Native Girls Code (NGC) is a Seattle-based [1] program that focuses on providing computer coding skills with grounding in traditional Indigenous knowledge for Native American girls aged 12 to 18 [2] through workshops, coaching, teaching and role modeling. [3]
Native Girls Code is organized by the nonprofit organization Na'ah Illahee Fund (Mother Earth in the Chinook language), in partnership with University of Washington Information School Digital Youth Lab and the Washington NASA Space Consortium, as a way to support and perpetuate traditional knowledge, build leadership of women and encourage greater participation of Native American students in STEM fields.
The program was designed specifically to give Native girls from tribes throughout the United States a place to develop a strong foundation in Native culture, Native science, and build the skills needed to use modern computer technologies, resulting in the creation of websites, online games and virtual worlds. Leaders hope Native Girls Code will enrich both the girls and their communities. [4]
In 2016 NGC was awarded a grant through the City of Seattle's Technology Matching Fund, aimed at increasing digital equity among underrepresented Seattle citizens. [1] Google has been a major funder of the program and Facebook has donated laptops and filming equipment to NGC. [4]
Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development.
DigiPen Institute of Technology is a private, for-profit university in Redmond, Washington. It also has campuses in Singapore and Bilbao, Spain. DigiPen offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in Computer Science, Animation, Video Game Development, Game Design, Sound Design, and Computer Engineering.
Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with skill levels ranging from elementary use to computer programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs and applications. Another valuable component is understanding how computers work and operate. An individual's level of computer literacy is measured on the scale of how skilled they are when it comes to using computers and other related tools to achieve a goal. Computer literacy may be distinguished from computer programming, which primarily focuses on the design and coding of computer programs rather than the familiarity and skill in their use. Various countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have created initiatives to improve national computer literacy rates.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns and immigration policy.
Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information by utilizing typing or digital media platforms. It is a combination of both technical and cognitive abilities in using information and communication technologies to create, evaluate, and share information.
iD Tech Camps is a summer computer camp, based in Campbell, California, that specializes in providing computer technology education to children ages 7 through 19. iD Tech Camps are held at more than 150 U.S. college and university campuses and have expanded into international locations as well.
E-Science librarianship refers to a role for librarians in e-Science.
Creative technology is a broadly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field combining computing, design, art and the humanities. The field of creative technology encompasses art, digital product design, digital media or an advertising and media made with a software-based, electronic and/or data-driven engine. Examples of creative technology include multi-sensory experiences made using computer graphics, video production, digital music, digital cinematography, virtual reality, augmented reality, video editing, software engineering, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, CAD/CAM and wearable technology.
Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF), an IRS Section 501(c)(3) non-profit public foundation, was incorporated in 1997 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It has established and implemented programs in the areas of education, social services, Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian language, and preservation of the natural environment and traditional Hawaiian agriculture. These programs now have served close to ten thousand people in communities throughout Hawai‘i. In 2011, PIDF received grants of more than $1.6 million from the US Department of Education through the Native Hawaiian Education Act. The grants were awarded for the purpose of continuing, expanding, and improving the educational programs of PIDF.
World Computer Exchange (WCE) is a United States and Canada based charity organization whose mission is "to reduce the digital divide for youth in developing countries, to use our global network of partnerships to enhance communities in these countries, and to promote the reuse of electronic equipment and its ultimate disposal in an environmentally responsible manner." According to UNESCO, it is North America's largest non-profit supplier of tested used computers to schools and community organizations in developing countries.
CodeDay is a non-profit organization which promotes STEM education for high school and college students.
Code.org is a non-profit organization and eponymous website led by Hadi and Ali Partovi that aims to encourage people, particularly school students in the United States, to learn computer science. The website includes free coding lessons, sounds, and many more things used to help students code fluently. The initiative also targets schools in an attempt to encourage them to include more computer science classes in the curriculum. On December 9, 2013, they launched the Hour of Code nationwide to promote computer science during Computer Science Education Week through December 15, 2013.
Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. The organization works toward closing the gender employment difference in computing. They host a seven-week Summer Immersion Program, a two-week specialized Campus Program, after-school Clubs, a college club, College Loops, and a New York Times best-selling Penguin 13-book series. The organization is based in New York and has programs in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Girls Who Code has also released many public campaigns to raise awareness of its mission.
Pluralsight, LLC is an American privately held online education company that offers a variety of video training courses for software developers, IT administrators, and creative professionals through its website. Founded in 2004 by Aaron Skonnard, Keith Brown, Fritz Onion, and Bill Williams, the company has its headquarters in Farmington, Utah. As of July 2018, it uses more than 1,400 subject-matter experts as authors, and offers more than 7,000 courses in its catalog. Since first moving its courses online in 2007, the company has expanded, developing a full enterprise platform, and adding skills assessment modules.
The computing sector, like other STEM fields, lacks diversity in the United States. The lack of diversity is caused by two issues:
Code First Girls is a Social Enterprise that provides free coding courses to women and non-binary people across the UK. Code First Girls helps companies recruit more women into tech by connecting them with newly trained female developers. Their community of coders, instructors, and mentors is one of the largest in the UK and as of 2022 they've trained over 50,000 women.
Gender disparity in computing concerns the disparity between the number of men in the field of computing in relation to the lack of women in the field. Originally, computing was seen as a female occupation. As the field evolved, so too did the demographics, and the gender gap shifted from female dominated to male dominated. The believed need for more diversity and an equal gender gap has led to public policy debates regarding gender equality. Many organizations have sought to create initiatives to bring more women into the field of computing.
Fereshteh Forough is an Afghan social activist and is the CEO and founder of Code to Inspire (CTI), the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan. She is also an advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women in developing countries through digital literacy, education, and financial independence.
Amali Chivanthi de Alwis MBE FRSA was the CEO of Code First: Girls. Replaced by Anna Brailsford. She is currently UK Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups. She is a board member of Ada, the National College for Digital Skills, and the Institute of Coding.
Khalia Braswell is an American computer scientist, educator, and technologist. She is the founder and executive director of INTech Camp for Girls, to encourage girls of color to pursue learning about technology.