Students and teachers are invited to sign up for Grok’s computer science competition to solve real world problems while learning to program.
Grok Academy’s National Computer Science School (NCSS) Challenge kicks off for Years 5 to 12 students and teachers on 29 July 2024.
The five-week online programming course and interactive problem-solving competition is available to newbies, beginners, intermediate and advanced students and features learning aligned with the Digital Technologies curriculum (Australia and New Zealand).
Participants get weekly notes and real-world problems to solve with code on topics from medicine to movies, sport to science, and everything in between. Students have fun learning technical digital skills while also earning points to climb the leaderboard, competing against students from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
One teacher described the Challenge as, “one of the best and most rewarding extra-curricular activities available for students who love programming and really want to grow their skills and knowledge in that area.”
Students and their teachers who participate in the July/August course are supported with intelligent auto-marking, instant feedback and online support from industry expert tutors from Grok and sponsor organisations including Atlassian, Australian Signals Directorate, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie, National Australia Bank (NAB), Optiver, Telstra and platinum sponsor, WiseTech Global.
According to Grok Academy Lead Educator, Ms Julie McMahon, hands-on guidance from sponsor employees actively working in their chosen fields is an important differentiator to Grok’s approach.
Lead Educator. Image: Grok Academy
“Having our accomplished sponsor experts on-hand to respond personally to student questions and guide problem-solving, takes the pressure off classroom teachers to be the only source of student guidance and input as they tackle each task, either in-class or as an extra-curricular activity,” she says.
“Teachers particularly love the live dashboard that shows their students’ progress against others from both countries, as well as the auto marking features. If teachers wish to utilise the material at a pace that suits their class, content can be made available throughout the year without the leaderboard aspect and tutor support.”
Of those who participated in the NCSS last year, 73 per cent said they felt more confident about programming and the majority said the best thing about the Challenge was learning to code followed by the fact it was fun and that they were supported with step-by-step instructions.
2023 NCSS Challenge participant, 17-year-old student Lauren, says the Challenge teaches you as you go.
“You are able to test yourself, but you aren’t expected to already know everything. I love how the problems are so creative and entertaining to read. The tutors are also really friendly and respond quickly to queries,” she says.
Ms McMahon says Grok’s goal is to empower Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand students with the technology skills they need to thrive in the digital economy.
“The NCSS Challenge engages young people in technology with its ‘go as you learn’ approach. It is interactive, immersive and an excellent classroom-ready resource for teachers of digital technologies,” she says.
What is the Grok Academy National Computer Science School?
Grok Academy‘s National Computer Science School (NCSS) offers a year-long program of activities for primary and high school teachers and students from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand with two core programs:
- The NCSS Challenge: A five-week programming competition for students in years 5-12 run twice a year in February and July.
- The NCSS Summer School: A 10-day residential camp that takes place in January teaching advanced web development and cyber security in Sydney and Melbourne.
Scan the QR code to sign up for this year’s National Computer Science School Challenge or visit grokacademy.org/challenge.
