Computer Science and Technology Resources
Graduation Requirement Resources
FREE Standards-Aligned Canvas Course
The NDE has created a semester-long, standards-aligned Canvas course.
- You may import this course from NDE’s Canvas Commons to your own Canvas instance, in part or in whole.
- Helpful information:
- Note for Schoology Districts:
- If your district does not have Canvas, but does have Schoology, you can download the .imscc file as detailed in the PDF above, and import it directly to Schoology. Most assignments and documents should auto-populate in Schoology without issue. Please email shaun.young@nebraska.gov with any issues.
FREE Standards-Aligned Code.org Course
Code.org has a new course on their platform called Computer Science and AI Foundations that successfully covers the Nebraska Computer Science and Technology Standards.
FREE Standards-Aligned CodeHS Course
CodeHS has created both semester and year-long courses on its platform that are aligned to the new standards. CodeHS has both paid and free versions.
FREE Standards-Aligned Kira Learning Course
Kira Learning has created a course on their learning platform that covers all of the graduation requirement standards, as well as provides summative projects for each of its three units.
Other Standards-Aligned Courses
Ascend Education has created a standards-aligned course on their platform that covers all of the graduation requirement standards.
Other Resources
Free High School Computer Science Curriculum
Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Academy has free curriculum from one quarter to one school year in length. Note that none of these courses are completely aligned to any course within the Communication and Information Systems Program of Study.
Code.org has a wide assortment of curriculum on their platform that is completely free to use. Courses come in varying lengths and content level. Courses on the Code.org platform that align to Nebraska courses include:
- Computer Science A (270701) and AP Computer Science A (270700)
- Computer Science Principles (270703)
- Foundations of Computing (270704)
CodeHS has over 100 free middle and high school computer science courses on their platform. Both free and paid versions are available. Courses on the CodeHS platform that align to Nebraska courses include:
- Introduction to Data Science (270413)
- Computer Science A (270701) and AP Computer Science A (270700)
- Computer Science Principles (270703) and AP Computer Science Principles (270702)
- Foundations of Computing (270704)
- Cybersecurity (270707)
Khan Academy has several free courses that align with Nebraska courses, including:
- Computer Science Principles (270703) and AP Computer Science Principles (270702)
- Foundations of Computing (270704)
- IT Fundamentals (270504)
- Digital Design(270611)
Nebraska Microsoft IT Initiative
Through the Nebraska Microsoft IT Initiative, teachers and students will receive software training, online resources, and earn Microsoft Office Specialist, Microsoft Technology Associate, and/or Microsoft Certified Educator certifications.
Supplementary Resources
Below are additional resources that may be used to teach supplementary lessons in Computer Science and Technology:
- CS Unplugged – a collection of free teaching materials using physical (non-computer-based) items such as paper, string, and crayons
- Common Sense Media – Digital Citizenship and Common Sense Media – AI Literacy
- Google Applied Digital Skills – Computer Science – a collection of short, web-based lessons on foundational computer science concepts
- Scratch and ScratchJr are online coding platforms that come with a plethora of simple projects and lessons to introduce students to programming.
- Virtual Vex Robotics – a virtual playground where students can use block or text-based coding to program robots to complete tasks
Free Middle School Computer Science Curriculum
Code.org has a wide assortment of curriculum on their platform that is completely free to use. Courses come in varying lengths and content level.
CodeHS has over 100 free middle and high school computer science courses on their platform. Both free and paid versions are available.
CompTIA Spark has free lessons and units on a variety of topics from cybersecurity to AI chatbots and more. Teachers will sign up for free at teach.comptiaspark.org and students will sign up at my.comptiaspark.org. *Please note that CompTIA was recently bought by a third-party investment firm, so this product may stop functioning at some point in the future.
Middle School Computer Science Certifications
CIW/Certification Partners has a series of courses and certifications geared towards students in grades 5-8, called ICT.
Free Elementary Computer Science Curriculum
All You Need Is Code has free lesson plans and printables.
BootUp Professional Development has free lessons using ScratchJr and Scratch for K-5 students, separated by student grade level and experience.
Code.org has a wide assortment of curricular resources on their platform that are completely free to use. Elementary resources come in varying lengths and content level.
CS Unplugged – a collection of free teaching materials using physical (non-computer-based) items such as paper, string, and crayons
Google CS First has a variety of single-day and multiple-day lessons for students of varying skill levels.
Scratch and ScratchJr are online coding platforms that come with a plethora of simple projects and lessons to introduce students to programming.