#CSForAll

[tech-girls]

Spotlight: Girls’ Geek Day

Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting the amazing people who make Girls' Geek Days possible - the girls, their parents, the host schools and of course, all the volunteers!!! The Once Upon a Tech podcast captured some behind-the-scenes action at the February Girls' Geek Day hosted at St. Anne's-Belfield School. Hear what it's all about and why everyone who is a part of it is so special to us:)

Listen now!

[kswilkens]

CS in the Learning Village - January Highlights

Because of a scheduling snafu, I caught up with 2nd grade to wrap up Techmas activities. They explored circuits with the MakeyMakey, trying out different materials to light an LED. Along the way, they discovered what was conductive and what was not. Turns out feet and flowers are conductive!

Ms. Corbin's third grade class was looking for a CS challenge, so they created musical instruments with MakeyMakeys.

3rd grade started exploring Bitsbox, a platform for creating apps that actually has them type in Javascript-type code. We talked about how learning syntax in coding is a lot like learning grammar rules and punctuation in English. 

4th grade continued working on their math games for 2nd grade project. We took a page from the 7th grade experience of creating math games in December and played some of the games created by 4th graders last year. Students shared “I like” and “I wish” observations about them and then came up with a list of "must haves" for their games.

I've got a 6th grade FABlab group that is exploring computer science. We started with a MakeyMakey game controller challenge. Next they did some interest mapping, to discover how their interests might intersect computer science. There’s a wide variety of interest!

I spent a lot of time in January prepping for the Spark Hackathon. That involves recruiting sponsors, mentors, workshop facilitators, problem statement presenters and students. I also work with Zach Minster and the student organizers to layout the plan and responsibilities for the event. The Meet & Greet was held at a gorgeous, new venue this year, Vault VA. More hackathon news will be shared in the February Highlights.

[spsdlasupport]

Episode 80: Brianna Cicero

[readyai-blog]

As one of the exhibitors of #CSTA2020 , @USReadyAI is Looking forward to e-meeting you at #CSTA2020 virtually today and tomorrow! @csteachersorg @ai4k12 #edtech #CSed #csforall https://t.co/glDzU1SBuF https://www.instagram.com/p/CClaBhelCsj/?igshid=jyqyuwpgmilu

[shoestringstem]

New #Coding Pin: http://bit.ly/2tTAimh | More at class-Coding http://bit.ly/1YmdAMF Children's Books about Women in Math and Coding | Mommy Evolution #womenshistorymonth #booksaboutwomen

[wearekolorkoded]

But Do Black Girls Really Code

In December 2016, I had the pleasure of being drafted as a Black Girls Code Atlanta technical instructor. It was mostly out of necessity, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and certainly look forward  to volunteering with BGC ATL again.

My group was known as the peewees. Girls ranging in age from 5 to 8. Most people would never think that these girls could keep up the pace with a coding workshop. Yet and still I think they proved everyone in that room including myself wrong on that. Not only were they able to keep up with the material that I went over with them but by the time I finished a section most of them had moved on to more and more complicated examples and implementations. Here I was, a senior computer science major with two game design courses under my belt watching 6, 7, & 8 year olds create and implement a multiplayer platformer with a point system in a few hours. I was shook and happily so!

It wasn't until time came for the girls to present their games and their work to their parents that I begin to realize my true role that day. I understood that I was there to give of my time and encourage the future of diversity in tech. But I was also there as a learner. I realized that within the next decade to decade and a half I will be hiring these girls for their first internships and or full-time positions. I was uniquely positioned to be able to help them from these workshops all the way to career. Yet to ensure this, I would have to do more.

My biggest takeaway was that the front lines of diversity in Tech require more than just a blog post or a Twitter account. It takes actual people going out and actively recruiting and lending expertise the next generation of innovators.  

I'm so excited that I've taken my first few steps and now I'm inviting you to join me. There are tons of groups that promote CS education and cater to underrepresented youth in tech. Find them and help them.

The answer to the question in the title is yes black girls do code. In doing so, we tend to change not just perceptions, but also the world.

