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Intro to Computer Science for Middle School Educators

Computer science increasingly permeates our student’s futures in their options for higher education and career choices. This foundational course demonstrates why equitable access to computer science opportunities is imperative for Michigan students, and how Michigan’s K-12 Computer Science Standards can be leveraged for effective instruction at the middle school level. You will be given examples and tools for successfully integrating computer science education into existing content areas through activities geared toward middle schoolers and be given the opportunity to create your own lessons.

In this course, you will:

  • Explain why computer science education is urgent in Michigan,
  • Create a document that can be used to advocate for equitable computer science education,
  • Summarize the implications of the Michigan K-12 Computer Science Standards as they pertain to middle schoolers,
  • Develop a lesson plan that introduces computer science to middle schoolers, and
  • Utilize resources that help integrate computer science into your classroom.

SCECHs Granted

3

Who should take this course?

Teacher

What grade level(s) does this course apply to?

Middle School
Upper Elementary

Course Partner

Course Vendor

Michigan Virtual

Limited Course Capacity

We’re sorry to inform you that we have reached capacity for several of our Semester 1 and Trimester 1 courses. You’ll notice when attempting to enroll students in our Student Learning Portal that some courses are unavailable. While we are no longer accepting new enrollments for these courses at this time, many courses continue to remain open for enrollment.

With many students across the state 100% remote, demand for our online courses is greater than ever before. Because every course we offer is taught by a Michigan-certified teacher, this high volume of enrollments has created capacity issues for our teachers who provide each and every student with individual feedback.

While the Michigan Virtual team anticipated and planned for significant increases in student enrollments this Fall, the increased demand we’ve experienced has been unprecedented. As a result, we are taking steps to hire even more part-and full-time teachers to support larger numbers of student enrollments for Semester 2 as well as for Trimester 2 and 3. 

For schools that still need online learning options this year, please fill out the form at the bottom of our virtual pathways page to meet with someone to discuss other solutions. While some of our teacher-led courses are full, we may still have the capacity to help you in upcoming terms or can discuss timing to implement a whole-school or collaborative program in which local teachers from your school/district use our online course content to teach students. We also have free course content and resources available for you to use.

We know this is an incredibly stressful time for all, and we’re sorry if the courses you’re looking for are unavailable. We never want to turn away a student who wants to learn from us. Our top concern, however, is student success, and we have a policy to not take on additional enrollments if we cannot guarantee that all students will have a quality online learning experience. 

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the unusually high volume of enrollments we are receiving.