Classroom Rewards of up to $300 for learning about and teaching Google’s CS First program

Update 9/30/20 4:00PM ET: Interest in this classroom rewards opportunity has been overwhelming, and Google's CS First professional development workshops are already at capacity. You will no longer be able to register to attend a workshop. 

If you have already signed up for a workshop, you'll receive your workshop invitation by email within a week. 

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How does it work?

Starting September 29th, teachers can earn up to $300 in DonorsChoose gift codes by completing two separate activities with the Google CS First program.

Earn $100 for learning about Google’s CS First program 

This opportunity is for teachers who are new to Google’s CS First program, a free computer science curriculum that makes coding easy to teach and fun to learn. CS First provides easy-to-use, video-based computer science enrichment materials that engage a diverse student population in grades 4-8 (ages 9-14)

1. 1. Register for a 60 or 90 minute CS First professional development workshop (as of 9/30/20, workshop registration is at capacity, and no more teachers can register).
      • In this virtual workshop, you’ll learn more about CS First and how it can be implemented in your classroom 
      • This virtual workshop is intended for teachers who have never used the CS First platform before
   2. At the end of the professional development workshop you signed up for, you will be asked to complete a post-workshop  survey. You’ll complete the survey during the last 10 minutes of the live workshop. 
   3. At the end of the post-workshop  survey, take a screenshot of your  survey completion screen (example below).
   4. Once you have completed the post-workshop survey, fill out the Classroom Rewards form.
   5. You will need to upload the screenshot you took of the survey completion screen and confirm the email address you used to set up a CS First teacher account during the session.

Fill out the Classroom Rewards form

Within 3 weeks of completing the Classroom Rewards form, you’ll receive your $100 DonorsChoose gift code in your email. If there are any problems with your form submission, our team will reach out to you. 

If you’re having trouble with the workshop, or post-workshop survey, please reach out to Google’s team. 

 

Earn $200 for teaching a CS First lesson in your classroom

1. Complete the workshop outlined in part 1 of this Help Center. 
2. Log in to your CS First account or create a CS First teacher account
• When you create your CS First teacher account, you can opt in to receive emails about ongoing CS First updates and opportunities
3. Create a CS First class in your teacher dashboard, and select one multi-activity lesson or two hour long CS First lessons to teach to your students 
• You must select either ONE multi-activity lesson OR TWO hour long lessons to earn the $200 reward. If you complete two of the hour long lessons, they would ideally be completed with the same group of students.
• You can choose whatever lesson(s) most appeals to you and your students! Most lessons are geared towards introductory coding, but some are for intermediate and advanced students. If you can’t decide, try using the curriculum finder. 
4. Once you have your Class created and your activities selected and assigned to that class, invite your students to join the class and create their own student accounts. They will need the unique class code that you can access and provide from your class dashboard. 
5. Teach your chosen lesson(s) to at least 10 students. Students will watch video lessons on CS First and complete the coding steps in Scratch. 
6. Once your students have completed the lesson, take a screenshot of your CS First class progress summary, showing that at least 10 students have completed 50% of the lesson. If you completed two of the hour long lessons, you’ll need to submit two completion dashboards (one for each of the two lessons that you completed).
7. Once you have your screenshot(s), fill out the Classroom Rewards form. You will need to upload the screenshot you took of the survey completion screen. 

Fill out the Classroom Rewards form

Within 3 weeks of completing the Classroom Rewards form, you’ll receive your $200 DonorsChoose gift code in your email. If there are any problems with your form submission, our team will reach out to you. 

Trying to figure out which CS First lesson(s) to teach with your students? 

Here are the names of the multi-activity lessons you can choose from:Storytelling

• Music & Sound
• Friend
• Fashion & Design
• Art
• Sports
• Game Design

Here are the names of the hour long lessons you can choose from (remember, you’ll need to complete two of these lessons to earn the reward!) 

• Characterization
• Interactive Presentation
• Dialogue
• Narration
• Figurative Language
• Code Your Hero
• Pitch Your Passion
• An Unusual Discovery
• Animate a Name
• Create your own Google logo
• Adventure on the High Seas
• Gumball’s Coding Adventure

Frequently Asked Questions

I haven’t received my link to attend the CS First workshop. 

First, make sure you’ve checked your spam and junk folders, if you’re still not seeing the email, please reach out to Google’s team. 

I did not fill out the post-workshop survey after attending the CS First workshop. Please reach out to the workshop provider. 

• If you completed the workshop with Five Star -  sgick@five-startech.com
• If you completed the workshop with Mouse PD -  educators@mouse.org 

I have fewer than 10 students in my class.  Can I still participate in this Classroom Rewards opportunity?

The threshold for earning the $200 DonorsChoose gift code is 10 students, but if you have a unique circumstance in your classroom that prevents you from meeting this threshold, please contact us.

I have taught a CS First activity before. Can I still participate in this Classroom Rewards opportunity?

This Classroom Rewards opportunity is intended for teachers who are new to CS First, and have not used the activities with their students before. 

Am I able to earn multiple gift codes from this opportunity?

You will only be able to fill out each classroom rewards form once, and can earn a maximum of 1 gift code for each form (totaling $300). In addition, you will only be able to redeem 1 gift code from each opportunity.

Have additional questions?

If you have any other questions about the Classroom Rewards process, contact the DonorsChoose team through our contact form.

If you have a question about CS First or the CS First workshop please reach out to Google’s team.