DanceLogic Teaches Girls Dance and Computer Coding

DanceLogic Teaches Girls Dance and Computer Coding

Participants in the DanceLogic program. (Facebook)

[/media-credit] Participants in the DanceLogic program. (Facebook)

Shanel Edwards, co-instructor of danceLogic, stated that “danceLogic is helping these girls have access to the arts realm and science world as possible career paths, it is allowing them to stretch their own boundaries of what success looks like for them. ”DanceLogic, a unique S.T.E.A.M. program that combines dance and computer coding leading to the development of original choreography and performance, is continuing onto its second year. Girls ranging from the ages of 13 through 18 years participate in the program held at West Park Cultural Center in Philadelphia and learn the value of focus, dedication, and teamwork, as well as industry standard coding language.

During the dance class, led by instructors Edwards of D2D The Company and Annie Fortenberry, a performer with Ballet 180, the girls learn dance skills and movement techniques. This is followed by an hour of learning industry standard coding language under the direction of coding instructor Franklyn Athias, senior vice president of Network and Communications Engineering at Comcast. “I’m helping the kids see that someone, just like them, was able to use Science and Technology to find a very successful career,” Athias expressed in a press release.

The girls use coding to create their own choreography. “The combinations of dance and logic have good synergies. Learning something like dance requires practice, just like coding,” said Athias. “The dance is more physical, but it requires the students to try, fail, and try again. Before long, the muscle memory kicks in and the student forgets how hard it was before. Coding is really the same thing. Learning the syntax of coding is not a natural thing. Repetition is what makes you become good at it. After learning the first programming language, the students can learn other programming languages because it becomes much easier.”

“My favorite thing about the program is that the students can explore leadership roles. By building their own choreography and supporting each other in coding class, they navigate creating and sharing those creations, as well as resolving conflict to make one cohesive dance. There’s a lot of beauty and bravery in that process,” stated Fortenberry.

]The very first session of danceLogic culminated with the girls performing choreography and sharing what they learned through coding and how it has impacted their lives.

For more information, click here.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

City School Students Display Artistic Talent

City School Students Display Artistic Talent

By Chanda Temple, Public Information Officer/Birmingham

Click to view slideshow.

Earlier this year, Mayor Randall L. Woodfin invited Birmingham City Schools’ students, children of city employees and students attending other schools in Birmingham to reflect on what inspires them about the Magic City. Students could draw anything from their favorite park or school to their community and even the mayor for the “My Birmingham. My Mayor. And Me’’ art contest.

There were more than 200 entries from grades kindergarten to 12th. Judges were impressed by the submissions, which included colorful charcoal pieces, collages, paintings, colored pencil works and even a sculpture of the mayor. On Tuesday, April 17, Woodfin recognized the first-place winners during the Birmingham City Council meeting. Woodfin congratulated each student and thanked them for showcasing what they loved about the city.

“All of these submissions show the tremendous talent of students in Birmingham. I thank each student for dedicating their time for the contest, each teacher for guiding them through the process, and every parent for supporting their child in this endeavor,’’ the mayor said.

This month’s visit to City Hall was a first for Zaiderick Hayes, a fifth grader at Avondale Elementary School. He said he got the idea to create a collage for his winning piece after doing research on the internet. Zaiderick included some of his favorite places in Birmingham and a hand-drawn image of the mayor.

“It wasn’t hard. It took two days to draw the mayor,’’ said Zaiderick, whose art work has won other awards. At Avondale Elementary, an award-winning piece he did for a different contest will be featured on the school T-shirt next year.

Said Principal Courtney Nelson: “I’m proud of Zaiderick and all of his accomplishments. He is an art legend at Avondale.’’

Art work by students receiving first, second and third place will be on display on the third floor of City Hall through April. Art work by all other students will be on display at various libraries that part of the Birmingham Public Library system. To see a list of libraries hosting the art work, please visit www.birminghamal.gov.

This contest was made possible by The Mayor’s Office; Division of Youth Services; Birmingham Museum of Art; Arlington House; Birmingham Public Library; Birmingham City Schools; Birmingham City Schools Dr. Lisa Herring and McDonald’s.

First Place Winners

K-2nd Grade

Kwabend Bangolame (Ephesus Academy/Kindergarten)

3rd – 5th Grade

Zaiderick Hayes (Avondale Elementary)

6th – 8th Grade

Jerome Ranes (Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle)

9th – 12th Grade

Cardarius Timmons (Huffman High)

Honorable Mention:

Alexis Armer  (P.D. Jackson-Olin High)

 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: STEAM:Coders provides opportunities for at-risk students

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: STEAM:Coders provides opportunities for at-risk students

LOS ANGELES — Not all schools in Los Angeles are created equal.

Raymond Ealy noticed that was true when it came to low-income, underrepresented students learning about science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). So he decided to change that.

In July 2014, Ealy launched STEAM:Coders in Pasadena to provide STEAM learning opportunities for kindergarten to 12th-grade students with limited access to technology.

“We work with students in Inglewood, South L.A., Long Beach, Pasadena and others … and we collaborate with colleges and school districts … with a focus on Title 1 schools,” said Ealy, founder and executive director of the nonprofit.

Since its inception, the organization has served more than 3,000 students in its after-school, weekend and weekly summer-camp classes teaching them skills they can apply to any field they choose to go into.

“We teach students logic, critical thinking and problem solving,” Ealy said. “We have to build a pipeline for students to not only get them ready for [STEAM] fields, but to give them the opportunity to see those areas.”

Its numerous partnerships with corporate, academic and nonprofit entities has allowed STEAM:Coders’ students to visit places where they can see technology in action and get involved. Field trips include locations like Google L.A., the California Science Center, Art Center College of Design, Apple, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology.

These field trips are a way for underserved students to see that with the right skills, they can find a place for themselves in those places, Ealy said.

“When we take kids to Caltech, many of them have never been to a college campus before,” he said. “And many of their parents have never been to a college campus, either. So when we take them to a university, it plants a seed that they can go to college too, and hopefully inspires them to attend.”

Raymond Ealy

But before students get to college, the nonprofit tries to implant a different seed in them: the seed of imagination.

Many Title 1 schools don’t have a computer science curriculum, let alone a computer lab, Ealy said. Many of the same schools, he continued, no longer offer students art or music classes, which restricts their imaginations.

So STEAM:Coders tries to remedy that disadvantage by equipping them with “tools, training, teaching and coaching to get them exposed” to both the arts and classes that teach them subjects like computer science.

Offering introductory, intermediate and advanced STEAM courses, students are taught hands-on by staff and volunteers, many who are college students or professionals who teach the weekend classes.

Among the classes being taught this year are “Building Apps and Games using JavaScript” for fourth to eighth-grade students and an “Introduction to Coding” for students from second to fifth grade.

With these opportunities, Ealy believes that kids are learning invaluable skills and getting the hard-core support they need to rise above their circumstances.

And sometimes that support manifests itself into the form of a laptop. Made possible by its partnership with Warner Brothers, the nonprofit recently gave away more than 40 laptops to students. Getting equipment like that into the hands of kids who need it most was a very proud moment for the organization.

As for the next several years, Ealy hopes to support more students in places outside of California.

“We know there’s lots of talent out there, students just need the opportunity to show it,” he said.

INFORMATION BOX

Executive Director/Founder: Raymond Ealy

Years in operation: 4

Annual budget: $290,000

Number of employees: about 20

Location: PO Box 90213, Pasadena, 91109

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