The quickly growing Codecademy, a free website that provides computer programming lessons to users, recently made it even easier for teachers to tap into the resources on the site. The New York City-based company raised $10 million in venture capital to build lessons and expand its operations internationally.
Last week, the company announced that it would be launching a new feature, specifically for teachers, that provides a free tool kit—including curricula, letters to teachers, and student accounts—for those who would like to start an after-school computer programming club, no programming experience necessary. The curriculum was created with the help of dozens of teachers, and it is split into two semesters. During the first semester, students will tackle the HTML and CSS programming languages, and in the second semester, students will learn JavaScript.
In addition, registration comes with access to the “Teachers Lounge,” where educators can go to share stories, best practices, and tips with other teachers around the world. The tool kit is available in hard copies, or it can be received digitally.
And although this is the first initiative Codeacademy has undertaken that specifically targets K-12 teachers, it’s not its first venture into education. This summer, the company, in partnership with the White House, launched Code Summer+, as a part of Summer Jobs+, which aimed to hook young adults up with jobs. Code Summer+ is an abbreviated version of Codecademy’s Code Year curriculum that goes over the basics of computer programming.