By: Zora F.
In today’s society technology is an amazing career field to get into. Whether you want to be a Software Developer, IT Manager, or doing engineering, a career in the tech field is fun. According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), 25% of the computing workforce was female in 2015. Because of that low percentage it is important to me to help expose girls to different things in STEAM and Technology, so we can get ahead of the game and up these percentages! I have decided to list and talk about some of my favorite coding platforms for beginners. These programs and platforms will help spark grow your interest in coding. In this article I will be talking about AMAZING resources such as Girls Who Code, Women in Technology (WIT), W3schools, and Glitch.com. Those are some incredible resources that I am using.
What is coding you might ask, well coding is a computer programming process that designs and builds computer programs like apps, websites, software on phones, tablets, etc. to accomplish a specific result or to perform a specific task. Most of the resources I will be talking about will help you learn how to build apps, games, software, websites, and so much more.
Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science by equipping young women with the necessary computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. I have been in Girls Who Code since the 7th grade. I started doing it as a club at my local library, and later I moved on to doing at Georgia Tech. This summer I had the opportunity to do the Summer Immersion Program (SIP). During SIP I learned different coding languages, tips and tricks, and I even made 3 of my own websites. This program is very diverse and helps girls like me and you excel in careers in STEM. This program really values sisterhood, I can guarantee that I am still in contact with my peers from SIP.
Women in Technology (WIT) empowers girls and women to excel in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM) from the classroom to the boardroom. I started WIT in the 7th grade, and from there on it has helped me excel. My two favorite coding events I have attended were with T-Mobile and State Farm. At T-Mobile we were taught the basics of coding out our own website by Destiny Adams. While at State Farm we were coding a prototype for something that State Farm would use in the future for their website. Because of WIT I have many opportunities to further my exposure into the STEAM field, and I now know that I want to major in Computer Science!
W3Schools is an educational website for learning web technologies online.This is an amazing resource that teaches you to code at your own pace. It is the world's largest web developer site. This website gives you tutorials to follow, examples, exercise, and more. After you complete whichever coding language you choose to learn you buy a certificate for completing the course. I have used this site plenty of times while being stuck on many of my coding projects. Whether you are having a hard time with making a nav bar or even embedding a video into code W3schools has a tutorial just for what you are struggling with.
Glitch is the friendly community where everyone codes together. I was recently introduced to Glitch by Girls Who Code. One of the many reasons why I love Glitch is that you can collaborate with friends and family to create fun coding projects. In Girls Who Code we used glitch to collaborate with or partners for our Activist Toolkit projects. I have even used glitch to work with my brother on a variety of projects!
All of these programs and platforms have helped shape my future. Each of them have given me skills like problem solving, leadership, coding, public speaking, and teamwork. I have learned about different types of coding software, languages, and careers. I am grateful to have found these programs, and I hope you will find the article very helpful.
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