Web Literacy, Girls & Teaching Kids To Code

Girls Are Changing The World

I'm a web literacy mentor because I believe it's important for girls to feel empowered and tell their own stories. Everyone's story is valid. DIVERSITY ROCKS. The sameness of remaining passive consumers is boring & unsustainable!

Girls are changing the world.

My NYC studio is a random mess of story elements we collage together & sometimes digitize to make Gifs, stickers, drawings and zines. We co-created zinethis.org & (@nycBookNerd) on instagram to share the stuff we make stay connected.

We chill. Together we co-create stories. We storyboard.

As we tinker we're building community & learning to code a little at a time. We're having conversations, nurturing creative thinking skills & having FUN.

We're making #GIRLPOWER through storytelling.

We experiment offline with paper circuitry, pens, paint, cardboard & online with digital tools, platforms, games & apps. I think we can all agree that learning how to code might be a useful thing to know in a world filled with digital objects & 'always on' platforms. Teaching girls to code has become a priority for organizations like:
who believe educating young girls will decrease the gap between men & women working in technology. Imagine Malala + code. WOW. Girls are changing the world. Let's help.

As a picture book artist fascinated with digital storytelling, I'm continually trying to upgrade my coding skills. I first took a class at The School Of Visual Arts. It didn't take. But I didn't give up…I tried Code Academy. That didn't take either. I kept trying.

It wasn't until I began my code adventure with Mozilla's #TeachThe Web MOOC in June 2013 that it began to click because it's project based learning. It's a great place to start if you are a visual learner-and who isn't? ; ) Here's some of the things I created during my first MOOC.

Some of my web literacy badges issued by Mozilla.
My Mozilla Badges here.
My #teachtheweb Thimble Page: Making Makerspaces
My #teachtheweb Remix Project: Inanimate Alice Postcard

My humble advice: 
  • 1. Don't give up.
  • 2. Start where you are, at whatever level.
  • 3. DIT. Do it together with a friend, family member or peer.

A Few Resources To Get You Started Teaching Kids To Code
UNPLUGGED RESOURCES

If you're still wondering why kids should be learning to code read: 





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