She Codes the Future
An Ontario Certified Teacher uses a boardwide approach to introduce girls to the possibilities of tech.
BY STEFAN DUBOWSKI
December 2021
The Challenge: Help teachers find appropriate computer-coding activities for students. Help students go beyond the screen to understand technology.
The Solution: Have students and teachers participate in the Hackergal Hackathon.
Lessons Learned: As a student success pathways consultant with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Peterborough, Ont., Jaime Nobes, OCT, was looking to help teachers boost their capacity to teach computer coding, since it's now part of the high school curriculum. And she wanted to help youngsters become more than just technology consumers. She wanted them to understand the mechanisms behind the software.
She discovered the Hackergal Hackathon, which seemed just the answer. Hackergal is a charity that introduces girls to technology as a career path and a creative outlet. The organization holds an annual "hackathon" for schools to participate in. It's a virtual event in which girls in Grades 6 to 9 code games and mini-websites focused on creating social impact, and is based on a surprise theme announced just a week before.
Nobes wasn't sure students would be interested. But she went ahead and promoted the hackathon anyway, sending messages to administrators, teachers and parents. "By the time I checked at lunchtime, up to 50 girls [had already signed up]…And over the weekend, it went up to 400."
Read more by clicking here >>>> TECH CLASS
No comments:
Post a Comment