Tag Archives: Education

Expanding access to computer science education with Code.org

It’s one thing to hear from your teacher that computer science is a valuable skill to learn. It’s another to hear from professionals using and interacting with computer science concepts every day to help students envision their career paths.

Last month, 35 classrooms and over 1,000 students signed up to hear from Taylor Roper, a Program Manager on Google’s Responsible AI team.

“One thing that drew me to this team at Google is that it’s oriented toward helping people,” Taylor shared with the students. She then reflected on her path to Google: “In high school, I took a web design course and loved it. I loved constructing the page and seeing it happen in real time. Being able to solve a problem and see the result, solve another problem and see the result — that was really satisfying to me.”

These virtual chats and field trips are part of Code.org’s new CS Journeys program to help students use their computer science (CS) knowledge and skills beyond the classroom, and discover CS in unexpected places. Students hear directly from professionals who use computer science in unique and creative ways, like modeling the universe, building robots, or — in Taylor’s case — helping to build responsible artificial intelligence tools for products used by millions of people.

“I remember being in elementary school and people would talk to my class about their careers, but they never looked like me or my family,” Taylor said when reflecting on her participation in the event. “To be a representation of possibilities for a Black child feels like a full-circle moment. I hope I was able to show a child from my community that there is a place for them in tech. Programs like CS Journeys are so important and needed.”

In addition to these sessions, CS Journeys also provides teachers with a collection of resources for students of all ages to help them imagine a journey pursuing CS — from young K-5 students to older teens who are starting to think about college and beyond.

CS Journeys graphic with a purple and blue background, and an image of Taylor Roper, showing the title ”My Journey developing responsible artificial intelligence.”

Google.org is proud to continue supporting these efforts with a $1.5 million grant to expand the CS Journeys program, provide professional development workshops, enhance curriculums focused on cultural and gender responsiveness, and launch programs for engaging Black and Latino/Hispanic students studying CS.

Our values at Google closely align with Code.org’s mission to expand access to computer science, and help more young women and students from underrepresented groups participate. Our tight partnership has supported teachers, inspired students, and brought quality computer science into the classroom.

“Google has been a steadfast supporter of Code.org over the years," said Hadi Partovi, Founder and CEO of Code.org, "increasing our ability to reach classrooms on our platforms and engage with students through campaigns and programs. We are grateful for their continued support and excited about the additional impact we can make."

Code.org’s projects over the next two years will support access, diversity, and inclusion in CS classrooms, and focus on engaging students and parents from historically marginalized groups. Because regardless of the passions they ultimately pursue, every student deserves the chance to explore, advance, and succeed in computer science — a foundational subject that impacts all industries and touches so many aspects of our everyday lives.

To check out more CS Journeys events, including an upcoming conversation with Google's Pre-College Programs Lead Kyle Ali, visit Code.org/CSJourneys.

Una celebración de la fuerza y solidez este Día Mundial de los Docentes

Según Google Trends, en los últimos 18 meses, las búsquedas de"extraño a mis alumnos" aumentaron en un 150% y las búsquedas de "ideas para el tablero de anuncios"disminuyeron a un mínimo histórico en abril de 2020.

Diseño visual de cómo las búsquedas de "extraño a mis alumnos" aumentaron un 150 % en los últimos 18 meses.

Algunas de las principales preguntas que se buscaron trataban temas como: "¿Cómo pueden los educadores apoyar a los alumnos que tienen dificultades con el aprendizaje a distancia?", "¿Cómo pueden los alumnos y maestros construir una comunidad de aulas virtuales que sea útil?" e incluso, "¿Qué significa el aprendizaje remoto?". Está claro que los educadores, en casa o en el aula, se han enfrentado a muchos desafíos. Así que, con motivo de este Día Mundial de los Docentes,preparamos un lugar donde ustedes pueden ver otras búsquedas y tendencias relacionadas con la educación y el aprendizaje del año pasado.

A pesar de que aún hay muchas preguntas, me inspira la fortaleza de nuestra asombrosa comunidad global de educadores. En este Día Mundial de los Docentes, compartimos historias sobre cómo encontraron una forma de enseñar durante un año que nos hizo aprender muchas lecciones.

Ann está sentada frente al escritorio donde da clases a sus alumnos, tanto de manera virtual como presencial.

Ann Kerr — Administrator, California, EE. UU

Como en muchos distritos de todo el mundo, Ann fue testigo de un aumento de estrés en todo el personal y los alumnos. Con el fin de ayudar a los estudiantes con dificultades, dio tutorías en las tardes, después de la escuela, para ayudar a los alumnos a adaptarse a los cambios. Su labor ayudó a un alumno no solo a entender cómo usar Google Classroom sino a hacer sus tareas, y dicho alumno vio cómo sus calificaciones fueron superiores al nivel de aprobación antes de finalizar el año. Aunque solo se han conocido por Google Meet, entablaron una buena relación personal.

