Empowering Rural Students with CodeNext and SchoolAI
Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Chris Swanson, a middle school STEM teacher in Orosi, California to implement Google’s CodeNext program. This initiative is designed to bring high-quality computer science opportunities to students from underserved, rural, and low-income communities—something we’re deeply committed to.
This school year, we’ve taken our efforts a step further by integrating the school’s premium SchoolAI subscription into the CodeNext experience. When students began the Intro to Web Development curriculum, most had little to no prior coding experience. To give them an early win and boost their confidence, we introduced a custom SchoolAI Space where students could describe a website operation they imagined. The AI then generated HTML code based on their description, which they copied into a tool to test. This first step helped demystify coding, allowing them to see real code in action and how their ideas could come to life.
As students became more confident with HTML, we phased out that initial Space and introduced a new one. This next AI Space was designed as a feedback tool. Students would paste in chunks of their self-written code, and the AI provided suggestions for improvement based on the students’ goals for their websites. Importantly, this Space was intentionally designed not to write code for them. Instead, it acted as a thought partner—helping them think critically and make meaningful improvements on their own.
Now that students have built foundational skills and confidence, it’s time for them to begin designing their final websites for the CodeNext project. To support this creative process, we built a third custom SchoolAI Space that helps students brainstorm. They input their interests, and the AI responds with thoughtful follow-up questions to help them flesh out ideas and develop content for their sites.
To celebrate their growth and hard work, the culminating event of the year will be a guided tour of Google Headquarters. For many of these students, it will be their first time visiting a major tech campus—a powerful and inspiring opportunity to see what’s possible when they pursue their passions in computer science. Take a look at our visit with last year’s cohort of students.
If you have any questions and would like a follow up, contact me via Gmail or Chat at ajuarez@techcoachjuarez.com.
If you would like to bring me to your school for PD, workshops, a keynote, training or a follow-up on this or previous blogposts, click here to schedule an appointment to chat.
My book, The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Digital Learning, co-authored with my wife Katherine Goyette is now available on Amazon. Click here to purchase. It is published by Dave Burgess Publishing. Be sure to follow the hashtag #OrganicEdTech and #CVTechTalk for updates.
Leave a comment