Join educators and students from across Maine for an afternoon of computer science fun at the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) fourth annual Computer Science Education Showcase on December 12 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. This event is hosted by the Maine DOE, in partnership with Educate Maine, as part of the 2025 Educate Maine Annual Education Symposium.
The 2025 Computer Science Education Showcase will celebrate the educators, students, community organizations, and partners who are expanding access to and participation in computer science across the state.
Whether you’re new to computer science, curious about how it’s taught, or looking to connect with others who share your interest in technology learning—this event is for you! Experience hands-on demonstrations, student projects, and inspiring stories from classrooms and communities around Maine.
For a preview of what to expect, check out this article about the second annual Computer Science Education Showcase, which featured students and educators from 40 school administrative units (SAUs) who presented a variety of computer science education projects, including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), 3D design, coding, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), data science, cybersecurity, and more.
For more information, please contact Maine DOE Computer Science Specialist Allison Braley at allison.braley@maine.gov.
Thanks to the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) “Teach with Tech” grant, junior high students at Athens Community School are diving into computer science with hands-on lessons that incorporate Sphero BOLT robots.
Last year, Mrs. Luce, the Library/Media Specialist at Athens Community School, applied for this grant with a vision of sparking student interest in robotics and opening students’ eyes to the vast possibilities within the field of computer science. In the fall, the school received a set of 15 of these robots, which are now being used to launch exciting new computer science units for students in grades 5-8.
Athens eighth graders were the first to experience the magic of Sphero, starting with a fun and challenging activity: driving their robots through a maze using on-screen steering. From there, they advanced to the next level, learning to code their robots to navigate the maze independently. Students gained hands-on experience with block-based programming, mastering essential concepts such as parameters, conditionals, and loops. Through trial and error, as well as creative problem-solving and critical thinking, they wrote and tested their own code to overcome obstacles and guide their robots to success.
The excitement for robotics has proven to be contagious. As younger Athens students in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grade watched their older peers navigate these mazes, they couldn’t wait to get their own hands on the robots. This interactive nature of the robotics experience ignites curiosity and a passion for learning, leaving all students eager to try out programming for themselves. What has made this project at Athens Community School truly special is the collaborative learning environment it fosters. Students have had opportunities to share insights and learn from on another’s successes and failures, building community through teamwork.
Thanks to the comprehensive set of resources that Sphero provides—which includes a curriculum for multiple grade levels—Athens Community School is set to offer a rich, ongoing STEM education to students for years to come. Integrating robotics into the classroom not only helps students develop valuable coding skills; it also encourages them to think critically, collaborate with peers, and explore the limitless possibilities of the digital world.
This story was provided by Athens Community School. To submit good news to the Maine DOE, please fill out the Good News Submission form.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE), in partnership with Educate Maine, is hosting its third annual Computer Science Education Showcase as part of the 2024 Educate Maine Symposium in December!
Join the Maine DOE at this event for an afternoon of computer science fun and learning! The showcase highlights educators, students, community organizations, and other partners who are teaching, learning, and expanding access to and participation in computer science education statewide. Whether you’re new to computer science, aren’t sure what exactly computer science is, or want to learn more about the ways that computer science is taught across Maine—this is the event for you.
The Computer Science Education Showcase is scheduled for Friday, December 13 from 4-6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. You can register here to attend. If you’re interested in exhibiting something you’re doing with computer science education, please fill out this brief form.
If you have questions or would like more information about the Computer Science Education Showcase, please reach out to Maine DOE Computer Science Specialist Allison Braley at allison.braley@maine.gov.
(Students use colored cards to tell robotic cars where to go.)
At Windsor Elementary and Middle School, students are passionate about innovation, and their librarian, Kristel Anuszewski, uses the mobile computer science labs funded by the Maine Department of Education (DOE) to support that passion. Anuszewski, Kennebec County’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, is the Librarian and STEM Educator for Windsor’s Learning Commons. On a Friday in late May, the Maine DOE visited as she taught coding skills to a first-grade class using indi cars from the Maine DOE’s Mobile Computer Science Lab program.
In 2022, the Maine DOE offered a grant for educators to apply for one of three mobile labs. Anuszewski chose the robotics and programming lab, with the other options being augmented and virtual reality and coding and hardware.
“We wanted to create a space where kids can be creative, they can be innovative, they can explore, and they can engineer,” said Anuszewski. The cart came with three learning tools for students: Sphero Indi Cars, Sphero BOLTs, and Merge Cubes.
