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Code Girls at FIS
Inspiring students for a future in tech
Over the past year and a half, students at FIS have been exposed to an increasing
number of opportunities connected to computational thinking, with the goal of helping them solve problems of all kinds using the concepts of algorithmic thinking, decompositon, abstraction, and pattern recognition.
In mid May, FIS added to that growing list by hosting a Saturday workshop tailored specifically for girls in Grades
5– 8. Coined ‘Code Girls,’ the workshop was a collaboration between the school’s ICT Department and Frankfurt’s Women Techmakers, a ‘Google Community’ whose mission it is to support learning and growing in tech, particularly as it relates to women.
“This is the first event we’ve done with younger girls,” said Natalie Dodd, a member of the Frankfurt Women TechMakers team and Code Girl event organizer. “Our aim is to inspire girls to get involved with tech, and the idea is that introducing it in a creative and collaborative way might help inspire them to pursue something in this field.”
During the workshop, participants were introduced to Sonic Pi, a live-coding app that lets users independently code music. Working on laptops, they learned the nuts and bolts of the app from the TechMakers team before diving into the process and creating content themselves.
“Everything was really cool,” said Grade 5 student Sara. ”I really liked the part where we could code music samples together to make songs or ringtones.”
“I was definitely impressed by the students’ maturity,” added Ms. Dodd, “They were able to absorb everything and learned really fast. Plus, they seemed to be having fun, and that was our main goal.”
While many of the student participants didn’t have specific experience with coding, most were already somehow involved with music. “Having that foundation allowed them to really focus on the coding aspect,” said FIS ICT Coordinator, Dianna Pratt.
At the end of workshop, students presented their creations. “It really showed how their minds work,” said Ms. Dodd.
“They were all super creative and it was awesome to see what they came up with.”
The Code Girl event was a first for FIS but Ms. Pratt hopes these kinds of experiences morph into what students are already doing in the classroom. For students like Sara, that goal is a welcome one. “It was really fun and I want to do more things like this in the future,” she said. “I would love it if they could return.”
FIS Code Girl participants with Frankfurt’s Women TechMakers
Our aim is to inspire
girls to get involved with tech, and the idea is that introducing it in a creative and collaborative way might help inspire them to pursue something in this field.
Sara is in luck: the group plans to host another similar event in September, this time with a focus on web design.
Ricky Donnelly
FIS World Staff Writer
June 2018 FIS World 11