From the Bridge
In 2000, when Techbridge Girls started, most of us didn’t have cell phones, let alone a search engine at our fingertips.
Today, we can type “major technological advances since 2000” into ChatGPT and get a comprehensive history of recent technology, along with commentary, hyperlinks, and illustrations. Even if the facts need checking (and they do!), it’s an extraordinary new reality.
As Techbridge Girls celebrates 25 years of connecting girls to STEM opportunities, we’re refining our programs so that we’re offering our youth and educators the resources and information they need, when they need it. In this next chapter, we’re focusing on the current game-changers in STEM: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science.
We know that for artificial intelligence to benefit all of us, we need human intelligence. So as we launch our new strategic plan, we are highlighting three key elements:
- New curriculum materials with AI and Data Science content informed by experts in these fields
- A keystone event that brings students and educators together to explore new concepts and ideas and to celebrate learning and collaboration
- New teaching tools, including customized, on-demand training in relevant content using AI tools
The skills that our girls will learn aren’t limited to any one field. Rather, they’re essential skills for navigating a landscape that is changing around us. Over 25 years, we’ve seen new technologies reshape our culture. We’ve also seen that the real game-changers are human: human intelligence, human curiosity, human joy, and human relationships. By creating welcoming spaces for STEM learning for all of our young humans, we’re making a better future for all of us.
Over the next few months, we’ll be highlighting expert voices in AI and Data Science as we launch a new blog series exploring these fields. The future is here, and our girls are here to lead it.
Warmly,
Savita Raj, CEO
Bridge Building: Upcoming Programs
- CA STEAM: Are you a STEM Leader in California? Join TBG for a presentation on our programs, outcomes, and map your own STEM Journey. October 16th in San Diego, CA
- SHE Leads: TBG CEO Savita Raj will be speaking at the SHE Leads conference, hosted by Shaun Robinson, for the community committed to girls reaching their potential. Sept 30 – Oct 1 in Los Angeles, CA
Pathways: Role Models and More
Check out our blog! Over the next few months, we’ll be interviewing Dr. Grady and other women in AI and Data Science about their work, their career journeys, and what questions they have about AI. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Dr. Grady on Instagram and LinkedIn and from this video she made as she joined the faculty at NCCU.
The View: Women in AI and Data Science edition
What we’re reading, using, and finding inspirational here at Techbridge Girls.
- How are teachers using AI in the classroom? Here are a few examples:
AI Classroom Activities to Try With Your Students | Edutopia - Data Science is a central part of Artificial Intelligence, and it’s much more than that, too. Data Science is about observation, information, and communication. Here are two projects we love that show how different thinkers take a data science approach to daily life.
- In the Dear Data project, two designers observed different things in their lives (like hairstyles, emotions, and kinds of clocks), turned their observations into drawings, and sent them to each other as postcards.
- Dr. Kate McLean’s Sensory Maps help people understand their surroundings by paying attention to smells.
- As kids and teachers settle back into the classroom, here are some resources for helping students feel connected, grounded, and empowered: Resource Roundup: 11 Resources for Starting the School Year Strong – CASEL