Jeff da clases a los alumnos de manera presencial en las escuelas públicas de Norwalk.

Jeffrey Bradbury — Profesor de instrucción principal para el aprendizaje digital, Connecticut, EE. UU

Jeff también vio la necesidad de apoyar la salud mental de sus alumnos. Este año, él impulsó que las escuelas públicas de Norwalk lanzaran un Departamento de Aprendizaje Digital totalmente nuevo para apoyar a los maestros en el uso de herramientas digitales, pero también para brindar apoyo social y emocional tanto dentro como fuera del aula.

Vanessa da clases a sus alumnos en un laboratorio de informática en Brasil.

Vanessa Almeida — Maestra de escuela pública de jardín de niños al 12.º grado y coordinadora pedagógica, Amazonas, Brasil

Vanessa empezó a preparar a su escuela para el aprendizaje en línea en 2017, varios años antes de la pandemia, pero nada podría haberla preparado para lo que estaba por ocurrir. Se propuso establecer un uso más conectado y eficiente de los recursos tecnológicos. En cierta ocasión, trabajó 48 horas seguidas para asegurarse de que todos los alumnos tuvieran cuentas de Google Workspace for Education. Esto significó que su escuela continuara con clases ininterrumpidas durante la transición del aprendizaje presencial al remoto. Incluso en la actualidad, Vanessa dedica su hora de comida a enseñar a los alumnos sobre diversas herramientas en línea.

Suyanti da clases de Biología a sus alumnos de manera remota.

Suyanti Woo — Maestra de Biología de 10.º y 12.º grado, Yakarta, Indonesia

Para Suyanti tampoco fue algo nuevo trabajar horas extra para su comunidad. Como el aprendizaje remoto fue algo nuevo para ella, Suyanti pasó sus vacaciones de verano en la escuela. Tomó cursos en línea y seminarios web para impulsarse a estar preparada para lo que el siguiente año académico trajera consigo. Aprendió sobre nuevas herramientas en línea y cómo apoyar a sus alumnos a distancia, entre otras cosas. Al terminar los cursos, Suyanti pudo retomar lo desconocido con seguridad. Lo mismo ocurrió con sus alumnos y la segunda ola de aprendizaje remoto no solamente fue más fácil, sino también de mayor colaboración. Además de los planes de estudio, se enfocó en captar la atención de sus alumnos mediante el pensamiento crítico, el mejoramiento de la creatividad y el fomento de la comunicación efectiva mediante el uso de herramientas colaborativas como Google Slides y Pear Deck.

Vemos a Janice en su escritorio en la Escuela Primaria Muirtown en Escocia.

Janice MacRae — Maestra titular, concejo de Highland, Escocia

Janice y la Escuela Primaria Muirtown en Inverness, Escocia, sabían que sería importante conservar las actividades extracurriculares, sin importar las circunstancias. Cada año, organizan el espectáculo "Muirtown tiene talento", que, por lo general, se lleva a cabo en la escuela con votaciones en persona. El telón también se abrió este año, pero en un escenario muy distinto: las presentaciones se grabaron y se subieron a Google Site, y los padres de familia votaron mediante Formularios de Google (lo cual, de hecho, generó una mayor participación).

Renee está sentada frente a su escritorio con una mascarilla dando clase a sus alumnos.

Renee Bogacz — Maestra de tecnología educativa, Illinois, EE. UU

Como muchos otros maestros, Renee les encontró un lado positivo a los desafíos del año escolar. "Posiblemente, el último año escolar haya sido el más desafiante de la carrera de todos los educadores, pero también será el más memorable", señala Renee. "Será el año en el que todos nos unimos en busca de formas inteligentes y creativas de apoyar a nuestros niños en formas que jamás soñamos".

Este último año es un recordatorio de la increíble fuerza y resiliencia de los educadores. Fui testigo de primera mano de la pasión con la que los alumnos deseaban aprender y crecer, y de la forma tan asombrosa en la que se desempeñaron al darles el entorno y los recursos adecuados.

Soy muy afortunada por trabajar y aprender de educadores ejemplares de todo el mundo todos los días. Muchas gracias a los maestros en todas partes por su fuerza y feliz Día Mundial de los Docentes. Si desea seguir celebrando, únase a unacomunidad de maestros de Google en su región.

A celebration of strength and resilience this World Teachers’ Day

According to Google Trends, over the last 18 months, searches for “missing my students” increased 150%, and searches for “bulletin board ideas” dropped to an all-time low in April 2020. 

