Social Good Summit 2016: 13 year-old coder Isabel Sieh on technology and the future

Summary

In this inspiring speech, 13-year-old Isabelle C, founder of 'Girls Will Code,' shares her journey in coding and her mission to promote gender equality in technology. Starting coding at age 10, she created an app that won her a Star Wars costume contest and later launched her initiative to teach coding in the Philippines. Isabelle emphasizes the importance of community in learning and aims to integrate coding into schools, encouraging girls to code and solve global issues. She calls for support from companies, schools, parents, and individuals to foster coding education and close the gender gap in technology.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Isabelle C, at just 13 years old, founded 'Girls Will Code', a company aimed at promoting coding among girls.
• 💡 Isabelle started coding at the age of 10 and has learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and is currently learning Python.
• 🏆 Coding helped Isabelle win a Star Wars costume contest by creating an app that made R2-D2 sounds.
• 🤔 Isabelle faced challenges in learning coding alone and found online forums confusing, which led her to the realization of the importance of community learning.
• 👩‍💻 She created a simple encoder and decoder program, demonstrating her ability to apply new coding skills.
• 🎮 Isabelle also made a cake baking game using Scratch, a block-based coding platform for kids, showing how friends can contribute to coding projects even without coding knowledge.
• 🌐 'Girls Will Code' in the Philippines was started with the support of the US-based 'Girls Who Code', utilizing their resources.
• 🏫 Isabelle's goal is to have 'Girls Will Code' in all schools to foster a supportive community of girls learning coding.
• 🔧 Isabelle plans to work on outreaches in public schools, teaching coding and promoting the idea of coding communities for girls.
• 🤝 She calls for support from companies, schools, parents, and individuals to encourage coding education and to become ambassadors for 'Girls Will Code'.
• 🎉 Isabelle expresses gratitude to Rappler for their article which helped boost the visibility of 'Girls Will Code'.

Q & A

Who is the main speaker in the transcript?

The main speaker in the transcript is Isabelle, a 13-year-old girl who founded a company called Girls Will Code.

What is the name of the company Isabelle founded and what does it focus on?

Isabelle founded a company called 'Girls Will Code' which focuses on teaching coding to girls and promoting gender equality in technology.

At what age did Isabelle start coding?

Isabelle started coding online when she was 10 years old.

What programming languages has Isabelle learned so far?

Isabelle has learned HTML, CSS, some JavaScript, and is currently learning Python.

How did coding help Isabelle win a Star Wars costume contest?

Coding helped Isabelle win a Star Wars costume contest by creating an app that made R2-D2 sounds when a button was pressed.

What challenges did Isabelle face while learning to code?

Isabelle faced challenges such as confusing forums and feeling stuck to one structure while learning to code.

Why did Isabelle decide to start 'Girls Will Code' in the Philippines?

Isabelle decided to start 'Girls Will Code' in the Philippines because she was based there and wanted to bring the opportunity to join such a community to girls in her country.

What is Isabelle's big aim for 'Girls Will Code'?

Isabelle's big aim for 'Girls Will Code' is to have it in all schools, encouraging all girls to be in a community that supports each other in coding.

What are some of the initiatives Isabelle wants to implement to promote coding among girls?

Isabelle wants to continue working in outreaches in public schools, present her idea of having a community of girls to code, find student and teacher ambassadors, and have a 'Girls Will Code' day.

How does Isabelle plan to involve others in supporting 'Girls Will Code'?

Isabelle plans to involve companies by providing teachers or support, schools by adopting coding as an after-school activity, parents by supporting their children's learning to code, and kids by finding resources online and joining activities to learn coding.

What recognition has Isabelle received that has helped kickstart her company?

Isabelle received recognition from Rappler, as an article written about her by AA Ray was shared over 78 times on Facebook, which helped kickstart her company.

Outlines

00:00

👩‍💻 Young Innovator Advocates for Girls in Coding

Isabelle C, a 13-year-old founder of 'Girls Will Code,' shares her journey and passion for coding and gender equality. She started coding at the age of 10 and has since learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and is currently learning Python. Isabelle emphasizes the importance of community in learning, as it allows for faster learning and better problem-solving through collective ideas. She created an encoder and decoder program and a cake baking game on Scratch, showcasing how coding can be a creative and collaborative process. Inspired by 'Girls Who Code' in the US, Isabelle sought permission to start a chapter in the Philippines, which has been supported by the original organization. Her goal is to establish 'Girls Will Code' in all schools to foster a supportive community for girls in technology.

