and build virtual agents with low-to-no-code. |
https://aka.ms/PowerPlatEDU |
Curriculum
Web Dev for Beginners This 12-week curriculum teaches JavaScript, CSS, and HTML basics. The 24 lessons include pre- and post-lesson quizzes, extensive written instructions, solutions, assignments, and more. Our project-based curriculum builds hands-on skills. Project-based learning improves skills and retention. |
https://aka.ms/webdev-beginners | |
AI for Beginners This 12-week curriculum teaches the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Explore various approaches, including neural networks and deep learning, with practical implementation in popular frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch. In addition, you will learn about AI applications in image and text processing, as well as the lesser-known techniques of genetic algorithms and multi-agent systems. |
https://aka.ms/ai-beginners | |
Data Science for Beginners This 12-week curriculum teaches the fundamentals of Data Science and covers basic principles of data science, including ethical concepts, data preparation, different ways of working with data, data visualization, data analysis, real-world use cases of data science, and more. |
https://aka.ms/datascience-beginners | |
Machine Learning for Beginners This 12-week curriculum teaches classic machine learning concepts, using primarily Scikit-learn as a library and avoiding deep learning. Pairs well with the AI for Beginners and Data Science for Beginners curriculum. |
https://aka.ms/ml-beginners | |
IoT for Beginners This 12-week curriculum covers the journey of food from farm to table. This includes farming, logistics, manufacturing, retail and consumer - all popular industry areas for IoT devices. |
https://aka.ms/iot-beginners |
Lesson Plans
Introduction to JavaScript This Codespaces template teaches JavaScript use to create a personal portfolio frontend web application using the React framework. No setup time needed from you or your students, allowing you to focus on the content and lessons. |
https://aka.ms/JSTeachingTemplate | |
Introduction to Python This template repository quickly creates a normalized environment to teach or learn Python. This template uses Codespaces, a development environment that's hosted in the cloud with Visual Studio Code, a powerful text editor. |
https://aka.ms/PyTeachingTemplate | |
Intro to .NET Extend and use for your Web Development lessons in minutes. This .NET Codespaces template provides you a normalized environment for you to build your class on. |
https://aka.ms/dotNetTeachingTemplate |
We'll be reviewing this list of educator resources to update as needed. Feel free to comment below reguarding any resource you'd like to see added.