Code Girls United Tackles Community Issues Using MIT App Inventor
The Montana-based after-school program boosts girls’ self-confidence by teaching them invaluable skills in computer science, entrepreneurship, writing, and public speaking.
Code Girls United uses MIT App Inventor as the basis of its curriculum to teach girls computer science and coding.
When Marianne Smith was teaching computer science courses in 2016 at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana, the adjunct professor noticed a stark difference in the number of women in the class compared to men. The women were severely outnumbered. She believed the disparity was because young girls were not being introduced to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects earlier, such as in elementary and middle school. In 2017, Smith decided to do something to close the gap. She believed the best way to do this was to provide after-school programming for girls to learn computer science and coding.
What began as a class of twenty-eight girls held in a local diner is now a state-wide organization, Code Girls United, which was formally founded in 2018. The organization has taught more than 1,000 elementary, middle, and high school students across 38 cities in Montana and three of the state’s Native American Reservations. At the core of the program’s curriculum is MIT App Inventor, a block-based app development platform that empowers the young girls to quickly and easily build mobile apps that create an impact in their local communities.
Finding the right tool
At first, Smith wasn’t sure what subjects to teach because she felt Java and other programming languages were too advanced for elementary and middle school students. Marianne had used App Inventor to teach a children's co-op class and her own children. She found that the children could create apps quickly and easily, while also building on the complexity as they learned more. App Inventor became the central component that Code Girls United built their curriculum on. “It was perfect because the girls could make an app and test it the same day,” Smith says. “It’s also very visual.” Instead of learning a coding language by typing, students drag and drop jigsaw-like pieces that contain code to issue instructions. She incorporated general computer science concepts like conditionals, variables, and logic flow with App Inventor so that the girls could build progressively more difficult apps during the first half of the school year.
“[MIT App Inventor] was perfect because the girls could make an app and test it the same day. It’s also very visual.”
The ease of use and online capabilities of App Inventor enabled Code Girls United to scale and serve a larger audience. Block coding makes the platform approachable to girls as young as fourth grade. Though some of them have limited typing or spelling skills, App Inventor is just as applicable to their needs as it is to early high school students. The platform is also flexible enough that the same tool can be used across different grade levels by varying the complexity of topics and features being used.
“Empowering girls with the language of code”
The Code Girls United curriculum follows the school year and enables students to bolster their in-school learning with computer science and coding concepts, which are proven to increase overall literacy. In the first half of the year, the girls focus on learning to code with App Inventor and basic computer science concepts. In the second half of the year, they form teams and collectively decide on a local community issue to address and solve. They then design an app which could help address this issue. Students build prototypes and write a business plan that includes a marketing strategy and logo design. The students build their apps and corresponding presentations within their teams. The culmination of the curriculum is the annual Code Girls United’s App Challenge. A panel of volunteer judges evaluate their work, and the top six teams receive scholarship prizes.
Over the years, students have created apps to address a wide range of community issues such as mental health awareness, animal welfare, food insecurity, financial planning, and environmental education. Every group of students brings their own unique perspectives and experiences to decide what their communities need. The past two years, Code Girls teams have won the Congressional App Challenge for the state of Montana. The 2022 team, The Tech Trio, created an app called “Found,” which was designed to provide awareness, resources, and advocacy for missing Indigenous women. The team was also recognized as a winner of App of the Season, an app development competition hosted by the App Inventor Foundation. The 2023 winning team, “Pocket Ranchers,” created an app that helps track and report contaminated ground water and provides resources for ground water access planning. Both of these projects were founded on pressing issues in the students’ local communities.
“Code Girls United has taught me so many important skills that will be invaluable in my future. My confidence has grown so much over the years in this program, and I feel way more prepared for my future in STEM.”
Through the Code Girls United program, young girls gain experience in computer science and coding fundamentals, business development and entrepreneurship, and writing and public speaking skills, which supports development and proficiency in math, reading, and social-emotional learning. The young girls who enter the program walk away with a new sense of self-confidence in their abilities and an empowerment to take control of their future. According to 16-year-old Isabelle Ashley of The Tech Trio, “Code Girls United has taught me so many important skills that will be invaluable in my future. My confidence has grown so much over the years in this program, and I feel way more prepared for my future in STEM.”
Marianne remembers that when she originally taught her own sons how to program robots, she found that programming introduced a set of logic and communication skills similar to learning a new language. These language skills were what she felt girls were missing. “Being able to speak or write in a language allows you to communicate your ideas. With the help of MIT App Inventor, Code Girls United is empowering girls with the language of code and helping to open doors of opportunity in the fields of STEM. We can’t wait to see what is ahead as our organization is expanding to new areas and increasing our capacity to serve students across the country.”