Visual drawing of searches of “missing my students’ increasing by 150% over the last 18 months.

Some of the top questions searched were things like “How can educators support students who are struggling with distance learning?,” “How can students and teachers build a useful virtual classroom community?” and even “What does remote learning mean?” Clearly, educators — at home or in the classroom — have had plenty of challenges. So for this World Teachers’ Day, we put together a place where you can see other education and learning-related searches and trends from the past year.

Despite the many questions, I’m inspired by the strength of our incredible global educator community. On this World Teachers’ Day we’re sharing stories of how they found a way to teach during a year that has taught us so many lessons.  

Ann sits at her desk where she teaches her students both virtually and in-person.

Ann Kerr — Administrator, California, USA

Like many districts around the world, Ann saw an increase in stress across staff and students. To help students who were struggling, she tutored in the evenings after school to help students navigate the changes. Her efforts helped one student not only understand how to use Google Classroom but also their assignments, and the student raised their grades above passing before the end of the year. Even though they had only met through Google Meet, they made a real connection.

Jeff teaches students in person at Norwalk Public Schools.


Jeffrey Bradbury — Lead Instructional Coach for Digital Learning, Connecticut, USA
Jeff also saw a need to support the mental health of his students. This year, he led Norwalk Public Schools to launch a brand new Digital Learning Department to support teachers with not only using digital tools, but also to provide social and emotional support both in and out of the classroom.

Vanessa teaches her students in a computer lab in Brazil.

Vanessa Almeida — K-12 Public School Teacher and Pedagogical Coordinator, Amazonas, Brazil
Vanessa started preparing her school for online teaching in 2017, years before the pandemic — but nothing could  have prepared her for what was to come. She set out to create a more connected and efficient usage of the technology resources; at one point she worked for 48 hours straight to make sure all students had Google Workspace for Education accounts. This meant that her school continued its classes uninterrupted during the transition from face-to-face to remote learning. Even today, Vanessa offers her lunch break to teach students on various online tools.

Suyanti teaches Biology to her students remotely.

Suyanti Witono — 10th and 12th grade Biology Teacher, Jakarta, Indonesia
Suyanti is also no stranger to working overtime for her community. Once a stranger to remote learning, Suyanti spent her summer break going back to school herself. She took online courses and webinars to push herself to be prepared for whatever the upcoming academic year would bring. She learned about new online tools and how to use them to support her students from afar. After completing these courses, Suyanti was able to come back to the unknown with confidence. This extended to her students and the second wave of remote learning was not only easier, but more collaborative. Aside from lesson plans, she focused on engaging students with critical thinking, enhancing creativity and promoting effective communication  by using collaborative tools like Google Slides and Pear Deck.

Janice at her desk at Muirtown Primary School in Scotland.

Janice MacRae —  Head Teacher, Highland Council, Scotland
Janice and the Muirtown Primary School in Inverness, Scotland knew it would be important to  maintain extracurriculars no matter what the circumstances, given how beneficial they are for kids. Every year, they host the “Muirtown’s Got Talent” show, which usually takes place at school with in-person voting. The curtains still rose this year, but on a very different stage: The performances were recorded and uploaded to a Google Site, and parents voted via Google Forms (which actually garnered more participation).

Renee sits at her desk with a mask teaching her students.

Renee Bogacz — Instructional Technology Teacher, Illinois

Like many other teachers, Renee found a silver lining to the struggles of the school year. “The last school year may have been the most challenging school year of every educator’s career, but it will also be the most memorable,” Renee says. “It will be the one where we all came together to find thoughtful and creative ways to support our kids in ways we never dreamed.” 

This last year is a reminder of the incredible strength and resilience of educators. I saw firsthand how passionately students wanted to learn and grow, and how incredibly they performed when given the right environment and resources.

I’m so lucky to work with and learn from inspiring educators from around the world every day. Thank you to teachers everywhere for your strength and Happy World Teachers’ Day. You can celebrate further by   joining a Google teacher community in your area.

Teaching with Google Arts & Culture

Since its creation in 2011, Google Arts & Culture has made a wide range of cultural stories and experiences available to everyone, thanks to our collaboration with cultural organisations around the world. From experiencing dinosaurs and iconic fashion garments in 360 to getting immersed into masterpieces guided by your favourite actor or musician, and even  projecting Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit into your home in AR, the platform offers curious minds many opportunities to learn.

Whether it's taking art selfies, playing puzzle parties with friends, or diving into richly documented resources about US Black History or Inventions and Discoveries in history, Google Arts & Culture has been a valuable learning companion to people of all ages and backgrounds.

