Why “Girls Who Code@RVC”?
by Professor Chuck Konkol, Rock Valley College, December 2017
The field of Computer Science has been dominated by men since forever. However, as someone who has taught computer programming for over 20 years, and taught both men and women, I can tell you that women are just as capable as men when it comes to programming websites, mobile apps or complex software. In addition, we need more computer science graduates! Computing jobs are the #1 source of new wages in the United States and projected to grow at twice the rate of all other jobs.
The problem is that young girls have not been encouraged or given the opportunities to enter the field of Computer Science, specifically programming. So, one of my goals has been to change that as much as I can.
Starting December 2015, I started offering a free monthly workshop to the Rockford, IL community called the “RVC Hour of Code”. The workshops are open to ages 5 and up. During the workshop attendees learn the basics of programming and get a certificate of completion. Some of the the titles of the workshops are "Coding with Minecraft", "Coding with Elsa (Frozen), and "Create a Flappy Birds App". The “RVC Hour of Code” is derived from the code.org movement to have Computer Science as a requirement in all K-12 schools. Since December 2015, I have seen an increase in the number of K-12 girls taking the “RVC Hour of Code”. In 2016, the gender ratio was 60% male and 40% female. However, in 2017, the gender ratio changed to 50/50. In fact, some months had 60-70% female in attendance.
That was a good start but I wanted to do more in getting girls interested and trained in programming. Specifically, I wanted to focus on the middle school/high school audience. So, in doing some research I found a promising newer nonprofit called “Girls Who Code”. A politician and attorney, Reshma Saujani, saw the gender gap problem in technology, specifically programming. She noticed this during her run for Congress in 2010. So, in 2012 Reshma started the nonprofit, “Girls Who Code”. The mission statement of “Girls Who Code” is “to inspire, educate, and equip girls with computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. In 2017, “Girls Who Code” reached 40, 000 girls through after school clubs, 7-week Summer Immersion Program.
This was definitely the direction I wanted to go. I applied in late September to be a facilitator for a “Girls Who Code” club at Rock Valley College. To my delight we were approved as “Girls Who Code” club and club facilitator November 2017.
Starting Spring 2018, Rock Valley College will begin hosting a weekly 2 hour “Girls Who Code” club! The kick-off club is Wednesday, January 24th 2018 at 3:30pm. Each week, the girls will hear from role models in the field of computer science, design & code in groups, and have a time to group reflection. Myself and a local developer, Jenny Kunkel will serve as facilitators.
Registration is open for Spring 2018 Visit here to find out how!
The field of Computer Science has been dominated by men since forever. However, as someone who has taught computer programming for over 20 years, and taught both men and women, I can tell you that women are just as capable as men when it comes to programming websites, mobile apps or complex software. In addition, we need more computer science graduates! Computing jobs are the #1 source of new wages in the United States and projected to grow at twice the rate of all other jobs.
The problem is that young girls have not been encouraged or given the opportunities to enter the field of Computer Science, specifically programming. So, one of my goals has been to change that as much as I can.
Starting December 2015, I started offering a free monthly workshop to the Rockford, IL community called the “RVC Hour of Code”. The workshops are open to ages 5 and up. During the workshop attendees learn the basics of programming and get a certificate of completion. Some of the the titles of the workshops are "Coding with Minecraft", "Coding with Elsa (Frozen), and "Create a Flappy Birds App". The “RVC Hour of Code” is derived from the code.org movement to have Computer Science as a requirement in all K-12 schools. Since December 2015, I have seen an increase in the number of K-12 girls taking the “RVC Hour of Code”. In 2016, the gender ratio was 60% male and 40% female. However, in 2017, the gender ratio changed to 50/50. In fact, some months had 60-70% female in attendance.
That was a good start but I wanted to do more in getting girls interested and trained in programming. Specifically, I wanted to focus on the middle school/high school audience. So, in doing some research I found a promising newer nonprofit called “Girls Who Code”. A politician and attorney, Reshma Saujani, saw the gender gap problem in technology, specifically programming. She noticed this during her run for Congress in 2010. So, in 2012 Reshma started the nonprofit, “Girls Who Code”. The mission statement of “Girls Who Code” is “to inspire, educate, and equip girls with computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. In 2017, “Girls Who Code” reached 40, 000 girls through after school clubs, 7-week Summer Immersion Program.
This was definitely the direction I wanted to go. I applied in late September to be a facilitator for a “Girls Who Code” club at Rock Valley College. To my delight we were approved as “Girls Who Code” club and club facilitator November 2017.
Starting Spring 2018, Rock Valley College will begin hosting a weekly 2 hour “Girls Who Code” club! The kick-off club is Wednesday, January 24th 2018 at 3:30pm. Each week, the girls will hear from role models in the field of computer science, design & code in groups, and have a time to group reflection. Myself and a local developer, Jenny Kunkel will serve as facilitators.
Registration is open for Spring 2018 Visit here to find out how!