05:01

🌟 Vision for a Coding-Inclusive Future

Isabelle articulates her vision to integrate coding into schools and create a community of girls who code. She believes coding has the power to change the way we think and can be a tool to solve global issues. Isabelle's immediate plan includes conducting outreach programs in public schools to teach coding and promoting the idea of a coding community for girls. She also aims to appoint student and teacher ambassadors to encourage coding among peers and facilitate its teaching. A 'Girls Will Code Day' is envisioned to celebrate girls' coding abilities. Isabelle calls for support from various stakeholders: companies to provide resources, schools to adopt coding as an extracurricular activity, parents to understand and support coding education, and individuals to find online resources and participate in coding activities. She thanks Rappler for their article that helped boost her initiative and concludes with a motivational video supporting coding for girls.

Keywords

💡Action

Action in the context of the video refers to the practical steps taken to achieve goals, as opposed to merely discussing or planning. The speaker emphasizes the importance of moving from words to action, which is a central theme of the video. Isabelle, the young founder of 'Girls Will Code,' exemplifies this by taking action at a young age to promote coding and gender equality.

💡Gender Equality

Gender equality is a core concept in the video, highlighting the need for equal opportunities and representation for all genders, particularly in technology fields. Isabelle's initiative, 'Girls Will Code,' is a direct response to the gender gap in technology, aiming to encourage more girls to engage in coding and close this gap.

💡Coding

Coding is the process of writing computer programs and is central to the video's message. Isabelle's passion for coding is evident as she shares her journey of learning different programming languages and creating applications. The video promotes coding as a tool for creativity and problem-solving, with Isabelle using it to win a Star Wars costume contest.

💡Community

Community is emphasized as a vital aspect of learning and growth in the video. Isabelle mentions the benefits of learning in a community, where ideas are shared, and problems are solved collectively. This is exemplified by her creation of an encoder and decoder program, where she was able to integrate learnings from multiple sources.

💡Scratch

Scratch is a block-based coding platform designed for children, mentioned in the video as a tool that Isabelle used to create a cake baking game. It illustrates how coding can be accessible and engaging for young learners, allowing them to collaborate and contribute creatively.

💡Girls Will Code

Girls Will Code is the organization founded by Isabelle, which is central to the video's narrative. It represents her initiative to inspire and educate girls about coding, promoting gender equality in technology. The video shares her journey from learning about the US-based 'Girls Who Code' to starting her own chapter in the Philippines.

💡Inclusivity

Inclusivity is a key theme in the video, as Isabelle aims to include all girls in the coding community. She envisions a world where girls encourage each other to code and solve problems, highlighting the importance of diversity and collaboration in technology.

💡Ambassadors

Ambassadors in the video refer to student and teacher representatives who promote coding within their schools. Isabelle's plan includes finding ambassadors to encourage coding among peers and to advocate for its integration into school curricula, showcasing the role of leadership in fostering a coding culture.

💡Outreach

Outreach is mentioned as a strategy for expanding the reach of coding education. Isabelle's plan involves conducting outreaches in public schools to teach coding, emphasizing the importance of making coding education accessible to a broader audience.

💡Coding for Social Impact

Coding for social impact is a concept presented in the video, where Isabelle believes that coding can be used to solve world problems. This aligns with the broader message that technology, when harnessed by diverse minds, can drive positive change.

Highlights

Emphasizing the importance of moving from words to action, especially in the context of technology and gender equality.

Introduction of Isabelle C, a 13-year-old founder of 'Girls Will Code', showcasing young leadership in technology and gender equality.

Isabelle's correction of the company's name to 'Girls Will Code', highlighting the importance of accurate representation.

Isabelle's personal journey of learning to code at a young age and her passion for creativity in coding.

Winning a Star Wars costume contest through a coding project, demonstrating the practical applications of coding skills.

The challenge of self-learning coding online and the confusion faced in forums, emphasizing the need for structured learning environments.

The benefits of community learning in coding, as experienced through working with tutors and peers.

The creation of an encoder and decoder program, showcasing Isabelle's practical coding projects.

The role of Scratch in teaching coding to kids, and Isabelle's experience in creating a cake baking game.

The inception of 'Girls Will Code' in the Philippines, inspired by the US-based 'Girls Who Code'.

Isabelle's vision for 'Girls Will Code' to be present in all schools, promoting a community of girls learning to code.

The impact of coding on Isabelle's perspective, changing the way she views technology and its potential to solve world problems.

Isabelle's plan to continue outreach in public schools and her idea of having a community of girls to code.

The call for support from companies, schools, parents, and students to promote coding education and gender equality in technology.

The importance of finding resources online and joining activities to learn coding, as encouraged by Isabelle.

Gratitude expressed to Rappler for their article, which helped kickstart 'Girls Will Code'.

The presentation of a video supporting the idea of coding for girls, reinforcing the message of the talk.

