A short introduction to Computer Science and IT careers. Presented as part of the University of Queensland's 'Girls in Computer Science' event, run by Dr Marie Boden The full presentation with notes can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TssfGDeCLzg0tEVk7APLmdlbGcidg-oD7e3xzMGTYwY/edit?usp=sharing

1. Computer Science For Girls:
Be Brave NOT Perfect!
Paul Herring
MACS (Snr) CP
St Peters Lutheran College

4. The Middle-Skill job market:
“ … in the middle-skill job market, the world is increasingly
divided between
• the jobs that demand digital skills and
• those that don't - and the ones that don't are falling
behind.
• …the more significant impact on the middle-skill job market
is in the humbler world of everyday software:
• spreadsheets and word processing,
• programs for medical billing and
• running computerized drill presses.
• - to a large extent, a job seeker without the ability to use this
software won't even get in the door.

5. Reshma Sajani
• Girls are generally socialised to be perfect
• Boys are generally socialised to be brave
• Learning Coding can change this
• Reshma argues that girls need to learn to be brave!

6. Be brave not perfect:

7. Girls being Brave:
Talking Book for young writers on Tablets or Smartphones

8. Girls being Brave:
Web Sites for Clients

9. Girls being Brave:
Real World Solutions: Advertising Kiosks

10. Anna Emmerson:
Google Software Engineer & ex-student
”20 years ago, if you wanted to cure cancer, you would have gone into
medicine, but if you want to cure cancer today you should go into software
engineering. The possibilities are endless.”

11. Why Girls Need To Be Brave:
Because The World Has Changed:
We are at the beginning of a major Technology surge
A little new Science
Computing power
Increases/Moore’s Law
Data explosion
Democratization of
• Knowledge
• Digital Power
• Innovation
Leading to:
• Disruption of Industries
• Displacement of workers
• Dematerialization of the economy
Resulting in:
a) the Digitization of more and
more information, goods,
and services,
b) Globalisation
- telecommunications,
- transportation,
- networks and standards.
c) Intelligent Systems
– Machine Learning
& Robotics

12. The Foundation for Young Australians
Job Clusters: (FYA Research)

13. • There are some 13 transferable enterprise
skills that all the jobs in 1 ‘cluster’ share.
Portability within a ‘Cluster’

17. Half of all programming openings are
in industries outside of technology.
Among them:
 Finance;
 Manufacturing; &
 Health Care

18. Advanced digital skills will be
required for the future,
• ‘computational thinking’,
• ‘new-media literacy’,
• ‘design mindset’,
• ‘virtual collaboration’.
The ‘Second Machine Age’ will need
good skills in:
• ideation,
• large-frame pattern
recognition, and
• complex communication
The job clusters with the strongest
future potential are:
• The Carers,
• The Informers, and
• The Technologists
• All very much IT centric.
Basic Digital Literacy skills are needed:

19. Computer Science is fun!
• Corona SDK & Lua

20. Wolfram Programming Language:
img = this pic;
faces = FindFaces[img]
mask = Graphics[Disk[Mean[##],
First@Differences[##]/2] & /@ faces,
PlotRange -> Transpose[{{0, 0},
ImageDimensions[img]}],
ImageSize -> 1 -> 1]
blur = Max[Abs[#2 - #1] & @@@ faces]/5 - works
out size of largest face in pixels
- give 8.2
SetAlphaChannel[Blur[img, blur],
ColorNegate@Blur[mask, blur]]
ImageCompose[img,
SetAlphaChannel[Blur[img, blur], ColorNegate@Blur[mask,
blur]]]

21. Blurred Lines Faces

22. Year 10-12:
So what can you do Now?
• Evaluate the Job Clusters
• where do you see yourself
- your talents; skills; passions;
• Enrol in IT courses – ANY
• Lynda.com – learn a programming language
• Udemy.com
• IC3 (Digital Literacy) & Adobe Certification
• Get a part-time job in an IT-related area
• find part-time or vacation jobs working as a
technology volunteer for non-profits or other orgs
• Combine IT with any degree or diploma course you undertake after
Secondary School
• Develop your competency with the Top 10 Skills in 2020
& in the leading Digital Skills

23. 10 Digital Age Skills For Modern Students
• 1. Personal Branding
• 2. Portfolio Building
• 3. Online Searching
• 4. Proper Citation Practices
• 5. Image/Video Editing
• 6. File Conversion
• 7. Coding
• 8. Blogging
• 9. Presentation Building
• 10. Creating a Website

24. Year 8-9: New QCAA Curriculum
– starting in Year 11, 2019

25. Technology contexts:
• websites or web applications
• interactive media including:
 digital games
 learning objects
 productivity solutions/desktop applications
 animations and simulations
• intelligent digital solutions:
• ‘Internet of Things’,
• control systems,
• robotics and,
• wearable technology

27. QCAA Design Subject & IT
• Prototyping skills in digital modelling interface wireframe
• website simulation
• mobile application simulation
• virtual reality
• augmented reality
• 3D digital model
• digital presentation
• video with or without audio (sounds, music, dialogue)
• walk-throughs of environments
• short video loops
• animated information graphics
• animation

28. IT in Australia > 350+ different careers

29. Conclusion:
• Be brave not perfect – learn to code!
Resources:
• UQ Events
• Tech Girls
• WIT
• ACS Events
• My Scoop It (scoop.it) Site:
Computational Thinking In Digital Technologies
http://www.scoop.it/t/computational-thinking-
in-digital-technologies