Got a girl in your tribe who would love to learn more about technology whilst making new friends? Code Like A Girl is taking Australia by storm so we found out what it’s all about.
What is Code Like A Girl?
Code Like A Girl was first started in 2015 by backend developer Ally Watson, and in 2016, co-founder Vanessa Doake joined the CLAG team. The pair identified that while there weren’t many women working in the tech field, there was a need to build a supportive community for those that were, and to help other women and girls that might be interested in learning more about technology and gain work in the field.
Fast forward to today and Code Like A Girl is located in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT. They have permanent classrooms, and they even have roaming classrooms that take their workshops and classes out to regional areas to give girls a hands on go at learning more about coding and technology.
What kind of activities do they have for girls?
There are workshops for girls starting at 6 years old and they also offer workshops for women, so there is something for every age group. One workshop is called Girls and Games and caters for girls aged 6-8 years old. Girls can learn how to create their own digital games using block coding over a 2 hour session.
Then there is a workshop for older girls called Coding Skills for the Web. Here girls can learn how to create code and edit using simple programming tools. They will get hands on experience learning how to build websites and style them too!
What are the coding camps all about?
Want more than a 2 hour workshop? No problem! Code Like A Girl has 3 day coding camps for kids aged 8 – 15 in the school holidays. One of the coding camps is called Space Invaders and it is packed with fun activities. The kids can find out their space age by using block code and create a pixel robot with binary. Don’t know what any of that means? Then it’s time to #levelup and get the tribe enrolled in some workshops.
Code Like A Girl is a social enterprise where women who are working in tech come into the classrooms and act as more than just a teacher, they’re mentors and examples of what girls can achieve in the tech world.
Vanessa and Ally believe that every girl should have the chance to have fun with technology and access an education in an inclusive way, and that’s what Code Like A Girl offers.
