Featured image above: Ninth-grader Magan Hernandez designed, wrote the code and created her web site; SOUTHWEST GEORGIA STEM CHARTER SCHOOL
Heather Page, Technology Instructor, at Southwest Georgia STEM Charter School (STEM School) invited the Southern Tribune to view one of the school’s two computer labs and meet some of the girls in the Girls Who Code Club and talk about her coding classes.
Mrs. Page is the facilitator for the Girls Who Code Club. Girls Who Code Club is a free extracurricular program offering fun and sage environment for girls to not only learn computer science skills but build their confidence by working on growing personal strengths such as bravery, resilience, purpose, and creativity. The Girls Who Code Club meets after school each week.
“I knew nothing about computers, but Mrs. Page told me I could do this. I could learn to code and build a web page” said ninth grader Magan Hernandez, as she showed her web page and coding. Computer Science is taught to grades as young as Kindergarten, focusing on the computer basic such as the parts of the computer, the proper way to use a computer mouse, and learning the keys of the keyboard. First and Second graders are working on learning how to use Microsoft Word, how to edit stories by changing the font color, size, and style, and inserting pictures. They are creating their own storybooks.
Fourth and Fifth graders are starting to learn coding using Scratch. Mrs. Page teaches Computer Science I, Computer Science II, and Computer Literacy to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. They are learning how to use an application called Scratch. They apply computational thinking to construct algorithms that sequenced commands, loops, conditions, and events to create animal scenes, mazes, and games. They are learning other coding languages, such as JavaScript.
The ninth-grade class, Introduction to Digital Technology, is a yearlong course. They are studying how to use computers to create marketing material. They have become “IT Specialists” by learning all the components of a computer, creating informational presentations to help customers choose the right hardware components to suit their needs. They are currently learning how to become web designers by using HTML and CSS to create their own web pages complete with images and hyperlinks.