Grab your ticket to our carnival of learning! All who enter will gain the most important skills of our age: the ability to read, write and participate in our digital world. Mozilla Learning invites teachers and learners of all ages to join our funhouse of web literacy. Embrace the unknown! Experience the thrills! Imagine and share the full potential of the web with everyone!
That’s our theme for the learning space at MozFest this year. What’s Mozfest? It’s Mozilla's annual celebration of community and the greater open Internet movement. Why am I highlighting it here? I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to help craft the vision and curate content for this space at MozFest as a "space wrangler".
Stepping into this role is definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. I’ve been learning that when faced with a new opportunity, where my first reaction might be fear of the unknown, I take it as a sure sign that this new thing is exactly what I’m supposed to do. I also know that I am not on this journey alone. Being part of the Mozilla Learning Network and #teachtheweb movement has been such an amazing experience. This is a community that cares deeply about empowering people of all ages to learn “the most important skills of our age: the ability to read, write and participate in our digital world.†Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting Amira Dhalla. Amira works at the Mozilla Foundation as the Lead for Women and Web Literacy. Like many others, she loves the Internet and the power it gives to individual people. And like Mozilla, she wants the Internet to remain an open and innovative place that is accessible to all people.
Why is it important to get more girls and women interested in technology?
Where do I start? Well, we make up 50% of the world’s population and yet we are not equal owners of resources, access and development. We need more women and girls in technology to ensure that more technology lands into the hands of women and that it is being built to support women. We’re seeing technology that was not always built for our needs and in turn pushes women further away from technology. When we have more knowledge and representation in technology we can innovate better and faster.
What most excites you about the future of technology?
As people become more empowered and have a greater sense of how to be producers (not just consumers) of technology, we will unlock the next wave of possibilities. If we can continue to advocate for digital literacy to be a core part of on-going education than everyone has the potential to be a technologist in the future and understand how to use technology to improve upon their ideas or enhance existing ones.
July 11-15 - The Art of Code: Tech-Girls Experience. This experience provides an opportunity for middle school girls to get hands-on with coding through art. Paint a masterpiece, create a symphony of sound, animate an avatar, and so much more! Registration required.
August 3 - Tween Tech Series @ the Library at 2pm. Drop by to learn about the latest in virtual reality with special guests from Linden Lab. They will share what they do as virtual entertainment developers and demo the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Then try out some of the library's tech toys like an Ozobot mini-robot and the 3-D Doodle Pen. Ages 10-15.
August 12 - Bio-Med Tech-Girls Reception. We invite the community to join us in the i.Lab at UVA at 4pm for a reception where you can learn more about this program and meet the students who have been participating in it this year. Registration requested.
Virtual & Global
August 15 (deadline) - National STEM Video Game Challenge. "We know you love playing video games, but we think you can create your own!"
Ongoing - Mozilla Clubs, join others in your community to learn how to read, write and participate on the web. Find a club near you or start one yourself!
Ongoing - Made with Code for classes & workshops geared toward girls.
Ongoing - The Connectory, find an opportunity near you to connect your child to STEM learning.
Get Involved!
Are you ready to become a mentor or sponsor a Tech-Girl event? Can you help us get the word out? However you would like to get involved, we need you!