And today, we are releasing a new Teacher Guide – a dedicated resource for educators to make learning with Arts & Culture and using the platform in class easier than ever. The guide, developed in partnership with education and instructional design experts at Google, was created to help teachers better understand how to use the platform to engage their students. It includes ready-to-use handouts and customizable activity templates, and compliments other popular experiences on Google Arts & Culture that were designed with educators in mind.


Virtual Field trips for the classroom

Illustration created by Julia Allum, 2021

Take a Virtual Field Trip, Julia Allum, 2021, Google Arts & Culture

Teachers can take their students on a virtual field trip, with hundreds of expeditions now available on Google Arts & Culture. Fly to the Moon, dive to the Great Barrier Reef, zoom Inside a Cell, visit museums, uncover scientific theories and explore distant lands. You can still explore the world from the comfort of your desk or classroom, no headset needed.

Lesson Plans for your classroom

Cover of Uncovering Egypt’s Layered History lesson plan

Created by education experts, the lesson plans can also be used as worksheets.


Ten new downloadable lesson plans have been published, such as Uncovering Egypt’s Layered History, Milestones in the Pride Movement, and The History of Computing. All Google Arts & Culture lesson plans have been written by education experts. In addition, Get Smart with Art is a new resource created by the de Young Museum and designed to enable educators, with no prior knowledge of art, to get younger students to look at art works.

Learning resources by subject area

Learn with Google Arts & Culture, London Stories by Julia Allum, 2018, London Transport Museum

Learn with Google Arts & Culture, London Stories by Julia Allum, 2018, London Transport Museum

For those looking for information on a particular topic, the Learn about Arts & Culture page gathers materials and experiences from across the platform, based on subjects including natural history, physics, geography, art and music.

Experimenting with students

Google Experiments, Art Coloring Book, Dish of Apples by Paul Cezanne, c. 1876-77, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Google Experiments, Art Coloring Book, Dish of Apples by Paul Cezanne, c. 1876-77, Metropolitan Museum of Art

If a teacher wants to excite students about a subject, one of the Google Arts & Culture Experiments might get them hooked. Get them composing like Beethoven, Bach and Mozart by creating melodieswith AI. You want them to think about their global footprint? Then the CO2 footprint of food we eat might do the trick. There are also simple, fun ways to engage with art such as the art coloring book or the collaborative puzzle party.

The Google Arts & Culture home page

The Google Arts & Culture home page changes daily

The Google Arts & Culture home page changes daily

The homepage is usually where you start your journey on Google Arts & Culture. It is refreshed daily, so if you find something useful, make it a favorite by clicking on the heart shaped icon. That way you can locate it quickly next time you visit the site and you can share it on Google Classroom, using the share link. You can also do a quick search (magnifying glass, top right hand corner); from apples to zebras, you’re bound to find something of interest.

Whatever the future of teaching holds, educators can be sure that they will find something on Google Arts & Culture to keep their (online) class occupied, no matter what, or where, they are studying.

We hope that these resources will help everyone learn for life, and encourage you to also check out some other resources Google provides – now brought together on our new Learning site– to help everyone in the world learn anything in the world.

Inviting students to participate in Code to Learn 2021

This past year-and-a-half, the pandemic has revamped the face of the education system in our country. Teacher-student interaction, pedagogy, examinations, assessments and extra curricular activities have seen many changes since March 2020. While opportunities have been lost, many new ones have also been created.


Today we are launching the eighth edition of the Code to Learn competition as an opportunity to immerse students in creative and computational thinking, along with building their skills in programming.


Students from Class 5 to 12 from any school in India are invited to register through their parents or teachers to show their coding genius using exciting tools like Scratch, App Inventor and Google AutoML. They can build games, animations, Android apps and their own machine learning applications; without writing even a single line of code!


The National Education Policy 2020 has also recommended introducing coding and computational thinking at a young age to allow early exposure to technology and create new pathways for our students. The Code to Learn competition provides an interactive platform for students to learn the basics of coding and build a stronger foundation in Computer Science. In a fun and engaging way,  we aim to inspire students to use technology to solve problems around them.




The competition registrations are now open and parents, teachers or legal guardians can register on behalf of the student on the competition website (g.co/codetolearn). Students from across India can submit their projects until 25 October 2021. We also have online resources available on our website to learn Scratch, AppInventor and Google Cloud AutoML to get started.


The contest calls for projects on Scratch or App Inventor from students of classes 5-10, and projects on Google Cloud AutoML from students of classes 9-12. We have a special AI track for class 9-12 students where they can use Google’s existing Machine Learning models to create projects with a problem statement and a data set of their choice. Students define a problem and select any open dataset or create their own (images or text) and train a pre-trained machine learning model to create their own Machine Learning application using Google Cloud AutoML.


