No prior experience required.
Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education Specialization
Teach Impacts of Computing in K-12. Be prepared to help students understand computing and its impacts in their digital worlds
Offered By
About this Specialization
Applied Learning Project
Using a problem-based approach to understanding underlying computing concepts, we’ll travel through five different digital “worlds” in which we engage with technology, exploring the problems posed within that world and the various tech solutions that exist.
At the end of each world, you will reflect on the effectiveness of your learning process and evaluate lesson plans and materials available for use in your own classroom. Through these activities, you’ll become a more reflective teacher and develop an understanding of how instruction and activities can be designed to support learning. See FAQ for per-course details.
As a culminating project, you will complete part of the new advanced placement computer science course - the “Explore Task” - where you research a recent computing innovation and and analyze its impacts on the world. You’ll apply the AP grading checklist to sample secondary student work, provide feedback to a fellow learner, and receive the same from fellow learners.
No prior experience required.
How the Specialization Works
Take Courses
A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.
Hands-on Project
Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.
Earn a Certificate
When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 6 Courses in this Specialization
Teaching Impacts of Technology: Fundamentals
In this course you’ll focus on the fundamentals of teaching the impacts of technology, starting by exploring how you interact with and benefit from technology in a typical 24 hour period, such as the desire for instant food and entertainment. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.
Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy
In this course you’ll focus on how constant data collection and big data analysis have impacted us, exploring the interplay between using your data and protecting it, as well as thinking about what it could do for you in the future. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.
Teaching Impacts of Technology: Relationships
In this course you’ll focus on how “smart” devices have changed how we interact with others in personal ways, impacting how we stay connected in our increasingly mobile society. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.
Teaching Impacts of Technology: Workplace of the Future
In this course you’ll focus on how the Internet has enabled new careers and changed expectations in traditional work settings, creating a new vision for the workplace of the future. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.
Offered by

University of California San Diego
UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 10 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Innovation is central to who we are and what we do. Here, students learn that knowledge isn't just acquired in the classroom—life is their laboratory.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
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What resources will I create by successfully completing the projects in each of the Specialization courses?
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Will the Specialization help me get the California Supplementary Authorization to teach Computer Science?
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
What background knowledge is necessary?
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Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Which of the CSTA K-12 computer science standards will the Specialization cover?
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