Virtual Girls into Coding #3!

GIRLS! THE TECH COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU! THIS EVENT IS ORGANISED ESPECIALLY FOR YOU! COME AND JOIN US ONLINE AND GET INVOLVED!

Girls into Coding are delighted to invite you to our VIRTUAL “Girls Into Coding ” event via Zoom! It’s a free event. Choose 1 of their 4 exciting workshops. There will also be lightning talks to inspire & encourage girls aged 10 -14 to get involved in tech. Each participant can only book one workshop because they will run simultaneously.

You will be able to explore online coding activities, online robotics, 3D Design, electronics and physical computing using the BBC Micro: bit (tiny computers), This is a fantastic opportunity to use Python (text-based language) and to get some hands-on making time from the comfort of your home!

WORKSHOPS: THE 4 WORKSHOPS BELOW WILL RUN SIMULTANEOUSLY – THEREFORE EACH PARTICIPANT SHOULD ONLY BOOK 1 WORKSHOP

Workshop #1: PyCreatures

Compete against your fellow students to build coded creatures that live in a virtual world. The life of your creatures depends on your coding skills! Design what your creature looks like, what it eats, and how it behaves. Then code this up using Python and unleash your creatures on the virtual world. Whose creatures will thrive and flourish?!

• Material needed:

A computer with Python installed

• Experience:

The participants should have a good basic working knowledge of Python.

Workshop #2: Microbit Robot

IMPORTANT NOTE: For this robotics workshop, Girls Into Coding (GIC)will send a kit to the participants prior to the session. GIC will provide a postage-paid envelope for the return of the kit once the event is over. Please note that this particular workshop will only be available to UK residents.

Build a robot powered by a Microbit that will move and avoid obstacles.

You will assemble the robot, add a motor controller board, an ultrasonic sensor, and wire the components together. You will program the robot using MicroPython.

• Materials needed:

A computer with access to the internet; the kit & instruction sheet will be been sent to the participants prior to the session.

• Experience:

The participants should have a good basic working knowledge of Python. They will be guided by instruction sheets and live demo.

Workshop #3: Robot Simulator – Avoiding obstacles with a virtual robot

We will be using an online version of the webots simulator to program a robot to avoid random obstacles as it travels across a virtual classroom! In this activity, we will learn about simple algorithms which can help robots travel to where they need to go! We will also find out about the importance of simulating robots and why this can help us write better programs!

• Material needed:

A computer and access to the internet

• Experience:

We will be writing these programs in python and it will help if you have basic experience of programming in python before. But even if you haven’t you’re welcome to join in and we will accommodate everyone!

Workshop #4: Exploring 3D Design

This is an exciting remote learning workshop for bright young minds where they get to compare and assess some of the best freely available 3D Design software.

Participants will quickly get up to speed on core skills, best practices, workflow process and required tasks to become a successful 3D Designer..

Participants will understand and use parametric modelling tools (shapes & measurements) and free form modelling tools (moulding & shaping digital clay).

• Materials needed:

– Personal Notepad to take down important Notes, Sketches and Observations.

– Personal Laptop. (Please download and install all software the list under 3D Design)

1. Blender

2. SketchUp

3. Sculptris

4. TinkerCAD, (You will need to Register for a TinkerCAD account Online)

– Basic knowledge of Computers and use of the Internet

– A Portable Storage Device, e.g., USB, SD card, (8GB or over, optional)

• Experience:

Beginners are welcome. No experience required!

LIGHTNING TALKS: 

Vanessa Madu – @NeccesarilyNess – “Technology meets Music: How well does a computer understand your singing”

Vanessa is a Mathematics student at Imperail College London. She is very passionate about increasing gender diversity in STEM and inspiring other young women to discover their potential. She is also a social entrepreneur and have founded and co-founded two different initiatives aimed to improve STEM diversity.

Temi Olukoko –  @TemiOlukoko – “”

Temi is currently working as a Software Developer at BT within the Integration and Migration (API Gateways & Microservices) team, where she predominantly work with Spring Boot, Docker and Apigee Edge, coding in JavaScript and Java. She wants to encourage more young black ethnic minorities to join the tech industry and support their career-growth. She also advocate for STEM equality.