To try and demystify the art of creating digital images through code, Google has joined forces with Pixar to create a new online coding exercise just in time for the nation’s annual Computer Science Education Week, executives at both companies tell USA TODAY.
Beginning Monday, visitors to Google’s Made with Code site will be able to animate scenes from the life of Riley, the star of Pixar’s latest computer-generated feature film,Inside Out. Using Blockly, an aptly named computer coding language that allows commands to be dragged and dropped into place in block format, users get to see how code can create visually appealing stories.
While anyone can accessMade with Code , the year-old project’s prime focus is on getting girls interested in coding, given that 74% of girls express an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) courses in middle school but by high school only .3% have followed up on that desire.“Girls love animation and simply may not know computer science is connected to that,” says Kate Parker, Made with Code’s program manager, who adds that the site also explores the intersection of tech and fashion, arts and other disciplines. “By high school, girls tend to self-select out of coding, and that should change.”
The latest in a series of ongoing Gallup polls commissioned by Google revealed that a leading factor in deterring girls from computer science careers is the fact that they perceive coders to be largely white and male. Of those polled, only 18% of girls said they were “very likely” to pursue CS in the future, compared to 35% of boys.
A new documentary currently making the festival rounds tackles the same disconnect.CODE:Debugging the Gender Gap, from filmmaker Robin Hauser Reynolds, features insights into why women often opt-out of computer science.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/12/07/google-pixar-team-inside-out-coding-tutorial/76750320/
Beginning Monday, visitors to Google’s Made with Code site will be able to animate scenes from the life of Riley, the star of Pixar’s latest computer-generated feature film,Inside Out. Using Blockly, an aptly named computer coding language that allows commands to be dragged and dropped into place in block format, users get to see how code can create visually appealing stories.
While anyone can access
The latest in a series of ongoing Gallup polls commissioned by Google revealed that a leading factor in deterring girls from computer science careers is the fact that they perceive coders to be largely white and male. Of those polled, only 18% of girls said they were “very likely” to pursue CS in the future, compared to 35% of boys.
A new documentary currently making the festival rounds tackles the same disconnect.CODE:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/12/07/google-pixar-team-inside-out-coding-tutorial/76750320/
Comments
Post a Comment