Our complete progression of courses guides students from third grade through high school.
Skylark is TechSmart’s introductory educational coding language, invented to ease the transition from visual coding to line-based code. Every Skylark block represents real Python code. That means students not only get a gentle introduction to code, but one that lets them gradually “level up” to the line-based code used in college and careers.
Learn More About Skylark
As students advance through our courses, their Skylark blocks progress through three levels of sophistication. Blocks begin worded appropriately for younger students and gradually take on the vocabulary and syntax of written Python code.
Skylark’s unique hybrid programs combine blocks and Python code in the same editor. This enables our courses to gradually replace blocks with the line code that powers them.
Every block maps onto clear and straightforward Python code. By the end of their transition, students will write the same line-based Python common in professional environments.
Our elementary school progression consists of three year-long courses. Students advance through a sequence of computer science concepts where each course builds upon the previous one, all while creating progressively more sophisticated programs set in a colorful fantasy world.
Aetherial is a world made up of four elemental realms: earth, fire, water, and air. The Aetherial narrative tells the story of four young heroes, one from each land, who meet unexpectedly one day and decide to travel the realms together, learning about each other’s unique strengths and encouraging cooperation among the different nations. Each Skylark lesson is a chapter in these characters’ story, and every exercise centers around their adventures.
The first course in the Skylark curriculum starts students on a lifelong path of loving code. Core coding concepts are taught using engaging characters and stories that weave throughout the Skylark course progression, allowing students to tie fundamental learnings to familiar, friendly faces. The course emphasizes student creativity, giving them powerful tools for self-expression in a digital space.
The second Skylark course continues from the first, introducing new, more advanced coding concepts and new capabilities for creative expression. The narrative arc introduced in the first course continues through CS20, traveling alongside familiar characters as they visit new worlds and make new friends. Students in CS20 gain mastery of block-based coding that allows them to create an incredible variety of custom programs.
The final course in the Skylark curriculum focuses on transitioning students towards the Python curriculum in middle school. Taking the fundamentals that students have learned in previous courses, CS30 begins to transition students into formatting and typing code in Python syntax. As the characters from the Skylark narrative world come to the end of their adventures, the students’ journeys on the path of Python are just beginning!
Python is a professional programming language with a low floor and high ceiling. One of the easiest languages to read and understand, learning Python can lead to careers in web development, artificial intelligence, data science, game development, and more.
Learn More About Python
Students take a sequence of three courses in the Python language. They progress from computer science fundamentals to advanced coding concepts, all while making engaging graphical apps and games.
This quarter-long course is a great starting point for students to begin coding without requiring an entire semester of instruction. In an abridged format, the course still manages complete coverage of some of the most important fundamental coding concepts, while still allowing students to make engaging text-based games and simple interactive programs that fire the imagination.
This course begins the progression of the Coding in Python sequence, introducing the early fundamentals of coding. It blends detailed technical knowledge with engaging coursework, allowing students free-range creativity without sacrificing academic rigor. Students taking this course will receive the basic tools and building-blocks to code not only the assigned programs, but also to design and develop their own unique games and interactive experiences.
This course builds on the basics learned in CS101, rounding out the students’ knowledge of CS coding fundamentals. The course introduces image-based graphics, allowing students to produce the sorts of familiar games and dynamic interactive programs that they are already enthusiastic about.
Python is a professional programming language with a low floor and high ceiling. One of the easiest languages to read and understand, learning Python can lead to careers in web development, artificial intelligence, data science, game development, and more.
Learn More About Python
These four rigorous courses prepare students to step directly into the computer science industry by focusing on problem-solving and critical thinking. Taught in Python, they are designed to build a depth of knowledge in computer science and strong coding fluency.
This course begins the progression of the Coding in Python sequence, introducing the early fundamentals of coding. It blends detailed technical knowledge with engaging coursework, allowing students free-range creativity without sacrificing academic rigor. The course emphasizes logical thinking and problem-solving, critical thinking, and real-world coding application. Students taking this course will receive the basic tools and building-blocks to code not only the assigned programs, but also to design and develop their own unique games and interactive experiences.
This course builds on the basics learned in CS201, rounding out the students’ knowledge of CS coding fundamentals. The course introduces image-based graphics, allowing students to produce the sorts of familiar games and dynamic interactive programs that they are already enthusiastic about. Emphasis is on code organization and the process of designing larger programs.
The second half of the Python curriculum begins to cover more advanced CS topics in more depth, compared to previous courses. Students begin to learn the advanced coding skills that truly prepare them to write detailed, realistic programs, as well as learning all the tricks and techniques that can give their personal programs the next level of polish and creative expression.
The final course in the Python curriculum completes the coverage of coding fundamentals and paves the way for coding in Java. Students learn the building blocks “object-oriented” coding in Python, as well as complex topics they will need in real-world coding scenarios. By the end of this course they will have gained the ability to write not only their own large-scale programs, but also code libraries that can be shared used to support other new coders.