The Code to Learn competition in 2020 witnessed an overwhelming participation of students from across the country with innovative and exciting projects. We saw interesting entries of numerous games to fight against the coronavirus, social evils, zombies and applications to promote mental health and track fitness. In the Artificial Intelligence theme, we received excellent projects where students sought to detect the right way of wearing a mask, promote tiger conservation and decode sign languages, among various other such projects.


Code to Learn is co-organized by Google Cloud, ACM India, CS Pathshala and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). ACM is the worldwide society for scientific and educational computing with an aim to advance Computer Science both as a science (through CS Pathshala) and as a profession. IISc is a renowned research-oriented university based in Bangalore, pioneering fundamental and applied research in science and engineering.


We are very excited about this year's competition, and are looking forward to seeing the innovation and creativity that students will present to us via their projects! For more details, visit our website: g.co/codetolearn.


Posted by Divy Thakkar, Research and Education Program Manager, and Ashwani Sharma, Senior Program Manager

Inviting students to participate in Code to Learn 2021

This past year-and-a-half, the pandemic has revamped the face of the education system in our country. Teacher-student interaction, pedagogy, examinations, assessments and extra curricular activities have seen many changes since March 2020. While opportunities have been lost, many new ones have also been created.


Today we are launching the eighth edition of the Code to Learn competition as an opportunity to immerse students in creative and computational thinking, along with building their skills in programming.


Students from Class 5 to 12 from any school in India are invited to register through their parents or teachers to show their coding genius using exciting tools like Scratch, App Inventor and Google AutoML. They can build games, animations, Android apps and their own machine learning applications; without writing even a single line of code!


The National Education Policy 2020 has also recommended introducing coding and computational thinking at a young age to allow early exposure to technology and create new pathways for our students. The Code to Learn competition provides an interactive platform for students to learn the basics of coding and build a stronger foundation in Computer Science. In a fun and engaging way,  we aim to inspire students to use technology to solve problems around them.




The competition registrations are now open and parents, teachers or legal guardians can register on behalf of the student on the competition website (g.co/codetolearn). Students from across India can submit their projects until 25 October 2021. We also have online resources available on our website to learn Scratch, AppInventor and Google Cloud AutoML to get started.


The contest calls for projects on Scratch or App Inventor from students of classes 5-10, and projects on Google Cloud AutoML from students of classes 9-12. We have a special AI track for class 9-12 students where they can use Google’s existing Machine Learning models to create projects with a problem statement and a data set of their choice. Students define a problem and select any open dataset or create their own (images or text) and train a pre-trained machine learning model to create their own Machine Learning application using Google Cloud AutoML.


The Code to Learn competition in 2020 witnessed an overwhelming participation of students from across the country with innovative and exciting projects. We saw interesting entries of numerous games to fight against the coronavirus, social evils, zombies and applications to promote mental health and track fitness. In the Artificial Intelligence theme, we received excellent projects where students sought to detect the right way of wearing a mask, promote tiger conservation and decode sign languages, among various other such projects.


Code to Learn is co-organized by Google Cloud, ACM India, CS Pathshala and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). ACM is the worldwide society for scientific and educational computing with an aim to advance Computer Science both as a science (through CS Pathshala) and as a profession. IISc is a renowned research-oriented university based in Bangalore, pioneering fundamental and applied research in science and engineering.


We are very excited about this year's competition, and are looking forward to seeing the innovation and creativity that students will present to us via their projects! For more details, visit our website: g.co/codetolearn.


Posted by Divy Thakkar, Research and Education Program Manager, and Ashwani Sharma, Senior Program Manager

A new model for inclusive computer science education

The lack of diversity in the computing education pipeline has been a remarkably persistent problem. Something that’s stalled progress in addressing disparities is that there’s largely been a focus on individuals, such as teachers and students, rather than on how equity plays out across multiple levels of the computer science (CS) education ecosystem. This is why our work at the University of Texas since 2014 focuses on understanding the root causes of inequities in the CS education pipeline and how every level of the system influences equity.


With the support of a CS-ER (computer science education research) grant from Google, my colleague Jayce Warner and I developed a framework for thinking about equity across the CS education ecosystem. We began this work after digging into data in Texas in 2014 and finding that only about a quarter of Texas high schools offered any kind of CS course and fewer than 3% of Texas students were taking a CS course each year.  The students enrolled in CS courses were also not reflective of the student population in our diverse state. We launched what became the WeTeach_CS professional development program, with the ultimate objective of seeing equitable enrollment in CS courses in Texas. To achieve this goal, we first had to improve access to CS courses and increase the number of CS-certified teachers in the state. 


