What is Visual Studio Code for Education?
Visual Studio Code is Microsoft’s streamlined code editor for professional developers. As part of our mission to empower every person on the planet to achieve more, Microsoft is exploring educational solutions to bring the power of Visual Studio Code to students and teachers.
If you are a secondary school Teacher teaching Introductory Python or Web Development/Design, or if you are a student between the ages of 18-25 interested in learning Python or Web Development, please consider joining this programme to share your thoughts and help us shape this new product.
Programme Overview
Through the Programme, Advisers will have the opportunity to directly influence the future development of Visual Studio Code for Education and will benefit from this programme by:
- Developing partnerships and opportunities to collaborate with computer science educators and students from other schools and industries,
- Gathering ideas, inspiration and validation for their own experiences and practices and
- Receiving an honorarium for each quarter of engagement in the Board.
Commitment
Advisers will virtually meet with the Microsoft team once a month. All advisers will be added to a private community where they can discuss, provide feedback and connect with the Visual Studio Code for Education team between meetings.
The 2022-2023 cohort term will run for one year, starting December 2022, with an estimated time commitment of two hours per month. Advisers will receive an honorarium for each quarter that they work with the Board.
Programme Criteria
Faculty
To be eligible for the Programme, faculty must meet and agree to the following criteria:
- Be a current secondary school teacher or higher education faculty member at a United States institution, including community colleges and trade schools;
- Have a course load that’s more than 50% computer science focused (e.g., Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Python or similar);
- Participate in a once-a-month online Advisers meeting with the Microsoft team to provide feedback, insights and share your experience using the product; and
- Sign a Microsoft Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Faculty with experience building computer science curriculum, working with students with diverse abilities and/or experience with programming-based assessments is a plus.
Students
To be eligible for the Programme, students must meet and agree to the following criteria:
- Currently a higher education student at a United States institution, including community colleges and trade schools;
- Must be enrolled in at least one computer science course or has tried learning on their own through a MOOC, Microsoft Learn or other platforms;
- Able to participate online once a month with other Advisers and members of the Visual Studio Code for Education team to provide feedback, insights and overall use of the product; and
- Sign a Microsoft Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Students with diverse abilities, a variety of experience levels and/or use of technology tools are a plus.
Applying for the Advisory Board
If you are interested in participating, please complete the online application.
We have selected our first round of educators for the Advisory Board; however, we will continue to review applications on a rolling basis.
We know that educators and students are passionate about CS education. While we do not have enough spaces to accommodate all interested educators and students, our team is working on another opportunity for educators and students to provide feedback and their insights outside of the Advisory Board.
Additional details about this will be shared with Advisory applicants as an additional way to connect and contribute.