Community Spotlight

ICSpark


classes

coding

spotlight


Founded in 2019, ICSpark provides free Saturday coding classes to students in 6th - 12th grade during the Spring semester. Prior to COVID, classes were held on the UH Manoa campus. Now, classes are held online until further notice.

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Local Resources

    National Resources


    Learning how to use the computer for the first time? This section includes online resources on basic digital skills for the beginner.


    Be Internet Awesome

    Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach kids how to be safe and responsible explorers of the online world.


    GCFGlobal

    GCFGlobal offers in-depth introductions to topics pertaining to basic digital literacy - email, internet, online safety, Windows vs Mac vs Linux, and the Microsoft Office software. It is a great beginner resource and also completely free!


    KhanAcademy

    KhanAcademy is a free educational resource that covers content taught from first grade to college. This includes computer science and mathematics topics - both of which play a key role in high-level digital literacy. The site is completely free and anyone can access the video lectures and educational lessons.


    NorthStar

    NorthStar is a digital literacy program with online, self-guided modules to assess the ability of individuals to perform digital tasks. Several NorthStar Online Learning units (Basic Computer Skills, Email, Microsoft Word, and Career Search Skills) are available for free now in the “Build Your Skills” section.


    Are you familiar with everyday technologies but are interested in learning more? This section includes online resources to explore a variety of tech interests (e.g. coding, intermediate to advanced usage of Excel).


    Codecademy

    Codecademy has a collection of courses that cover the major programming language and computer science skills such as web development and cybersecurity. There are free introductions to each of these topics, as well as a variety of extra curriculum in the form of videos and blogposts. Videos range from topics such as “How to Think Like a Programmer” and “How Long Does it Take to Learn to Code?”, and the blog posts include content like “How to stay motivated when learning to code” and “What does a data scientist do?”. While there are premium (paid) courses, they are completely optional. In order to access the free content, you just need to use your email to make an account!


    FreeCodeCamp

    As its name suggests, FreeCodeCamp provides thousands of hours worth of content on all topics needed to successfully learn to code - programming languages, quality assurance, web development, scientific computing, and even coding interview prep. Most topics also provide certification upon completion! Again, all of this is 100% free! Creating a free account will allow your progress and certifications to be saved and accesse from anywhere.


    HackerRank

    HackerRank provides practice problems at every difficulty level for a variety of different coding-related skills. There are also certification tests in specific languages, as well as general programming skills. The certification tests also have multiple, varying degrees of difficulty. There are occasional job interviews and professional networking features built into this site that you can take advantage of as well! Again, all that is needed to access this content is a free account with an email address.


    OpenVIM

    OpenVIM is an extremely basic and hands-on introduction to the VIM editor. While there are many more advanced developing environments, you are guaranteed to have access to VIM on any linux computer, so it is definitely worth learning for programming such as C or C++ development! And of course, this site is 100% free!


    Glitch

    Glitch is a free web development platform to build and host your website all in your browser! Glitch provides editors and quick easy access to create websites and allows you to experiment with all kinds of different languages.


    Udemy

    Programming, photoraphy, design, business - all tech topics! Some free lessons, as well premium lessons (pay for individual lessons). Udemy offers courses on a diverse amount of technological topics - coding, basic computer usage, digital creativity, personal development, marketing. While a premium (paid) subscription grants access to more resources such as Q&A with instructors, the online course content is free as long as you create a free account using your email address!


    W3Schools

    W3Schools is a free web development learning website that includes resources and tutorials for content such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, and many other languages. W3Schools is great for those who are first learning web development and experienced coders that need a refresher.


    Are you looking for more in-depth courses or resources to understand the fundamentals of technology? This section includes online resources that dive deeper into the nitty gritty details of technology, research, and interdisciplinary uses.


    Linkedin

    While this site is mostly known as a social and professional networking platform centered around job searches, Linkedin has built-in skill certification tests for a variety of programming languages and topics. These allow you to test your coding skills and market yourself to potential employers! It is free to make an account, although your email and personal information is required as it is used for job searching.


    NSA Codebreaker

    NSA is about protecting our country and its citizens. These are the unique challenges that the people of NSA are faced with every day. Come explore the exciting career opportunities at NSA.


    Software Carpentry

    An organization teaching basic lab skills for research computing. Free workshops and tutorials are available on topics such as Python, Git, and R.