At the time, we thought equity had to wait until we had solved the capacity, access and participation challenges. But as we began thinking more deeply about this model and asking our colleagues in the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance for feedback, we realized several things:


True Equity is about more than just diversity in the classroom, and just because something is available to everyone doesn’t mean that everyone can or will benefit. Also, education is very complex and the things we can easily measure (such as AP class participation) may not be the best indicators of change or success.


We developed a new framework that reflects how things connect at different levels of CS education.  Most importantly, this model helps us better understand how equity plays out at each level. We’ve called it the CAPE framework and it consists of four interdependent components: capacity for CS education, access to CS education, participation in CS education and experience of CS education. 


Each level affects the next. For example, if we want students to have equitable experiences in CS, we first need to make sure they’re participating equitably. Equitable participation relies on equitable access and equitable access relies on equitable capacity. 




CAPE is represented as a triangle with four levels. Capacity for CS Education is the foundational level of the triangle, with access to CS education above that, participation in CS education above that, and experiences of CS education at the top. Example questions that can be asked at the Capacity level address teachers, funding and policies such as Do districts in all areas have the resources to offer CS and to train and certify teachers? Access questions deal with course offerings such as Are CS courses offered in low-income schools at similar rates to other schools? Questions at the participation level address student enrollment such as Which subgroups are underrepresented in CS courses and to what extent? Experience level questions can address student outcomes such as How does instruction and learning differ across student subgroups and do all students feel a sense of belonging in CS?

The CAPE Framework helps the entire CS education community think about the systems they work in and the types of questions they should ask to ensure equity and inclusion in computing. One example is Jackie Corricelli, a PreK-12 CS Curriculum Specialist in West Hartford Public Schools (CT), who’s used the CAPE framework to evaluate her district’s K-12 CS program. In another example, Bryan Cox, Computer Science Specialist at the Georgia Department of Education, is building a public dashboard to track access and participation in K-12 CS education in Georgia. In Texas, we’ve used CAPE to frame our state and regional CSEd Profiles and recently released a new interactive visualization to explore capacity, access and participation across the state’s 1,200 school districts and more than 2,000 high schools. 


Google supported these efforts with a CS-ER grant awarded to UT Austin, which was instrumental in the development and evolution of the CAPE framework. In 2021, Google awarded seven new CS-ER grants. This year’s grant awardees are: Amy J. Ko, University of Washington; Derek Aguiar, University of Connecticut; Jean Ryoo, University of California, Los Angeles; Jennifer Parham-Mocello, Oregon State University; Joshua Childs and Tia Madkins, The University of Texas at Austin; Melanie Williamson and Audrey Brock, Bluegrass Community & Technical College; and Mounia Ziat, Bentley University.


For more information about each of the recipient’s projects, or to submit an application to be considered for future cohorts, you can visit Google Research’s Outreach page.

9 apps to help kids sharpen their coding skills

Coding is a skill that’s now part of just about every discipline — and what’s more, it’s fun for kids to learn, and easy for parents and teachers to add to lessons at home or school. As kids get ready to go back to school and Chromebooks are once again on desks at home and in the classroom, it’s a good time to boost students’ coding knowledge. At Google, we believe every student deserves the chance to explore, advance and succeed in computer science. Practical computer science skills can help students learn and create, and bring more relevance to nearly any subject, from history to literature to current events. 

Thanks to the devices and apps below, students of all ages can be engaged while learning to code. Fortunately, there are coding apps for just about every grade and skill level. Here are our suggestions for apps and devices to check out this fall, whether you’re in a classroom or at home with learners.

Coding apps to try in the classroom and at home

Whether it’s creating a video game as an assignment in science class, or building a website for a side project (lemonade stand, anyone?), there are coding apps for the whole family and the whole class. Families can find all of these apps on the Google Play Store, and schools can find out more information on the Chromebook App Hub. 


Beginning to code

  • Cloud Stop Motion (Play Store) is a fun stop-motion and animation movie creator. Cloud Stop Motion enables kids to work with animations on a zoomable, scrollable timeline. Sound effects, music, titles, credits and speech bubbles can be added before rendering to an MP4 movie. An extensive library of audio, backgrounds and styles included, this app is great for students and parents alike.

  • Grasshopper(Web app) is a coding app for beginning learners that uses games to build skills with JavaScript. Learners can move up through progressively challenging levels to refine their coding prowess.

  • Scratch Jr(Play Store) is tailor-made for younger learners. Scratch Jr is actually based on a programming language that teaches kids how to program by creating their own interactive stories and games. 

  • Tynker Jr (Play Store) is perfect for children just learning to read. Children ages 5-7 can learn the fundamentals of coding by connecting picture blocks to move their characters.

More advanced coders

  • Bloxels (Play Store, App Hub) lets anyone build a video game with their own characters and art. Game worlds are quick to build with built-in logic, triggers and actions.

