Hello World: Transforming Users into Creators, Collaborators & Activists!
(Script & images from my talk @ TEDxCville Open Mic Night, 10/13/14)
Hello Charlottesville! My name is Kim Wilkens and I’m a technology activist. Now you may be thinking to yourself, does technology really need an activist - isn’t it everywhere already? That’s true, technology is all around us, but there’s a problem with technology - well several problems.
I could start by quoting the depressing statistics on the gender gap in tech and the lack of diversity.
I could share projections that show our educational system is struggling to prepare students for the jobs of the future.
I could scare you with stories about the dark arts being practiced in tech with identity theft, cyberbullying, surveillance and the list goes on.
But, I believe there is a more fundamental problem with our relationship to tech. We are both fascinated and frustrated by it. Just think - many of us are carrying around a super computer in our pocket. That’s freaking awesome! But as comedian Louis CK famously observed - “everything is amazing right now and nobody’s happy.” So what is going on?
Arthur C. Clarke wrote that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” and I think we are starting to believe it. We are giving up control over how tech affects our lives, our culture and our future because we believe that creating tech is something somebody else does and understanding how it all works is something we couldn’t possibly comprehend. I teach computer science and coding concepts to students of all ages and I want you to know that this is simply not true.
Back in the day, the first code almost every new programmer learned to write was “Hello, World!”. We would get such a kick out of making these words appear on a computer screen. Today, there are many more tools and programs to engage students in their own “Hello, World!” moments. I cannot tell you the number of times I have personally witnessed these moments, where students are so excited to see something they created come to life through code. Let me tell you, that is powerful stuff!
Imagine girls coming together to bring their creations to life with electronics and coding. You should have seen the energy at Girls’ Geek Day this past weekend where 40 girls worked with coding and electronics to create their own musical instrument. Or been with Tech-Girls at Computers4Kids, where the girls are bringing a dollhouse to life through robotics & code.
Imagine libraries participating in the Maker Party movement from Mozilla - teaching the web to all! That happened at our local library branches this summer, where you could find students creating online content about subjects they were passionate about.
Imagine schools setting aside an hour to code, encouraging teachers and students to learn basic coding skills together. Did you know that at least 9 schools did that in our area during the Hour of Code last December? I wonder how many will participate this year?
Imagine a school integrating coding across their curriculum, empowering their students to take control of how tech will affect their lives, their culture and their future. St. Anne’s-Belfield School is doing that and that makes them a nationwide leader in this space.
This is why I want to recruit you to my cause because I want everybody to have their own “Hello, World!” moment. I want to transform technology users into technology creators, collaborators and activists so we can all change the world!
