Grade 6 girls put their coding skills to the test during Hackergal hackathon
December 12, 2018
GUELPH, Ontario – Grade 6 students across the Upper Grand District School Board are diving into coding as part of a nation-wide hacking challenge.
On December 12, grade 6 girls in a number of UGDSB schools participated in the all-day Hackergal Hackathon.
Hackergal works to introduce Canadian girls to coding through the experience of a hackathon. The not-for-profit organization strives to increase the representation of women in the tech world by inspiring a “new wave of Canadian female coders to bring equality to the booming industry.”
Females are drastically underrepresented in the tech industry and in STEM fields. In 2016, women represented just 22% of the STEM workforce. It’s predicted that North America will experience a shortage of more than one million people to fill technology jobs over the next 10 years.
On Wednesday, groups of grade 6 girls at a number of UGDSB schools worked together to complete a challenge, along with students from all across Canada.
UGDSB students have been building up their coding skills over the past four or five weeks. During the hackathon, they had the chance to showcase what they’ve learned by working together as computer programmers and coders to create a functioning, interactive project.
This year’s challenge theme was the environment, so students took time at the beginning of the day to plan out their ideas. Classes also had visits from guests like branch managers from local CIBC banks, who spoke to students about the need for more women in the industry.
At the end of the day, teachers gave out badges for things like leadership and creativity and students shared their projects. The point of the challenge is not about winners or judging projects against each other — it’s about the process and building excitement in the students for coding and STEM education. To close the event, Hackergal brought all of the participants together for a video conference.
Congratulations to all the students who participated in Hackergal 2018!
Grade 6 girls planning their environmental stories for #HACKERGAL2018 Coding #BECAUSEWECAN pic.twitter.com/qrQLZ3mu6L
— June Avenue P. S. (@JuneAvenuePS) December 12, 2018
Grade 6 girls at Brant Avenue PS are participating in a day-long Hackergal Challenge! #hackergal2018 #girlswhocode @BrantAve pic.twitter.com/TF9H11XYH1
— Upper Grand DSB (@ugdsb) December 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/MAPS_LLC/status/1072871191155601409
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