Anuszewski used the Mobile Computer Science Labs to transform the library into a vibrant hub for innovation.
“I feel like it went from gray to this burst of color,” said Windsor Principal Heather Wilson. “She pulls out of the students different things that they’re interested in and shows them how technology can enhance that.”
At Windsor, the Learning Commons is designed to blend technology and traditional library lessons seamlessly. Anuszewski was brought on in 2019 to build out and run the program.
“We had this vision of it being called the Learning Commons and not the library because we wanted it to be more than books,” Wilson said. “We wanted it to be about technology, STEM, innovation, and fun. Before Kristal and the [Mobile Computer Science Labs], we viewed technology as one kind of tool, but it wasn’t interactive with the kids. Now, it’s a vibrant, interactive space that sparks creativity and engagement.”
Now, Learning Commons is bursting with color and sound. The moment students walk through the door, they are filled with curiosity. When Anuszewski tells her first-grade class about the day’s assignment, using the Lab’s indi cars for a lesson about Summer, the room fills with cheers.
“Kristel is an astoundingly intuitive teacher when it comes to building instruction around the STEM,” says Anuszewski’s teaching assistant, Ed Frankonis. “Students have developed immense teambuilding skills with each other thanks to the challenges presented by the coding-teaching technology tools.”
Students enthusiastically engage with Anuszewski’s indi Car assignment.
The indi cars Anuszewski used for the day’s lesson provide a hands-on coding experience using a built-in color sensor and interactive color-coded tiles. For more advanced learning, students can progress to simplified block coding options. In Anuszewski’s first-grade class, they stick to the color sensors.
“Students start out really young, with the directional coding, like the indi cars, and essentially, it’s, here’s where you’re starting, here’s where you’re ending, and what directions do you have to give your robot to be able to get them to where they need to be. So, it’s all about processing and logic,” explains Anuszewski. “Having [the Mobile Computer Science Labs] creates more opportunities. I never had anything that was color coded before, and for the kids who are still learning their lefts and rights, the colors help them flush out those concepts, all the while they are doing directional coding.”
For Pre-K through fifth grade, Anuszewski meets with each class twice a week, once for a traditional library lesson and then again for a STEM lesson. She ties these lessons together with a theme. Her Friday first graders have been learning about seasons, specifically summer. Earlier in the week, they read the book “Stuck” by Oliver Jeffers, a story about a boy whose kite is stuck in a tree and his attempts to knock it loose by throwing more objects up into the tree until it is full of stuck objects. For their following technology lesson, they are strategizing how to move their indi cars down a track to a summer object, like the ones from “Stuck.” To do so, they will have to use indi’s colored cards to tell the robot where to go.
The students pair off, each assigned to a specific section of the library where Anuszewski has laid masking tape tracks for them to lead their cars down. Frankonis goes to each group and lays out their special summer object at the end of the masking tape track.
“It’s hard, but it’s really fun,” said Nevada, one of Anuszewski’s first graders.
“You have to figure out what color to use,” explained another student named Landon. “Sometimes I get it wrong. I try again, though.”
Anuszewski teaches Windsor students up to eighth grade. Older students have more autonomy when it comes to the Learning Commons.
“So my middle school curriculum is very different from a traditional curriculum. I have what is called choice boards, so at the beginning of every month, I present between 12 and 14 choices for students in the areas of reading, technology, coding, engineering, and maker space,” explains Anuszewski. “So, within those headings are four different choices, at least, for students to be able to choose from. They pick the one area that they want to study for the month. There are clickable links that will take students to different places online, whether it’s instruction or the actual site, and they explore the subject independently and kind of prep themselves to be able to be successful with their choice.”
Every year, Anuszewski selects a team of middle school students to attend the Maine DOE’s Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) Student Conference at the University of Maine Orono (UMaine). She selects students who have shown an aptitude or particular interest in tech. This year, one of her Windsor Middle School students, Emry Michaels St. Ong, won a $1,000 scholarship for UMaine at the conference for a game design challenge.
“I got a scholarship to the University of Maine in Orono at the MLTI conference. I was playing an online game called Bloxels, and I won for creating a character based on one of my favorite teachers,” explained St. Ong.
For those unfamiliar, Bloxels is a game-building platform where players can create games their peers can play.
