NCWIT AspireIT Toolkit: Engage Students

Get inspired by activity ideas and real-life sample program materials, consider multiple program types to implement, and utilize “How-To Guides” for planning and facilitation.

AspireIT Core Values

Evaluation shows there are three core values that foster effectiveness and lead to the greatest impact for participants and their communities: peer mentorship, inclusivity, and hands-on engagement. Click on the icons below to get a brief overview of each value to keep at the forefront while planning and running programs.

Activity Ideas

Looking for inspirational, engaging activities for program participants? Get started with these resources and tutorials.

Program Types

There are four main types of programs: afterschool programs, camps, hackathons, and community events. Which type is right for you? Click below to review key characteristics of each, as well as real-life agendas and lesson plans from past AspireIT programs.

"How-To" Guides

These guides provide an overview of each step of the process — program planning, lesson design, facilitation, and reflection — and will help you stay on track with every facet of your program. Keep the AspireIT Core Values (above) in mind as you work your way through each guide.

Activity Ideas

Program Types

"How-To" Guides

Activity Ideas

Program Types

Program Type	Description	Audience	Typical Individual Session Duration	Typical Program Frequency
After-School	An after-school program engages participants after classes end, but before family members may be done with work. They can cover one topic in depth or touch lightly on a variety of areas, depending on how often they meet. Most meetings take place in a school or offsite at a library or community center. View real-life examples	Grades K-12	45 – 90 min.	Daily or Weekly for 1 Quarter or Semester
Camp	A camp is a longer, in-depth program that allows you and your participants to take a deep dive into computing-related topic(s). Camps typically take place during the summer months or over longer holiday breaks throughout the school year. View real-life examples	Grades K-12	4 – 8 hrs.	Daily for 1 Week to 1 Month
Hackathon	A hackathon is a sprint-like computing event where participants can collaborate on an individual project together. The goal of a hackathon is for the participants to have created functioning software or hardware towards the end of the event. View real-life examples	Grades 6-12	4 – 8 hrs.	Daily for 1 Day – 1 Week
Community Event	One-day events (like Hour of Code) can be a great way to spark interest in your community, recruit participants, peer mentors and volunteers, and gain experience running programs. hour of code	Grades K-12 and their families	1 – 4 hrs.	Daily for 1 – 2 days

*NOTE: Staffing and program costs vary greatly depending on: the number, age and experience level of participants, the content and type of technology required, and the comfort level of the facilitators.

Asynchronous Demonstration

Regardless of your program type and whether your program is taking place virtually or in-person, participants learn at different speeds and asynchronous learning models can be very beneficial. Check out the following example from one of our amazing Community Members to see what this type of demonstration looks like in action.

Sanjitha Prabakaran is the Founder and CEO of STEM 4 Scouts, a non-profit program dedicated to bringing computer science education to Girl Scouts. They have helped over 3,000 Girl Scouts earn their STEM-related badges through in-person and virtual workshops. All materials used in STEM 4 Scouts virtual workshops are also housed in a Google Classroom that participants can access to independently complete their badges. Participants can then post questions and receive additional information about future opportunities.

In this tutorial, Sanjitha walks through some of the asynchronous materials that they offer to participants via Google Classroom and demonstrates a lesson plan utilizing basic javascript to create a fun meme.

"How-To" Guides