Coding Like a Girl (Scout), and Loving It!
Like many of you, I wear a variety hats in a day — daughter, sister, wife, mom, marketing professional, runner, math education advocate, PTA member, college football fan and, last but not least, a Girl Scout leader!
I started my career in engineering because I loved math and science. Both subjects were concrete, straightforward and fascinating to me. I want my daughters and other young girls to find the same interest and confidence in math and science, so when an opportunity to partner with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) came to my attention combining all of these things, I threw my heart and head into this project to make it happen.
It is such a joyful event when different aspects of my life somewhat magically mix together. My eyes lit up when Michelle Grooms, one of our TI Educational Technology Consultants (and also a fellow Girl Scout leader), shared her experience that she had been using Texas Instruments (TI) graphing calculators and our 10 Minutes of Code activities to help Girl Scouts earn badges related to coding. I immediately knew we had to make this “official,” and create a program to spread the word and get other Girl Scout leaders and Girl Scouts to jump on board too!
Collaborating with the GSNETX council, we created easy-to-follow activities for Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors to earn the Coding for Good, Coding Basics badge. Graphing calculators not only offer a simplified interface and approach to coding, but they are a tool that many already use in their math and science classes. This gives anyone, especially girls, a friendly introduction to coding. There are three ways that Girl Scouts can earn the badge using the resources we have created:
- Self-paced. They can grab their TI calculator and start following the activities themselves. Our website has an easy-to-follow path that coaches the girls through each of the five badge requirements.
- Troop workshops. Troop leaders can borrow TI graphing calculators from TI, or have the girls bring their calculators from home, and facilitate a troop meeting to work through the requirements together.
- TI-facilitated event. Troop leaders, service unit coordinators or council program managers can ask a TI expert to host a virtual event. The expert can send TI calculators to the site, the girls can use those calculators to follow along during the virtual event, then the calculators can be sent back for another group of Girl Scouts to earn their badge.
Recently, I had the chance to work through some of these activities with a few girls from my Junior troop. The Volunteer Guide made it easy for me to get started! We followed the plan and started with the introductory TI Codes lessons. Within 10 minutes they had written their first program. Their sweet faces gleamed when they realized they had created something on the calculator. It was inspiring to see their creativity shine through and their minds processing the possibilities of what they could do next with their new coding skills.
These activities are free and available online to any Girl Scout, or anybody, for that matter. My hope is that these activities create a simple path for girls to discover coding, and support Girl Scouts volunteers to easily bring an inspiring program to their girls. Check out the site, and get coding!
About the author: Jennifer Kass is the Director of Marketing for TI Education Technology, where she has worked for more than 15 years. During her career, she has worked in chemical engineering, finance and operations. She is also the mom of four kids, an avid runner and a Disney movie and parks aficionado.
Tagcloud
Archive
- 2024
-
2023
- January (3)
- February (3)
- March (5)
- April (3)
- May (3)
- June (3)
- July (2)
-
August (6)
- 5 Ways to Spruce Up Your Classroom for Back to School
- Day of the Dog: Which Dog Is Roundest?
- Women Who Code: A TI Intern’s Fascinating STEM Journey
- 6 Sensational TI Resources to Jump-Start Your School Year
- 3 Back-to-School Math Activities to Reenergize Your Students
- A New School Year — A New You(Tube)!
- September (2)
- October (3)
- November (2)
- 2022
-
2021
- January (2)
- February (3)
- March (5)
-
April (7)
- Top Tips for Tackling the SAT® with the TI-84 Plus CE
- Monday Night Calculus With Steve Kokoska and Tom Dick
- Which TI Calculator for the SAT® and Why?
- Top Tips From a Math Teacher for Taking the Online AP® Exam
- How To Use the TI-84 Plus Family of Graphing Calculators To Succeed on the ACT®
- Celebrate National Robotics Week With Supervised Teardowns
- AP® Statistics: 6 Math Functions You Must Know for the TI-84 Plus
- May (1)
- June (3)
- July (2)
- August (5)
- September (2)
-
October (4)
- Transformation Graphing — the Families of Functions Modular Video Series to the Rescue!
- Top 3 Halloween-Themed Classroom Activities
- In Honor of National Chemistry Week, 5 “Organic” Ways to Incorporate TI Technology Into Chemistry Class
- 5 Spook-tacular Ways to Bring the Halloween “Spirits” Into Your Classroom
- November (4)
- December (1)
-
2020
- January (2)
- February (1)
- March (3)
- April (1)
- May (2)
- July (1)
- August (2)
- September (3)
-
October (7)
- Tips for Teachers in the time of COVID-19
- Top 10 Features of TI-84 Plus for Taking the ACT®
- TI Codes Contest Winners Revealed
- Best of Chemistry Activities for the Fall Semester
- Best of Biology Activities for the Fall Semester
- Best of Middle Grades Science Activities
- Best of Physics Activities for the Fall Semester
- November (1)
- December (2)
- 2019
-
2018
- January (1)
- February (5)
- March (4)
- April (5)
- May (4)
- June (4)
- July (4)
- August (4)
- September (5)
-
October (9)
- Art in Chemistry
- Which Texas Instruments (TI) Calculator for the ACT® and Why?
- Meet TI Teacher of the Month: Jessica Kohout
- Innovation in Biology
- Learning With Your Students
- A first-of-its-kind STEM strategy charts path to help educators
- #NCTMregionals Hartford 2018 Recap
- The Math Behind “Going Viral”
- Real-World Applications of Chemistry
-
November (8)
- Testing Tips: Using Calculators on Class Assessments
- Girls in STEM: A Personal Perspective
- 5 Teachers You Should Be Following on Instagram Right Now
- Meet TI Teacher of the Month: Katie England
- End-of-Marking Period Feedback Is a Two-Way Street
- #NCTMregionals Kansas City 2018 Recap
- Slope: It Shouldn’t Just Be a Formula
- Hit a high note exploring the math behind music
- December (5)
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
