Code for a Cause: Technovation Team for Girls
Description:
Imagine a phone app that could quickly reunite lost pets, connect the poor with resources that they need, or report a problem in the community! Code for a Cause is the Compass-based Technovation hub where middle school and high school girls will participate in the "world's largest technology entrepreneurship program for girls." Each year, Technovation teams solve real world problems through technology that they develop!
Through Technovation, girls work with women mentors, identify a problem in their community, develop a mobile app, and launch a startup. Since 2010, 140,000 girls around the world have developed mobile apps and small businesses to solve problems ranging from food waste and nutrition to women's safety, education, and much more. In this year-long program, girls will work in teams and learn the skills they need to change the world through technology.
First semester, the class will participate in team building activities and will be introduced to coding. Students will use Ozaria from Code Combat, a Python-based platform that applies stories and a gamified approach to teach the logic of coding and terminology. Once students understand these fundamentals, they will evaluate (pros and cons) and select their preferred block-based coding tool from either Thunkable or MIT's App Inventor.
Second semester, students will form teams of 2-3 girls who will brainstorm and identify a community problem. They will propose a mobile app or AI solution to the issue and conduct market research to see if their idea is unique and feasible. Next, the team will begin developing an app following the Technovation curriculum. In class, girls will be coached step-by-step on the process of creating an interactive application. Finally, girls will learn how to brand their app, create a business plan, and look at what it would take to bring the app to market.
The weekly Technovation work sessions will be facilitated by an experienced Technovation coach and cybersecurity engineering student at GMU. She will be supported by remote advisor, Almira Roldan, Sr. Technical Program Manager, AWS Machine Learning University and CEO, UnDesto AI Agency. Ms Roldan will assist through mentoring and scheduling guest presenters who will speak to the Compass teams about topics relevant to their phase of app development such as user experience and market research.
Participation in Technovation gives girls the confidence to pursue more computer science courses (70%) and the foundation to eventually major in computer science (26%). Technovation teams are in 100 countries, and the program is sponsored by Oracle, Google, 3M, Adobe Foundation, and others.
Level:All students will meet together, but student teams will either Junior or Senior division depending the ages of the team members as of August 1, 2025: Junior Division is for girls ages 13-15, and Senior Division is for girls ages 16-18. In addition to the app and competition document, the Junior division has an additional submission of a User Adoption Plan. The Senior division has an additional submission of a Business Plan.
Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class.
Assignments: Will be posted on a Google classroom site for students, and key reminders will be emailed to parents.
Assessments: Students will receive informal feedback throughout the project.
Lab/Supply Fee: A software fee of $30.00 is due payable to Compass on the first day of class.
What to Bring: For this class, students should bring their laptop and charger. Chromebooks cannot be used.
Non-Meeting Days: In addition to the scheduled days-off on the published Compass schedule, this class ends on 5/2/25 and will have two (2) other dates off to be announced.
Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a full credit in Technology or Career Exploration for purposes of a high school transcript.