Google Girls

Our year 7 girls enjoyed Leighton Park's first ever visit to Google. This exclusive and inspirational event provided the girls with opportunities to find out about technologies which are changing the world. They also learnt about how Computer Science and computational thinking can provide them varied skill set to support careers in software engineering, animation, project management and interface design.

The day began with a presentation where they explored the history of Google and the exponential impact of digital skills across the world. Importantly, they were able to reflect on how a small startup business can become a global brand with determination and digital skills. The girls were then treated to a tour of the innovative and creative Google offices which changed their perceptions of what working in a global IT company would feel and look like. They enjoyed seeing the different learning environments which provided employees with collaborative and inspiring places to work, research, plan and create. The girls then got to use these creative spaces to code programmable Sphero robots to move around a circuit which they designed. In teams, they used programming constructs such as sequence and iteration and debugging skills to ensure that their robot could undertake four laps of their circuit. Through determination and resilience they were able to see the benefits of collaborative programming in the same way that they had seen across the Google offices. These girls have already begun to develop the necessary next-generation digital skills to succeed in the future.

Some feedback from the girls included:

"It is making me think better about computer science."

"I think I will consider working as a website designer now that I have seen Google."

"I thought that working in IT would be a bit boring but google has changed my views."

"I used to think that computing meant to sit behind a desk all day writing code."

"The trip showed me that working in IT is more exciting than I thought. I did not realise how powerful it can be and that it helps solve problems with the computer."