[karlieklosschile]

[thesocialebrity]

Repost from @daraiha_sunshine using @RepostRegramApp - 🗣Google is hosting a panel tomorrow during the @americanblackfilmfestival!! If you're in Miami, come hear from @neyo, @valeisha, @mekkatech, @incrediblelago, @emmielouis, and yours truly!!! I have the pleasure of moderating what I feel is going to be an incredible panel discussion. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 #DecodingTech #ABFF2017 #WeAreABFF #Google #STEAM #Tech #Technology #STEM #CSforAll #Miami #MiamiSouthBeach (at The Betsy Hotel)

[tech-girls]

Notes from the field:

A Bio-Med Tech-Girls Experience by Noelle Robinson

Focused. My ears focused on every word coming out of her mouth. Every line strung with emotion and love. Love for her son and appreciation for our listening ears. My pen stopped moving, so my eyes could be supportive and help me remember the vivid story our guest painted in front of us. A fly on the wall would have seen a mom sharing her story about the moment her life changed, the moment her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This was the most moving and memorable part of my 2018 Bio-Med Tech-Girls experience. Listening to this mom’s talk about the transition to a diabetic sensitive life helped me empathize with the people we listened to and formed a better idea of what the diabetic community might need. The first part of the design thinking process, empathy, began when we were listening. By the end of the week, myself and fifteen other girls prototyped five innovations for diabetics and their families through the design thinking process.

Empathy, as we learned, is not only composed of listening. We also tackled experiential empathy. For twelve hours I participated in a “Diabetes for one day” exercise, based on Susanna Fox’s Parkinsons for one day. This opened my eyes to how much responsibility and planning went into the lives of a Type 1 Diabetic. As a group, we realized how much stress this disease could cause a family and motivated us to come up with better ideas for our prototypes. On the other hand in 2019, when the topic was orthopedic disabilities we empathized in three different ways. Like before, we heard from many guests and listened intently to their moving stories. We also had a personal challenge to do one part of our morning routine without the use of our fingers to empathize with youth patients. Lastly, partnerships had to enter a store and buy something when one of the people did not have a hand. This exercise brought to our attention how other people’s reactions can make you feel. It made me think about the worries or fears one might have when walking into a store or restaurant.

Next, we had to define our focuses and the problems we wanted to solve. This task can become challenging because we are not talking about solutions, only places where an innovation could be useful. To do this we filled out empathy maps and reflected on the words of our guest speakers. With the difficulties in mind and our groups formed through those, we began ideating/brainstorming. The task of thirty ideas in one minute or one hundred ideas in five minutes seemed impossible. However quality neglected to be the goal. Every idea could become a valuable idea. For the week on diabetes, my group decided to address glucose injections during the night. Some of my ideas were a robotic pill and melt away glucose paper, which could lead to a great innovation, but we decided to prototype a glucose pump. The next year my group created a game controller for a paralysis patient. We thought about making a hula-hoop contraption or a wire pulling gadget for our patient. In the end, our prototype looked like an oversized Xbox controller.

Prototyping or 3-d-a-fying our ideas. This is where computer science knowledge came into play. We learned how to use micro-bits, MakeyMakeys, Hummingbird Robotics, and Scratch. Since we made controllers in 2019, most of us used a MakeyMakey for our controls. Because the MakeyMakeysare so versatile all of our controllers were unique, which made for a cool and diverse showcase. My group also made a Scratch game to play with our oversized controller. In my first year, we used a Hummingbird to make a glucose pump. At the Demo Party, we exhibited our prototyped instrument with a fake screen, light for emergencies, and a pump.

The Demo Party exemplifies another skill I improved: communication. Every day, we were pushed to ask questions, work with new people, sit at different tables, and reflect on the day. Collaboration was essential. While brainstorming, we bounced ideas off of one another. During the exercises, we worked together to accomplish a challenging task. For the final projects, each member of the team had to do their part so we could finish on time. Then during the showcase, we spoke about what we created and the design path we took over the past week. I met amazing women and we all learned from each other.

While working through the design thinking process we also took time to tour labs and learn what biomedical engineers at UVA are working on. My favorite lab worked on muscle regeneration. When we visited we saw the rats they tested their muscle substances on. Also, during my first year, we got the opportunity to tour the virtual reality lab and witnessed a demonstration of the robots used for surgeries. My second-year an occupational therapist came to talk to us and then later in the week we toured the occupational therapy section of the children’s hospital. The creative use of tools and contraptions the occupational therapist made to achieve various motions and stretches for their patients impressed me.

Overall, through these two years I have gained an understanding of a new way to problem solve, which I can use in my everyday life. I learned valuable knowledge about different disabilities and diseases, and the camp opened my eyes to various careers and research which I did not know existed. Coming in I knew minimal about computer science and the biomedical field. However, throughout two weeks I feel more equipped to tackle a quandary and prototype an answer to any problem.

Applications are still open for Bio-Med Tech-Girls 2020!

[kswilkens]

Episode 11: Exploring elementary students’ understanding of CS concepts with Feiya Luo and Wei Yan

The goal of this blog and podcast series is to bring CS education research into the K-8 classroom. In this episode, I take a deep dive into exploring elementary students’ understanding of computer science and computational thinking concepts with Feiya Luo and Wei Yan. Feiya is an Assistant Professor in Instructional Technology at the University of Alabama and Wei is a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Florida, majoring in Educational Technology.

