Communications of the ACM
Empowering a New Generation of Tech-Savvy Women By Teaching Them to Code
A new series of community-driven online tutorials aim to teach women to code and to create their own websites.
Credit: International Telecommunication Union
Skillcrush offers community-driven online tutorials that teach women to code and create their own websites, with a focus on highlighting the creative side of technology. The courses, which are also open to men, include HTML, CSS, and Ruby on Rails.
Founders Adda Birnir and Kate McGee modeled Skillcrush on successful classroom-based courses for women, such as Rails Bridge, and translated the effective aspects of those for an online environment.
For students starting with very minimal knowledge, Skillcrush offers an Email Bootcamp, a daily newsletter with simple lessons on Internet basics such as the difference between HTML and CSS. The main class is a three-week course that offers an overview of how to compile an effective portfolio and teaches HTML and CSS through videos, cheat sheets, and interactive exercises. In addition, students learn how to buy a domain and launch a website.
The course focuses on using simple language that is accessible to those without tech backgrounds. "Being able to translate your idea into a concrete reality, even a rough version of it, is really life-changing," Birnir says. "People really benefit from having these technical skills. Regardless of the industry, we can all benefit from these skill sets."
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