“At the conference, we would go to different blocks. In the Bloxel block, the presenter told us how to go in and make characters, then gave us time to play around with it,” continued St. Ong. “There was a competition for best character. I didn’t think I was going to win it at all. But Mr. Ed here in the library told us that you never know, just take your chance and you can get it. So, I submitted my character and won one of the scholarships.”
St. Ong stands in front of the Windsor’ Mobile Computer Science Labs.
Anuszewski mentions that game design is very popular for a lot of kids.
“They get to do it in the library during learning commons time,” she said. “But to be able to hear from another presenter, to be able to have that kind of college experience with someone who’s not your teacher is really, really cool for them.”
That being said, St. Ong credits Anuszewski with giving him the tools he needed to win: “She teaches you a lot of stuff that will not just help you in school but help you wherever you go. She has taught us to use our imaginations and to be creative.”
Regarding coding, St. Ong was able to learn more about himself as a learner by using the robots from the Mobile Computer Science Carts.
“I’ve learned I’m a visual learner, and I like to go off on my own to code,” St. Ong explained. His class uses the Sphero Bolt bots. Students like St. Ong will code the bot to move about a room independently. “I’ll code a [Sphero Bolt] a little bit, see where it ends up, and then I’ll use what I learned to change it. I love learning hands-on like that.”
Through programs like the Mobile Computer Science labs, educators like Anuszewski have the means to empower students to engage with technology from a young age, building skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.
“I don’t want kids to ever be afraid of technology. I feel like immersing them in the technology is one way to do that,” says Anuszewski. “If they want to seek a career, technology is going to be a part of that. I don’t ever want them to feel like they don’t understand tech or not pursue something they want because they’re too afraid of what they don’t know. I never want them to be scared to try something.”
The Mobile Computer Science Labs are a part of Maine Teaches CS and were purchased with Federal Emergency Relief Funding. Maine Teaches CS is a part of Maine’s Whole Student Pandemic Response. Discover more of the DOE’s innovative programming at Maine’s Whole Student Pandemic Response page on the Maine DOE website.
RSU 40 staff are finding ways to use robotic technology, funded by the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Maine Teaches CS Initiative, to support interdisciplinary learning across grade levels. The school’s acquisition of Sphero Bolts and Indi cars is making learning experiences playful and engaging for both students and educators.
Holly Doe, Director of Technology for RSU 40, applied for the grant last school year to foster experiential learning through technology for even the youngest students. Sphero Indi cars introduce coding at the simplest level using color tiles to tell the robot what to do. While this is an ideal tool for younger students, it is also great for older students when the goal is not coding itself but supporting other learning outcomes.
By leveraging robotic technology, students in RSU 40 are exploring new ways to retell—or tell—stories.
Students in grades 1-3 used Sphero Indi cars to retell stories they had read in class while seniors in Spanish IV wrote their own stories in the foreign language and crafted narrated films using the Indi cars.
In the elementary classrooms, the robots foster natural collaboration as pairs of students work together to plan a path of color tiles that represent their story summary. Crafting a simple costume for the Indi car and scenery or other characters to be placed along the car’s path engages students’ creativity and requires students to consider symbolic representations. The simple, flexible lesson quickly adapts to accommodate students’ and teachers’ needs.
At the high school, the ease of using the Indi cars allows students to combine story mapping with other technology. Students film the cars in front of a green screen and use Canva’s AI image generator to create backgrounds for their movies which they then narrate in Spanish.
Recently, Heather Webster, RSU 40’s technology instructional coach, shared her experiences using Sphero Indi robots in elementary ELA classrooms and high school Spanish classrooms at the Maine Council for English Language Arts spring conference. Participants were introduced to Indi cars, watched video clips of RSU 40 students engaging in the lessons, and then had the opportunity to try the activity themselves, working collaboratively with their tablemates to retell a familiar story. They left the conference session with a concrete example of how technology like the Sphero robots can support cross-curricular lessons and boost the playful spirit in a classroom.
(Maine Council for English Language Arts spring conference photos curtesy of Katie Kelley Photography)
The Computer Science Mobile Labs Grant has enabled RSU 40 to uniquely support playful learning. Robotic technology has enhanced students’ collaborative skills and their understanding of symbolic representation. Encouraging a playful approach to learning, this technology has increased student engagement and has inspired educators to rethink traditional teaching methods. The immersive learning experiences enabled by Sphero Indi and Bolt robots are set to shape the educational landscape at RSU 40 for years to come. Maine leads the nation in providing interdisciplinary computer science education to all Maine schools at all grade levels.