Overall Takeaways:

Exploring Elementary Students’ Debugging Behaviors in Puzzle-based Programming: A Learning Trajectory Approach

Debugging strategies observed for this study include trial and error, step-by-step error elimination, abandoning and restarting, help-seeking, and using system-specific supports (provided by the platform being used).

Elementary Students’ Understanding of Variables in Computational Thinking-Integrated Instruction: A Mixed Methods Study

One challenge with teaching variables is that they are already part of a student’s experience in math and science and “students often have a different conceptual understanding of what variables mean in different content areas” (p. 523).

The learning theory used for the study hypothesizes that students progress through four levels of thinking about variables: data user, data storer, variable user, and variable creator. 

Most elementary students in the study did not progress beyond data storer.

Cognitive interviews found the students had trouble recognizing that a variable holds only one value at a time. 

Having students think aloud and interviewing them are formative assessment tools for determining their misconceptions.

Focus on mechanics of variables in elementary school before engaging in higher-level abstraction.

Takeaways for Researchers

Learn why some students are comfortable using debugging strategies and some are not.

Understand that introducing some CS concepts at the elementary school level like variables is complex, but it is not impossible to teach - it involves breaking down the concept into smaller pieces.

It is important to carefully design integrated instruction that includes teaching the mechanics of complex concepts like variables.

Takeaways for K-8 Teachers/Administrators

Start with a CS concept you are most confident in and comfortable with.

Structure repeated exposure to concepts of variables and other more complex CS concepts to help students build more advanced understanding over time.

Seek out professional development.

Incorporate CS teaching strategies, like debugging, when integrating CS into your curriculum.

Resources:

Feiya Luo

Wei Yan

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards

Learning Trajectories

LTEC-2 - Everyday Computing

Action Fractions - CS integrated in 3rd and 4th grade math

[spsdlasupport]

Episode 76: Paul Foster

[readyai-blog]

Join the AI Distance Learning Webinar tomorrow to learn about teaching #AI remotely, adapting content meant for in-person instruction, and engaging students. Click https://bit.ly/3d8gDnB to register #steam #k12 #CSTA2020 #csforall #csforallteachers #remoteteaching (at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAsrzDylayL/?igshid=12d5vz44l4fpn

[shoestringstem]

New #Coding Pin: http://bit.ly/2VDEhPN | More at class-Coding http://bit.ly/1YmdAMF Superhero computer coding game STEM activity no computer required-2

[piecesofstardust]

look for the helpers

(message I shared in the March Tech-Girl Monthly)

We are living through unprecedented times and so I am more grateful than ever for the Tech-Girls community! I am sorry that our March and April Girls' Geek Days had to be cancelled. Luckily, we captured some behind-the-scenes action from February's Girls' Geek Day. We also gathered resources to share with you, so that you can recreate some of the hands-on STEM activities at home. This past week, I have been thinking a lot about a quote from Mr. Rogers. When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' I have really needed this advice. Finding the helpers not only gives me hope, it gives me inspiration to figure out ways that I can help too. I just wanted to highlight a couple of the helpers who have inspired me this week: Pooja Chandrashekar - Pooja was a Tech-Girls spotlight when she was in high school and founder of ProjectCSGirls. She is now a first-year medical student and she has started the COVID-19 Health Literacy Project. It is so important that everyone gets clear and accurate information about COVID-19 and this project shares a variety of engaging and age-appropriate fact sheets. Sarah FitzHenry - Sarah was a Tech-Girls spotlight when she was working at school as a librarian. Now she's working from home as a librarian and like so many educators who find themselves in the same position, she has gotten very creative about how she communicates with and provides support to her students. She is sharing a ton of resources at her home on the web, fitzbetweentheshelves, and as a co-host with me during the Morning Meeting podcast. Look for the helpers during this time and be sure to thank them! I'd love to hear from you about the helpers you have found and how they are inspiring you. Fill out this form if you'd like someone to be highlighted and thanked through Tech-Girls. Stay Healthy! Stay Strong! Kim Wilkens, Tech-Girls founder

[campstem]

‪#Coding is a mindset that exposes students to critical thinking, troubleshooting, and especially problem-solving. More information about this campaign at bit.ly/Chromebooks4CODE‬ #CSforall #HourofCode #CSEdWeek https://www.instagram.com/p/BrvD-mZh46x/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ailrrsv9ys69

[bytemarks]

Governor David Ige and First Lady Dawn Ige present Momilani Elementary School Principal Doreen Higa and teacher extraordinaire Shane Asselstine a Proclamation establishing Dec 3-9, 2018 Computer Science Education Week. Congratulations! #csforall #csforhi #bigfishinalittlepond (at Pearl City High School) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrFA2QRgxGv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=5ylxj5lx8tmk