Yes! This class has really broadened my horizons on technology.
We started Etiquette Creative with the goal of finding a way to encourage girls to enter into STEM fields. With an understanding of the disparity between the number of men and women in STEM fields, we began researching ways to engage girls in technology at a younger age.
We used the LilyPad Arduino, a microcontroller designed by Leah Buechley, as a test case and created an hour long workshop called "Tinkering with Microcontrollers".
With the support of the University of Texas at Dallas EMAC Program and the Design Your World, Conference for Girls, we conducted our first experimental session with a group of 20 middle-school girls; and it was great! The girls lit up their own microcontrollers after learning about:
What started as a 30-minute workshop quickly grew into a three-day, hands-on intensive camp for girls. We reformatted and grew the program to include all phases of the product lifecycle including design, prototype, build and test of their own light up bag.
Our goal is to empower girls with the ability to make an informed choice about their future by exposing them to new technologies that interest them. We are dedicated to providing programming workshops that are interesting and intellectually challenging for young girls to create a talent pipeline for the STEM industries.