2014 Grants
THE YOUNG WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP NETWORK (NEW YORK CITY)
Social computer game design platform
For the past five years, we have given grants to The Young Women’s Leadership Network, which has several schools in New York City. (You can read more about them at http://www.ywln.org) Last year, for the first time, we supported a new program at YWLN that is an exciting new way to teach computer coding skills. “Globaloria” is an online learning platform that offers courses in science, math, engineering, game design and computer coding. (You can learn more here: www.globaloria.org.) It also has a social component: students design and create computer games, then share them with other students on the Globaloria system. Other students then play and critique the games -- including games designed by students at other schools. It is an ingenious way to develop STEM knowledge and computing literacy.
Globaloria is integrated into the regular school day. Students learn high-level coding languages (such as Java and Flash/ActionScript), game design, computational thinking, social media and digital literacy. They also learn how to participate in a social learning network, research, construct and design an interactive media product, work in teams, master a variety of professional tools (MediaWiki, Blogger, GChat, AdobeConnect, etc.), develop presentation skills and publish original content on multiple platforms.
This past year, the Foundation supported Globaloria in one classroom at the YWLS school in the Bronx, and it was a great success. Among other things, the students:
- Initiated 182 games: 92 Hidden Object Games and 90 Action Games
- Engaged in over 8,460 hours of Globaloria STEM Learning
- Engaged in an end of year “Hackathon” to complete their game projects
- Visited Google for a STEM Innovation Field Trip
- Spoke with Sarah Holloway, the Founder of Mouse.org and the New York City Foundation for Computer Science Education (CSNYC), and Jennifer Arguello, Senior Special Projects Advisor of the Kapor Center, about their experiences as women in STEM.
One student said: “Something that excites me about the game is that we’re going to do things just like real game makers do, and it will help us to see if this is the future we want for ourselves. I’m excited to learn more about the game design profession.”
This program is a great match for the Foundation’s mission, and it provides great results for a reasonable investment. Last year, we supported this program in one classroom of YWLN’s Bronx school. This year we are expanding our support to include a second classroom in YWLN’s Astoria school. The grant is for $8,800 (total).
Ecology field trip to the Berkshire Mountains
This year we are continuing our support for a program we have supported for the past four years: a three-day environmental science workshop and academic field experience at an 85-acre nature preserve. This trip is a great way to take science education out of the classroom and introduce young women to science activities.
On this trip, the students are introduced to ecological topics in the classroom prior to the trip, including basic concepts of watersheds, bio-diversity and human impact on the natural environment, among other topics. They then go on a three-day overnight retreat at an 85-acre preserve of natural woodlands in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, where environmental educators teach the students in small groups. This is the first wilderness experience for many of these young women. They study diverse ecosystems (woodlands, waterfall and bog) and they gather water samples and measure weather conditions. In addition to their activities, they receive academic lessons on topics such as forest ecology, geology, wetlands exploration, and organic gardening.
As YWLN reported this year: “Christodora encourages positive personal and educational growth for the young women we serve. This is a valuable program because it provides the majority of our girls with their first experience in a wilderness setting and is a meaningful context for learning environmental science. The greatest value of the Manice experience lies in exposing girls during their formative adolescent years to the excitement and purpose of science in the everyday world.”
We’re delighted to support this trip again. This year we will support a trip for the entire 7th Grade from one of the YWLS schools (approximately 70 students). The grant is $8000.
THE GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL (PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA)
The Jennifer A. Kay Foundation has supported several programs at The Girls’ Middle School since 2010. (You can learn more about GMS here: http://www.girlsms.org/) This year, we’re happy to renew our support of two excellent field trips we have supported in the past, and to add a new grant for some equipment.
Exploratorium field trip
The Exploratorium (www.exploratorium.edu) in San Francisco is a science museum that focuses on hands-on, interactive exhibits. Last year, the Foundation funded a field trip for the entire 8th Grade at GMS to go to the Exploratorium for a day. The GMS science teacher then used the exhibits that the young women saw on the field trip to reinforce ideas and examples in the classroom. The teacher also used the trip to introduce new ideas that were studied later in the year. Finally, the students were asked to do independent science projects, and were given the option of explaining one of the exhibits they saw at the Exploratorium.
The trip last year was a big success, so we’re happy to fund it again this year. The grant is $1500, which will cover all 68 students in Grade 8.
“Indoor skydiving” physics field trip
For the third year, the Foundation will support a field trip to an “indoor skydiving” facility. At a facility called “iFly,” the girls conduct experiments within a flight chamber: for example, they determined the terminal velocity of various sports balls and observe the flight patterns of non-uniform objects. They listen to a lecture on the physics of the wind tunnel and of flight generally. And then… they get to 'fly' in the wind tunnel!
We think iFly is a great way to make flight physics understandable, and we’re delighted to be funding this trip again, for the entire 8th Grade (63 students). The grant is $3,248.
Monitors for display of student work
The Foundation will fund two 27” flat-screen monitors, along with the necessary mounting hardware and cables. GMS will mount these two monitors on the walls of the school, and use them to display digital student work. GMS is introducing the concept of digital portfolios this year, as part of their Maker Education initiative -- an initiative that seeks to build a stronger culture of student-initiated creative projects. The grant is $1000.