Transcripts

moving away from the words and going

directly to action that's what we want

to try to do today and there is no one

who exemplifies it aside from these guys

no one who can show you that it is never

too early to start it is never too late

to start then our next speaker um you

have to welcome somebody who at a young

age is already doing something not just

for technology but also for gender

equality ladies and Gentlemen please

welcome Isabelle C she is 13 years old

she founded a company called girls who

code three years ago I'm going to give

you my mic and it's girls will code

girls will code I'm so sorry girls will

code she corrects me here we go I'm

going to give you the mic okay great so

she's miked up guys the future is on

stage please

you can walk around okay uh thanks Maria

for giving me such a great introduction

oh um hi I'm Isabelle and I founded

girls will

code um so I'm here with such great

leaders and sometimes I wonder why am I

here well I could be doing a lot of

things right now I could be with my

sisters at the beach

I could be selling cotton candy this is

my side business or playing

tennis but instead I'm here because I

want to build a

community so who am I I'm 13 years old I

started coding online when I was 10 and

since then I've learned HTML CSS some

JavaScript and I'm currently learning

python I love coding because coding is

really

creative uh

oops so coding helped me win this Star

Wars costume contest earlier back on uh

when Star Wars came out and what I did

was I created an app where whenever you

would um press a button it would make

R2-D2 sounds and this really help me win

this the the costume

contest but coding hasn't always been

easy so I started teaching myself online

when I was 10 and there were a lot of

resources it was fast and I could learn

any time but at the same time the forums

were really confusing and whenever I

would learn I would feel like I would I

was stuck to one structure and this made

it harder for people like me kids to

understand so when when my mom found out

I was coding she got me tutors which is

on the presentation and this made me

realize that it's great to work in our

community because you're able to learn

faster you're able to do more and you're

able to find better Solutions because

there's so many other people's ideas

inputting for example uh this is a

simple program that I made it's an

encoder and decoder and there's like

different images of what I've done to

make the encoder and decoder and every

single time I learned something I was

able to input it into this encoder and

decoder rather than just sticking to one

structure so this really helped me learn

and I think that's one of the benefits

of learning in a

community also on scratch so who knows

scratch here okay so scratch is a simple

version of coding it's block coating and

it's made for kids really and one of the

things one of the things that I made was

a cake baking game and I wanted to show

you this because even though my friends

who had no idea what coating was they

were still able to help me because they

really liked art and they were able to

help me work on the

design now to girls will

code when I was 10 my mom showed me

girls who code which is in the US but

since I was only since I was based in

the Philippines I wasn't able to

join so I asked their permission to

start girls will code in the

Philippines and they were really happy

to support this especially since it was

outside of the

US so they allowed me to use all of

their resources and I'm really happy

that I get to work with girls who code

my big aim for girls will code is to

have it in all schools I want all girls

to encourage each other and for them to

be in a

community now why am I doing all of this

like I said earlier I could be doing a

lot of other things rather than talking

to all of you but the reason why I want

to talk about this is because ever since

I started coding it has changed the way

I think now I look at technology I look

at comp computers I look at the internet

a lot differently and I realized it's

all because of code and coding can help

solve world problems like the internet

it has brought so many different

communities together and relating back

to rler it canate it can create the hash

2030 you

want now back to reality my small aim

and my plan I would like to continue

working at outreaches in public schools

to teach them how to code and I would

like to present to schools my idea of

having a community of girls to code I

would also like to find student and

teacher ambassadors for students to

encourage each other to code and for

teachers to start teaching others how to

code lastly I would like to have a girls

will code day where girls can just

celebrate their ability to code and and

their ability to solve world

problems now this is where all of you

come in I need your help companies you

can provide as teachers or support

schools you can adopt coding as an after

school

activity parents you can support the

learning of kids to code because

sometimes parents don't even realize

what coding is a lot of times I would

ask them what coding is and they would

say oh it's just the coding for

cars so for kids lastly but definitely

not least I would like you to find

resources online and join activities

that would help you learn to code or if

you want you can be a student ambassador

in your school for girls will code and

you can encourage others to code who

don't necessarily seem interested but

you're trying to grab their attention

for

coding now I would like to thank rappler

because ever since AA Ray wrote an

article about me it has had over 78

shares on Facebook and this has really

kickstarted

my has really kickstarted my company so

I would really like to say thank you to

them especially for inviting me here

today to speak lastly I would like to

show you a video that I made it's just

from videos that I found on YouTube that

also support the idea of coding for

girls so you can show the video now

computer science may as well be science

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

fiction coding helped me see it as a way

to change the world

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

I feel like I'm a part of even more

worlds I didn't realize that there was

such a big gender gap in

technology and let's close the gender

gap in Tech High Five