  • Codecademy(Play Store) Codecademy creates an engaging, flexible, and accessible way to learn to code online, making it possible for anyone to gain skills for employability and build something meaningful with technology. Access hundreds of courses in subjects like web development and data science, as well as in-demand languages like Python, CSS, and JavaScript.

  • Piper Make (Play Store, App Hub) is a drag-and-drop coding platform for the Pico, the newest microcontroller board from Raspberry Pi. Using Piper’s hardware packages available online, the Piper Make portal offers new narrative-based tutorials, projects, and ways to start building and coding technology.

  • Replit(Play Store, App Hub) is a simple, yet powerful online coding platform. It's perfect for beginners, who are coding for the first time, but also scales to the needs of teachers and professional programmers with decades of experience. Replit supports all programming languages, including Python, Java, Javascript + HTML/CSS, and C/C++, and runs on every device, including Chromebooks. It combines an IDE (integrated development environment) with a debugger, built-in testing/autograding, and hosting tools to build websites and applications.

  • Tynker(Play Store, App Hub) features block-based coding challenges that help learners move on to more complex skills like Python coding and advanced computer science. It even offers AP Computer Science courses.

Devices for coding, creating and anything in between

With new devices for learning anywhere or advanced use, students and families can find devices for more robust needs such as content creation and editing, coding, and running apps in virtualized environments simultaneously with large video calls. 

There’s a device for everyone in the family or classroom. This includes devices like the Lenovo 500e Gen 3, which works in both laptop and tablet mode and has a rear-facing camera and built-in stylus. It also includes the spill-resistant HP Chromebook x360 11 G4 EE, the Acer Chromebook Spin 512, or the Lenovo 300e Gen 3 with its 3:2 ratio, ideal for reading and working on Docs more comfortably, an Always Connected LTE enabled device with dual cameras. You can find all the latest in this handy guide for schools, or on chromebook.com. 

To learn more about Google’s commitment to closing equity gaps in computer science education and discover lessons, research, scholarship opportunities and more, visit our Code with Google page. Educators can also find CS resources on our website and on the Chromebook App Hub. And for more resources for families, with guidance on everything from classroom tools to screen time best practices, visit families.google.com, and sign up for Family Link for parents to help set digital ground rules on their school or personal device.

A crossword puzzle with a big purpose

Before the pandemic, Alicia Chang was working on a new project. “I was experimenting with non-traditional ways to help teach Googlers the AI Principles,” she says. Alicia is a technical writer on the Engineering Education team focused on designing learning experiences to help Googlers learn about our AI Principles and how to apply them in their own work.

The challenge for Alicia would be how many people she needed to educate. “There are so many people spread over different locations, time zones, countries!” But when the world started working from home, she was inspired by the various workarounds people were using to connect virtually. 

A photo of Alicia Chang sitting on a bench outside. She is looking into the camera and smiling.

Alicia Chang

“I started testing out activities like haiku-writing contests and online trivia,” Alicia says. “Then one day a friend mentioned an online escape room activity someone had arranged for a COVID-safe birthday gathering. Something really clicked with me when she mentioned that, and I started to think about designing an immersive learning experience.” Alicia decided to research how some of the most creative, dedicated people deliver information: She looked at what teachers were doing. 

Alicia soon stumbled upon a YouTube video about using Google Sheets to create a crossword puzzle, so she decided to make her own — and Googlers loved it. Since the crossword was such a success, Alicia decided to make more interactive games. She used Google Forms to create a fun “Which AI Principle are you?” quiz, and Google Docs to make a word search. Then there’s the Emoji Challenge, where players have to figure out which AI Principles a set of emoji describe. All of this became part of what is now known as the Responsible Innovation Challenge, a set of various puzzle activities built with Google products — including Forms, Sheets, Docs and Sites — that focus on teaching Google’s AI Principles.

Animated GIF showing the crossword puzzle in a Google Sheets form.

Try Alicia's crossword out for yourself.

The purpose of the Responsible Innovation Challenge is to introduce Google’s AI Principles to new technical hires in onboarding courses, and to help Googlers put the AI Principles into practice in everyday product development situations. The first few puzzles are fairly simple and help players remember and recall the Principles, which serve as a practical framework for responsible innovation. As Googlers start leveling up, the puzzles get a bit more complex.. There’s even a bonus level where Googlers are asked to think about various technical resources and tools they can use to develop AI responsibly by applying them in their existing workflow when creating a machine learning model.

Alicia added a points system and a leaderboard with digital badges — and even included prizes. “I noticed that people were motivated by some friendly competition. Googlers really got involved and referred their coworkers to play, too,” she says. “We had over 1,000 enroll in the first 30 days alone!” To date, more than 2,800 Googlers have participated from across 41 countries, and people continue to sign up. 

