Girls Who Code Club Introduces New Experiences in Technology to Bolivar Students
Girls Who Code Club wrapped up its first session ever held in Hardeman County right before spring break with 10 girls from both Bolivar Middle School and Bolivar Central High School (BCHS) participating. The free program was offered February through March 2024 to introduce and encourage Hardeman County sixth through twelfth grade girls in the area of coding, which follows under STEM.
The coding girls included two sixth grade students, one eighth grade student, four sophomores, and three seniors who met once a week at the Hardeman County Learning Center. They began each meeting with a “Sisterhood Activity” which was a way to get to know each other and build community. Ms. Deana Sain, Hardeman County Schools K-8 STEM Coordinator had scheduled activities for the girls to complete during each meeting.
“One activity was writing an ‘I Am From’ poem and I loved the creativity each girl showed in this,” said Ms. Sain. “There was always a Tech Spotlight which showed resilience and purpose through real-life examples of computer scientists.”
The girls learned how to code from tutorials and activities that helped them build animations, games, and apps. They learned how to code in Scratch, Python, HTML, and JavaScript. Ms. Sain, who is not new to STEM, was part of the team that applied for a NASA STEM grant in 2003 that was awarded to Bolivar Elementary School making it the first NASA STEM School in the State of Tennessee. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting with a minor in computer science and was excited to see the interest the girls showed in STEM and their commitment to attending the club meetings.
“I was so impressed by their work ethic! These students were so busy with volleyball, basketball, FFA competitions, history club, and after-school jobs yet they made such an effort to attend the meetings and catch up if they ever missed,” said Ms. Sain who wanted the girls to gain general knowledge in technology and learn about career opportunities in the field. “I hope they realized that there are so many opportunities out there. Even if it is not a career path, everyone needs to learn more about technology, especially online digital privacy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity.”
BCHS senior Alunna Sain shared some comments about her experience in the class.
“I learned how to code using scratch and how to make games through that code. I learned how to use different types of coding and enjoyed bonding with those who had similar interests as me,” said Alunna.
Rachel Douglas, another BCHS senior, enjoyed attending the club and was surprised how she was able to tap into her creative side and combine that love with coding.
“I have learned different coding languages such as JavaScript and Scratch, and I’ve also learned to embrace my creativity to be able to make fun and inventive games on Scratch,” said Rachel. “My biggest takeaway from this program is that coding doesn’t necessarily have to be boring and technical, it can be enjoyable and easy the more you learn it.”
Ms. Sain shared the application for the program required a Community Partner and TSIN (TN STEM Innovation Network) was their partner.
“I am grateful for all the resources TSIN has made available to us,” said Ms. Sain who is hoping to make the Girls Who Code Club available again in the fall. “I am hoping to help close the gender gap in technology and get our students involved in more opportunities to learn about coding, cybersecurity, and AI.”
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