This story was provided by RSU 40. If you would like to submit good news from your school, fill out our good news submission form.)
In this discussion-based webinar, Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine Humanities Teacher Leader Fellows Jim St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp host an exchange among teachers who are gamifying their curriculums or who want to learn more about gamification to improve student engagement.
This relatively new approach to teaching is gaining momentum but there are few resources available for anyone seeking to understand more about it. This webinar hopes to address these shortcomings by bringing together interested practitioners to exchange ideas and methods. We hope you join us and we look forward to exchanging ideas.
Commissioner Makin Speaks With Kern and Keith Kelley About How They Integrate Hands-On Computer Science Education Across Grade Levels and Content Areas
In the latest episode of her What Holds Us Together podcast, Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin speaks with Keith and Kern Kelley, brothers and computer science teachers at Nokomis Regional Middle and High School, about Maine’s efforts to integrate computer science education at all grade levels and with all content areas. They talk about how hands-on, real-world computer science education teaches students about technology and computer science as well as strengthening their ability to work in teams, troubleshoot, communicate effectively, lead, and pursue creative passions. You can listen here.
“These are two brothers who are educators integrating really exciting hands-on, real-world computer science education, innovation, and technology with their students. I’ve been to visit their classrooms and have seen the work that they’ve been doing with their students and how much engagement there is. I was so impressed, I wanted to share some of what they’re doing with all of you,” said Makin in the podcast opening.
The three discussed how computer science education has real-world applications across all content areas and areas of life.
“I was a librarian and a language arts teacher, so I’ve come from a different way to get to this. It’s not separate, it’s part of. Language arts teachers are doing coding. When you’re teaching kids you have to use a period, you have to use a comma, you have to be grammatical, and there’s a reason and structure to it, then you get into building a game or a sequence of coding and there’s structure, it’s the same thing. If you’re doing computer science and learning coding, you’re learning a language,” said Keith Kelley, Innovative Technology Teacher at Nokomis Regional Middle School.
He continued, “We do asynchronous grouping, so one kid is building code and he or she has 2 other groupmates and they have to communicate digitally with each other through screen captures and stuff like that. That’s what you do in the real world, we’re virtually meeting all the time. When my kids are doing basic coding they’re learning pre-algebra, they’re learning sequencing, but also they’re learning troubleshooting which translates to everything. It’s not a separate thing, it’s part of what’s already out there. If you’re in math you’re doing numbers, but you are doing language. You’re in science and doing labs and troubleshooting, but you’re doing language.”
Kern Kelley, Director of Technology Integration for the district, described how he began integrating computer science education with different content areas across the high school.
“I’d ask the kids what they’re doing [for a specific teacher] and say ok, for me you’re going to do that same project but you’re going to do it this way—we’re going to do a virtual reality world for that book project you have to do. The kids would do it and bring it to the teachers and almost 100 percent of the time [the teachers] say that’s great, next time let’s make that as an offering,” said Kern Kelley.
Makin described how that approach is setting Maine apart as a computer science education leader.
“That really sets this apart from what I see across the nation in terms of really rote programmatic learning coding for the sake of learning coding. You both take it to that next level where it’s really learning coding to do an important thing that is relevant, whatever that might be,” said Makin.
“There’s elegant coding. Just like in writing you have basic writing then you get to the point where now I’m not writing for writing sake or to get information across I’m trying to make something prose or poetry. The same thing happens with technology and the coding. You go from writing basic coding to make it function to making it function efficiently or elegantly through elegant design,” said Keith Kelley.
They also discussed how this continuum of computer science education that students experience through their school careers develops the leadership and teaching skills of students. High school students can participate in SLAM, developing weekly live shows to teach other students how to create something using a free online tool. Once a month the students also go on the road for a SLAM Show and teach sessions to younger students to get them engaged and excited about computer science.
“As much as we can have students as part of the solution and include them in that process of learning and get opportunities to teach and learn from that experience…and then the idea is those kids get so excited about learning from high school kids about these cool tech topics, that’s usually enough impetus where we can now talk to the teachers afterward [about doing more]. Now we’ve broken the ice and they know how to use these things and have all these ideas,” said Kern Kelley.
Through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) provided every Maine public school with a free mobile computer science lab to ensure that every student, pre-K through grade 12, has access to interdisciplinary, project-based computer science education with real-world applications.
