Why and How I Made This Product

CS Connections was born out of a simple but persistent question: how can we make computer science more accessible to every student by embedding it into the subjects they already love? When I looked around at the elementary landscape, I saw that most computer science instruction was still siloed—reliant on specialists, elective blocks, or extra time that many schools just don’t have. Meanwhile, classroom teachers were being asked to do more with less, and many of them didn’t feel confident adding coding to their already packed day.

I wanted to create something different, something that would meet teachers where they are. CS Connections is a collection of cross-curricular modules that bring computer science into subjects like math, ELA, and science through creative, hands-on projects. Whether students are animating a poem, simulating a marine ecosystem, or designing a book cover, they’re learning foundational CS concepts while deepening their understanding of the core curriculum. Each module is modular and flexible, designed to fit into a single week of instruction, with everything a teacher needs to feel supported—even if they’ve never taught coding before.

Designing for Equity and Belonging

At the heart of CS Connections is a belief that coding should be a tool for expression, not just a technical skill. Too often, computer science is introduced through puzzles and logic games that don’t speak to all learners. I wanted to create a curriculum that invited students in through curiosity, creativity, and personal connection—especially students who have been historically excluded from computing.

Representation and voice mattered deeply in this work. For our Coding with Poetry module, I partnered with Caia Lomeli, a poet and former Get Lit performer from Los Angeles, who also studies computer science. Caia guided students through the module in a series of videos, and her presence offered a different vision of what a computer scientist can look and sound like. That was intentional. I wanted students—especially girls and students of color—to see that computer science can be artistic, emotional, and deeply human. By integrating CS into the fabric of everyday learning, CS Connections opens more doors, for more students, in more ways.