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A year ago, as we contemplated the prospect of weeks or months sheltering in place, we thought up a novel community service project. People were stuck at home. Could we help them use their free time to learn a valuable new skill? Could we teach an online course for thousands centered around real human community? For each of us, computer science is the closest thing in the world to real magic. Even more than studying it, we love to share it. We and a team of colleagues set out to turn Stanfords introductory coding class, CS106A, into a massive virtual community: Code in Place.

Two months later, the results were in: 10,000 students from 120 countries embraced the joy of coding through the course. Students who had never before attempted to code were implementing projects in Python, including tools to model dynamics of the COVID pandemic, analyze DNA, conduct sentiment analysis from Twitter and create a choose-your-own-adventure film. A handful of students kick-started new careers in computer science, and several became professional teachers. A student from Italy called it, the most enjoyable, mentally stimulating and rewarding experience I have ever encountered. Our secret ingredient was the community of 908 section leaders who volunteered their time to give students live weekly, interactive support in small, virtual groups for 40 minutes. Section leaders joined from over 350 cities on six continents, spoke more than 30 different languages, and came from every walk of life. We think this model can change the way we think about teaching and learning at scale.

This year, we plan to replicate and build on the success of Code in Place to give even more students a potentially life-changing experience. In order to scale the course to the public in a way that maintains its magic, we are looking for volunteer mentors to serve as section leaders. This is where you come in. If you know basic Python and are excited to share your knowledge with others, we invite you to join us in our effort to make high-quality computer science education accessible to all. We are accepting applications to section lead until March 25. Teaching obligations will run for five weeks, from April 19 until May 21. Your time commitment will be around five hours per week. And dont worry, you dont have to do any grading. Many more details and FAQs are at this link. Most importantly, each new volunteer means 10 more students from around the world learn to love coding.

We predict that the number of people in the world eager to teach is proportional to the number of people eager to learn. That is a powerful concept; it means that if we can create platforms that connect teachers with students, training and community, we can provide high-quality, human-personalized education almost without limitation.

We asked our volunteer section leaders from last year why they joined us and what they got from the experience. Here are a few themes that stuck with us:

The pandemic has shown us the virtues and limitations of virtual education. We are all asking what we will carry forward from our pandemic lives into the post-pandemic world. For us, an indelible memory of this year was seeing a community of thousands form out of nowhere around a shared love of coding. We believe that sort of community is something worth carrying forward beyond the end of our socially distanced lives, and we invite you to join us.

If you are passionate about teaching, programming, or both, and if you have an internet connection stable enough for a video call, you can apply to teach at this link by Friday, March 25 anywhere on Earth. Check out the announcement to learn more. If you have any questions please email codeinplacestaff@gmail.com or DM us on Twitter: @sectionleadcs.

This is an opinion and analysis article.

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How We Got More Than 10000 Students from 120 Countries to Embrace the Joy of Coding - Scientific American