TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP LED BY GIRLS
Every year, Technovation challenges girls all over the world to build a mobile app that will address a community problem. Since 2010, over 3,000 girls from 28 countries have submitted to Technovation, thanks to dedicated volunteers around the world.
Girls do not need to have programming experience to participate, and Technovation is free for any girl who wants to participate.
VOLUNTEER DRIVEN SUCCESS
Technovation’s success in changing girls’ attitudes about technology and entrepreneurship relies on local volunteers.
Volunteer Coaches recruit teams of girls to work with female mentors. Together, they come up with an app idea, conduct user research, create a business plan, and build the app prototype. Leaders from the technology and business sectors judge the submissions and provide feedback to the teams.
BE A STUDENT
Become a technology entrepreneur and develop a mobile app prototype that solves a real problem in your local community. Teams of up to 5 girls work together to research, design, and build a mobile app prototype, working with a female mentor in technology or engineering. Then they pitch their apps to prospective investors and receive feedback and ideas from technology industry professionals. Most teams use MIT’s App Inventor to build their prototypes. Learn more:watch a few interviews with alumnae - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISeOIchChpY
No prior coding or app development experience is necessary.
BE A TECHNOVATION COACH
Technovation Coaches are school teachers, parents, or community leaders. They recruit teams of girls to participate in the program, provide a safe space with internet access where they can work, coordinate with the mentors, and supervise the girls through their Technovation journey.
Technovation Coaches who are also school teachers often supervise their teams in the classroom after school. Some teachers have also incorporated Technovation’s curriculum into their classroom work. Technovation’s curriculum is based on the ISTE student standards of technology.
No prior coding or app development experience is necessary to be a coach.
COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
About 60 hours: recruit and supervise students, coordinate mentors and meeting space, ensure internet and computer access, and oversee teams as they complete the curriculum
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Ready to be a leader in the Technovation movement? Sign up and make it official!
GET STARTED
Check out some of the resources to help you on your journey.
BE A MENTOR
Mentors are professional and postgraduate women who feel comfortable learning new technologies and are passionate about helping girls become leaders. Girls look to their mentors as role models on how to overcome obstacles during and after their Technovation journey. Some mentors choose to work in teams to provide complementary skill sets for the girls.
Mentors are not expected to know have all the answers. Instead, they learn with their teams and help them to persevere when they encounter difficulties. Mentors can guide the teams through the problem-solving process, and afterwards, girls will be more confident overcoming similar challenges by themselves in the future.
No prior coding or app development experience is necessary to be a mentor.
COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
25-50 hours: 2 hours per week for 12 weeks from Jan through Apr 2016; or co-mentor and share the commitment with another mentor; be comfortable learning new technologies; be a role model for girls.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Ready to share your experiences and be a part of the Technovation movement?Sign up and guide girls through their Technovation journey.
GET STARTE
Check out some of the resources to help you on your journey.
BE A REGIONAL AMBASSADOR
Regional Ambassadors may be community leaders, technology leaders, or parents. They volunteer to recruit teams of young women, coaches, and/or mentors to participate and coordinate local Technovation events.
Are you interested in being a regional ambassador for your area? Start by reading through the Starter Kit and recruiting teams of students from your area. If you expect to be able to recruit at least 10 teams from your region, please apply to be the official Regional Ambassador for your community. Official regional ambassadors are listed on the About page and have access to special trainings, marketing materials, registration counts, and other resources from the Technovation team.
COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Minimum of 10 hours in the Autumn; Recruiting teams of Technovation participants in your area (coaches, students, mentors); Being the local brand Ambassador for the Technovation movement; Coordinating local Technovation events for participants.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Ready to lead the movement where you are? Apply here and Technovation will follow up with more details.
GET STARTED
Already signed up? Check out the resources that can help get you and the movement kickstarted where you are!
App Inventor Resources
For students new to computer science, we recommend building your App Prototypes using MIT’s App Inventor. Learn more about App Inventor and start exploring the tutorials to get a head start on the technology. You can find additional tutorials on the App Inventor site. If you’re having trouble getting set up, you can find some troubleshooting tips here. Once you’ve gotten going, you can dig deeper into the App Inventor concepts, blocks, components, and eventually share your app when you’re ready. In addition to the App Inventor website, you can also find the App Inventor 2 book as another resource.
If none of these documented resources have the answers you’re looking for, the MIT App Inventor forum is a great place to discuss and find possible solutions.
Technology Needed
- Internet access
- Gmail account – This is what you’ll use to log into App Inventor at ai2.appinventor.mit.edu.
- Computer (Recommended Mac OS X v10.7 or newer)
- An Android phone (Recommended Ice Cream Sandwich version 4.0 or newer) Here are some reasonably priced options from Amazon:
- Motorola Android
- Samsung Android
2016 Judging Rubric
Find out what the Technovation Judges will be looking for by reviewing the 2016 Judging Rubric
Official Rules
See the Official Program Rules to find out more about Technovation.
Take Tech Company Field Trips
If there are technology and/or engineering companies in your local community, arrange a field trip for your team(s). You can also go on virtual field trips: look for the “What is it like to work at…” videos on the Technovation YouTube Playlist and learn about working at some of the most influential technology companies on earth.
Review the Parents Guide
Learn more about what to expect if your daughter decides to participate in Technovation by reading the Parents Guide and reviewing the consent forms required for student participation.
Finding a Mentor or Coach
Though not required, we recommend that each team have a female mentor to support and act as a role model for her team. If you are not able to find a mentor in your area, consider connecting with a virtual mentor who can meet with your team via Skype or G+ hangout. Virtual mentorship may open your team’s network outside of your state or even country if no local option is available. Here are some tips for finding a mentor.
A classroom teacher can support teams as a coach at his/her school site. Alternatively, teams can meet in an after-school setting, such as Girl Scouts, YMCA, or other youth centers where another adult fills the role of a coach.
Starter Kit Document
Questions still left unanswered? You can find everything that’s listed here and more in the Technovation Starter Kit. In that document, you can find tips about everything from running workshops to recruiting mentors.
Running a Girls Make Apps Workshop
Check out the Girls Make Apps Workshop Guide for tips and tricks from our team and people who have run workshops in the past, along with a sample schedule and FAQs. If you have something to add after running a workshop of your own, let us know at info@technovationchallenge.org — we’d be happy to share.
Starting a Technovation Club at your school
Check out some tips on our Technovation Clubs page.
Looking for the weekly emails?
Everyone who signs up for Technovation is added to our mailing lists, but because not every participant starts on the same day, we’ve started archiving our emails here. Check it out to see what you might have missed. (If you’re not receiving our emails at all, the promotions folder and spam folders are a great place to check first! If you don’t see them there, but want to be added to the list, get in touch with us at info@technovationchallenge.org)
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.technovationchallenge.org/