TechSmart provides school districts with a structured curriculum pathway and professional development for computer science education, enabling teachers to effectively instruct students in coding from grades 3-12. The platform addresses the shortage of qualified computer science educators and ensures equitable access to essential coding skills for all students through rigorous, differentiated courses and real-time support.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Many school districts face a shortage of qualified computer science educators and struggle to provide equitable access to coding skills for students across all grade levels. Existing computer science curricula may lack the structure and differentiation needed to effectively engage students with varying backgrounds and skill levels.
Solution
TechSmart offers a comprehensive, teacher-centric solution designed to empower educators to effectively teach computer science to students in grades 3-12. The platform provides a structured curriculum pathway with differentiated courses, intensive coding bootcamps for professional development, and a cloud-based platform that integrates curriculum content with a live coding environment. TechSmart's approach ensures that teachers, regardless of their prior coding experience, can confidently deliver rigorous and engaging computer science instruction. The platform also offers features such as auto-graded assessments, customizable lesson plans, and real-time support to streamline the teaching process and enhance student learning outcomes.
Target Audience
TechSmart primarily targets school districts seeking to establish or expand their computer science programs, as well as individual schools and teachers looking for a structured and supportive platform for coding education.
Features
- Comprehensive curriculum pathway spanning grades 3-12, designed to build mastery in computer science concepts
- Differentiated curriculum with five levels of difficulty for each coding exercise, allowing for personalized learning experiences
- Teacher coding bootcamps providing in-depth professional development and coding competency certification
- Cloud-based platform integrating curriculum content, a live coding environment, and scaffolding features
- Teach Assist tool providing instructional callouts and discussion questions to guide teachers during instruction
- Code Assist tool offering quick keyword lookup and reference code to simplify code writing for teachers and students
- Auto-graded assessments with student progress tracking for data-driven instruction
- Customizable lesson plans allowing teachers to tailor the curriculum to their specific classroom needs
- Live support chat providing real-time assistance from expert staff
- Skylark, an educational coding language invented to ease the transition from visual coding to line-based code