CSTechJam Get Started with TechJam Choose a structure: TechJam is designed to run in five sessions of at least 45 minutes, or as one five-hour hackathon. You can have students can create individual projects or work in pairs. Take a look at our Pair Programming guide for help setting up your students to work in pairs.
Check your network and devices: TechJam requires: ● A reliable internet connection ● Use of desktop, laptop, or netbook devices ● Access to a modern web browser (Codesters runs best on Chrome). We recommend that you have one device per student, but TechJam can also be run with one device for every two students if you choose to use pair programming.
Set up a Codesters account: Create a free teacher account and have your students sign up and join your class. See TechJam Teacher Sign-up Guide and TechJam Student Sign-up Slides.
Review materials and print handouts: ● Go to the Teacher Guide section of the TechJam site ○ From the TechJam home page, click on Lesson Resources. ○ Then click on Teacher Guide at the top of the page. ● You will need to print out one Design Thinking Packet for each student. ○ There are also other materials that you may want to print out for make available digitally for your students. ● Demo the games and coding tutorials: ○ Go to your Codesters dashboard and click ‘Demo’ to preview the game tutorials module as a student. ○ Look over the Teacher Debugging Guide for tips on helping you students with coding.
CSTechJam TechJam FAQ Who is TechJam for? TechJam is for students in 6th through 10th grade with a range of experience levels. We recommend that students who are new to code use the Dialogue game. Students who have done some coding before may want to do the Click Word or Catch Info games. Advanced students can design their own game structure. What is the purpose of TechJam? TechJam is a ready to use project-based learning experience for schools and groups to use during Computer Science Education Week. It is designed to give students the chance to learn more about programming by making creative, socially impactful games. TechJam is aligned to ELA CCLS, NGSS, and CSTA standards and focuses on computational thinking and collaboration skills. Do I have to do TechJam during CS Ed Week? No! You can signup via the Techjam link to try coding with Codesters anytime! Who created TechJam? TechJam was developed by Codesters as an official program of Computer Science Education Week. Questions about Codesters? Visit the Codesters FAQ page, or email us at
[email protected].