It’s been encouraging for Alicia to see how much Googlers are enjoying the puzzles, especially when screen time burnout is all too real. Most importantly, though, she’s thrilled that more people are learning about Google’s AI Principles. “Each of the billions of people who use Google products has a unique story and life experience,” Alicia says. “And that’s what we want to think about so we can make the best products for individual people.” 

In person, virtual or hybrid: helpful tools for back to school

As a former director at the largest school district in the United States, I’ve witnessed the challenges of preparing for the back-to-school season. It can be daunting to equip your districts, educators, students and families with the educational resources they need to go back to school with confidence. 

We recently sat down with a group of school administrators from around the world to get a sense of what they’re thinking about when using digital tools to overcome challenges for back to school in 2021. Although the term “going back to school” looks different across different schools, states and countries, here are a few of the top things administrators are thinking about to help guide you when going back to the classroom, regardless of whether you’ll be in-person, virtual or a hybrid of the two. To find more tips for how to use Google tools this upcoming school year, check out our Back to School Guide for school leaders.

Tools to enhance teaching and learning

Ruth Yeh, a teacher and technology advisor at Taipei First Girls High School, said she’s thinking a lot about how different it continues to be “to conduct classes the way we used to, and making sure all students are given the attention they need to learn and grow.” Ruth said that using Google tools, educators have been able to connect with students in real time using Google Meet, or do daily check-ins on mood with Google Forms or Google Classroom. Nothing can replace being in person – but tech tools can help bridge the gap in the meantime.

We’ve seen educators using Jamboard to have class brainstorms and discussions (all within a Google Meet!), where students can share ideas by writing and adding images in real time on a digital whiteboard. And for checking for understanding, Google Forms make conducting and grading quizzes easier – and can also be used for student check-ins. Educators are using Forms now to reach out to students with an emotional-health questionnaire and ask simple questions about how they are feeling… and then can set up time to talk to them afterwards.

Supporting students and families beyond the classroom 

“Parents and guardians are trying to help their kids with their schoolwork, but sometimes don’t understand the tools and devices,” says Femi Aina, Executive Director of IT at Atlanta Public Schools. The biggest issue: They had trouble finding Meet links for their children’s virtual classes. Atlanta Public School teachers and principals resolved this problem by providing the support and resources guardians needed to understand how to use Google Classroom and other Google for Education tools, including the Tech Toolkit for Families and Guardians video series.

Providing students and families with supplemental resources beyond the classroom curriculum can help them understand how they can use Google for Education tools to support their education. Guardians can learn how to support their children’s education through Google resources like Google Families, Guardian’s Guides to Google for Education Tools and this information on setting up Classroom email summaries for guardians. For more support resources, check out our Help Center.

Google’s commitment to data privacy and security

Chin Song, Director of Technology at Milpitas Unified, told us that he’s planning on updating policies in Google Admin Console to ensure a safe learning environment, like the new age-based access setting, and making sure all of the district’s Chromebooks are updated to the latest operating system. And Ron Caroll, Manager of Instructional Technology at Chicago Public Schools, said in addition to customizing policies to protect students’ online learning experiences, it’s equally important to bring parents and guardians along during the process. 

To inform guardians about their children’s use of Google Workspace for Education tools and how these tools protect their security online, Chicago Public Schools is planning on sharing information to help them learn more about Google’s privacy and security policies, like these frequently asked questions.

By customizing settings and updating policies, schools can support safer learning experiences for students through Google Admin console. Leverage resources to help inform families about security and privacy like the Safer Learning with Google for Education Guide, Google’s security commitments, our Be Internet Awesome Family Guide and our Guardian’s Guide to Privacy and Security. 


Stay up-to-date with your Google for Education products 

Mark Garrison, Chief Academic & Innovation Officer at Breck School, said his previous team typically spent summers focused on Chromebook deployment, helping schools set up and manage their devices. And Chin Song said his district has a secretary that logs every single Chromebook in a consolidated spreadsheet when deploying devices, to keep inventory management efficient. This year, they’re focusing on not only getting devices ready for in school learning, but also preparing them to go home, too.

Setting up and deploying Chromebooks ahead of the back-to-school season can help the return to the classroom be more seamless. For tips on how to set up new user accounts or pre-installing apps and extensions, check out the Chrome Device deployment guide for step-by-step instructions and this guide for sending Chromebooks home. 

Regardless of how your school setup will look this year, our team is working to make digital tools easier and more helpful for everyone. For more best practices on heading back to school with Google for Education tools, check out Teaching Resources and our Google for Education Back-to-School Guide.