易胜博官网

On a sunny summer morning at Kennett High School in North Conway, 易胜博官网, 17 middle school girls click away at their computer keyboards. They鈥檙e participating in the weeklong teacher training and summer camp program.听听听听听听听听听听听

Claes Thelemarck, a youth and family field specialist with 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension, demonstrates the steps they must take to complete the apps they鈥檝e designed on their tablets using MIT App Inventor, free software students can use to create their own applications for mobile devices.

As the students work, a group of teachers quietly observes. This workshop is also a learning lab for a cohort of five high school teachers who want to introduce computational skills into their classes. They have signed on for a yearlong commitment to the program; during 12 months they will attend workshops and meet with the program鈥檚 faculty, educators and Extension specialists to share their experiences. At this camp, they will master App Inventor, observe new teaching methods and explore ways to engage students who are underrepresented in computing.

The camp focuses on developing a classroom community. By emphasizing communication and teamwork skills rather than technical expertise, students relax and get to know each other. In one activity, a Lego icebreaker, students pair up back-to-back with one explaining how to construct something while the other completes the task.

Using the software, 鈥淪tudents were encouraged to integrate their own passions and hobbies,鈥� says Sarah Grosvenor, Cooperative Extension鈥檚 science literacy field specialist.

While participants work on designing travel guides, quizzes, musical explorations and sports info apps, Thelemarck and Grosvenor circulate through the room to provide one-on-one instruction and work with small groups of students.听 听 听 听 听

Mihaela Sabin, associate professor of computer science at , leads the Creative Computing Challenge, a five-year project funded by the National Science Foundation.听 听 听 听听

In these middle school students Sabin sees future technology innovators who will drive 易胜博官网鈥檚 economy.

鈥淥ne stereotype that prevents girls from being interested in computing is about how technology professionals are perceived,鈥� says Sabin. 鈥淕irls in middle school and high school imagine a lonely programmer working on a laptop with little collaboration or communication with coworkers and teammates. Unfortunately, many girls see working in technology as kind of geeky and lacking meaningful social interactions.鈥�

It may seem surprising that girls and women are still a minority in computer science disciplines and careers, but data confirms it. For example, only 45 out of the 521 students enrolled in information technology courses at 易胜博官网鈥檚 career and technology education centers in 2015 were female.

Yet, with encouragement, girls can thrive in computer-related disciplines while gaining experience needed to enter a fast-growing industry with high-paying jobs.听听听听听听听听听听听

As these young women develop their first apps, they also develop new interests and awareness. Dakota Moody of North Conway designed a multiple-choice quiz to 鈥淕uess the YouTuber鈥� by its audio intro.听 听 听 听听

Marra MacMillan, also of North Conway, and Olivia Krug from Conway, both 13 and devotees of skiing, developed an app that provides information on nearby ski areas, lodging and equipment.听听听听听听听听听听听

Christina Solomon of Conway designed an app to give users information about all of 易胜博官网鈥檚 mountains with elevations of over 4,000 feet. 鈥淢y dad and I want to climb all of them,鈥� says Solomon, who is 13. 鈥淢y app links mainly to two websites. You can see the difficulty of the climb along with photos and descriptions.鈥澨� 听 听 听 听

Eleven-year-old Ella Fecteau of Conway designed a music app that incorporates a graphic made out of musical notes. When asked about the all-girls camp, she says, 鈥淲ell, we can all relate. Usually, I鈥檓 the only girl. This coding, though, is the real stuff. It鈥檚 not just cut-and-paste. When I go home, I plan to keep working on my app."

Now in its third year, the Creative Computing Challenge鈥檚 teacher network and reputation is growing. During the school year, the teachers will receive support in curricular design from Erik Froburg, education and outreach specialist at the 易胜博官网 Leitzel Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education, as well as advanced technical support if needed from Sabin or other 易胜博官网 computing experts.听

Carrie Duran, who teaches hospitality and hotel management at the Lakes Region Technology Center at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, plans to develop an app for local hotels. 鈥淚t would help my students learn how to market a product and benefit the community,鈥� she says.听 听 听 听 听

Another Kingswood teacher, Mary Ellen Bridges, says App Inventor will let her build code into the photography, photo technology and communication technology courses she teaches. 鈥淎dvertising is dynamic now. It鈥檚 interactive. Students with interests in photography and graphic design need to know these skills,鈥� she says.

Duran and Bridges plan to work together to build their teaching units.听 听 听 听听

At Kennett High School, Joe Riddensdale, who teaches computer-aided design, and Dan Richardi, who teaches computer programming, will collaborate, as will Belmont High School science teacher Adrien Deshaies and Justin Bourque, an alumnus of the Creative Computing Challenge who teaches in Concord.

Next year, the all-girls middle school summer camp will take place in the Seacoast area of 易胜博官网. The program will be looking for six more teachers from schools between Rochester and Salem to integrate the Creative Computing Challenge into their 2017 classes and attend a May introductory teacher workshop.

鈥擟arrie Sherman

Learn more about the here. If you are a teacher interested in becoming involved, contact Rosabel Deloge at 603-475-8992.听