The DOE has a comprehensive computer science education plan guided by seven key principles: authentic and project-based instruction, computer science as a prek-12 learning continuum, equitable and inclusive access, educator-produced professional learning and statewide sharing, integrated applied learning, educator-informed policy and state planning, and computational thinking as a foundation. You can read more about Maine’s computer science education framework here.
What Holds Us Together is a monthly podcast produced by the Maine DOE and hosted by Makin to highlight the voices of educators, students, and school employees across Maine. Listen to this and all the episodes of What Holds Us Together on Apple and Spotify.
Nearly 100 educators from across the state attended a multi-day institute in July, focused around computer science education. Educators spent two and a half days engaging in sessions and collaborating to integrate computer science into their classrooms and upcoming school year activities. Topics included Robotics & Programming, Coding & Hardware, Augmented & Virtual Reality, and much more!
These educators also spent some time exploring connections between the mobile computer science labs and SLAM clubs at their schools to help leverage the mobile lab technology to promote student leadership and engage students as experts with the mobile labs.
These educators will be sharing some of the awesome computer science learning experiences they’ve been creating at the CS Ed Showcase on August 17th. For more information about the CS Ed Showcase, check out this article.
If you have questions or would like to know more about computer science education in Maine, contact the (Acting) Learning Through Technology Coordinator and Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov
This event was funded by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funding (GEER).
Join us for an afternoon of computer science(CS) fun and learn more about computer science education in the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) 2nd annual CS Ed Showcase! This event is supported by funding from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER).
The showcase highlights educators, students, community organizations, and other partners who are teaching, learning, and expanding access to and participation in computer science education. New to computer science? Not sure what computer science is? Looking to learn more about ways that computer science is taught and learned across the state? This is the event for you! Come and learn about how Maine is paving the way for students and teachers to be successful in the world of computer science.
When: August 17th, 4:00 pm-6:30 pm
Where: Collins Center at the University of Maine at Orono.
If you have questions or would like to learn more about the Computer Science Showcase, please reach out to the Maine DOE Computer Science Specialist, Emma-Marie Banks at: emma-marie.banks@maine.gov
(Pictured: Intro to Computer Science students repair broken equipment with the purpose of donating them to people in need. Photo credit: Julie York)
What is the best way to learn about computer hardware? Look inside! That is exactly what Julie York’s students did in their Intro to Computer Science course while also contributing to their community. During their Device Repair Lab, these students gained valuable computer science and career knowledge and skills while rebuilding devices, like iPads, Chromebooks, and MacBooks. While some devices are sold at a discounted price, others are donated to organizations and people in need. Any funds from the sales go back into the program to purchase chargers and materials. To date, students have repaired over 200 devices.
As anyone with device problems could attest to, students needed patience and persistence, as well as concentration as they performed the challenging and delicate work of device repair. Students learned valuable computer science skills, such as disassembling devices, reassembling them, and diagnosing problems. They also had to use computational thinking to identify the problem and how to fix it, develop efficient procedures for cleaning devices, and deduce patterns in computer issues to streamline their work. As one student said, “I found the whole process very interesting.” Another one said, “This is something I could do in the future.”
Photo Credit: Julie York
Beyond the computer science skills they developed, students also learned valuable career skills like leadership and collaboration. As one student put it, “I think that teamwork was the most important skill for the success of this lab because I think that everything is better when it’s done as a team.” This student went on to say that without leadership “the group I was helping would’ve been in a mess.” Students also incorporated art and communication skills as they designed flyers, made video ads, and wrote repair reports.
Many students in Julie’s class are multilingual learners. She scaffolded their language development by providing instructions in their primary language and opportunities to read, speak, and listen in English. While they were developing their English skills, students were also able to learn the computer science material, and develop important career and leadership skills.
The Riot Refurb program has gotten positive feedback from community members. One person who received refurbished equipment shared, “Thank you so much for doing this. I have 4 kiddos, so this is a big help for my family!” Another student, who got a laptop, talked about how he would use his new device to edit videos. Through this project-based program, students can themselves as changemakers in both their school community and beyond.
While the class is now learning about coding, they are still looking to connect with people and organizations in need of devices. Click here for more information about this program.
The Maine DOE encourages all schools and districts across the State of Maine to learn more about interdisciplinary instruction on our website or by contacting our Interdisciplinary Instruction Team Coordinator at Kathy.bertini@maine.gov
Maine DOE Newsroom 