Tips to Run a Hackergal Virtual Coding Club 👩💻
Hi there! My name is Mélissa and I am the Program Manager at Hackergal. An important part of my role is to help teachers to find supportive and encouraging ways to teach girls how to code! Sounds fun, right?!
One question I hear often is ‘How do I run a Hackergal virtual coding club?’
Here are my top 7 tips on how to run your own Hackergal Virtual Coding Club that really works!
1. Get Familiar with Hackergal’s FREE Learning Portal and Coding Resources
Before starting your coding club, make sure to explore the Hackergal Hub, your one-stop-shop for all learning resources! Planning ahead will ensure you are familiar with the following things to do:
✅ Onboarding Call with Hackergal
✅ Create a Lynx Organisation (School) Account
✅ Share the How to Create a Learner (Student) Account Video
✅ Join a Hackergal Free Webinar for Facilitators and Learner
2. Embrace Virtual Learning
With online classes becoming the norm, there are great resources on how to set up your virtual classroom. The basics you’ll need to get started include a computer with a webcam, a quiet teaching space, a good set of headphones (optional), and Hackergal Hub. You can use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet for your weekly meetings, using the online platform recommended by your organization.
3. Set Weekly Meetings and Make a Schedule
Keeping learners’ attention can be challenging in-person and even more so online, so schedule meetings that are about 45–60 minutes. To set learners for success, share a calendar or send meeting invites (with link) with time and dates of meetings, that way they know what to expect.
4. Engage Your Learners
How can I keep learners engaged and interested when teaching remotely? Hackergal encourages project-based learning by giving learners voice and choice. With project-based learning, it’s important to think about what your learners will produce by the end of the project and give them options so they can code something meaningful to them.
Make sure to have clear expectations and intentions. If learners know where they’re going, they can work towards that goal, so make sure to co-create success criteria with them. Here is a visual to help you understand the Hackergal project-based learning cycle.
If you are interested in learning more about encouraging voice & choice when introducing code virtually, communicate with the Hackergal Edu Team to book a virtual workshop!
5. Create an Open and Positive Learning Environment
Empower learners to drive their own learning with the support of your virtual Hackergal community. Here’s how to create collaborative virtual meetings:
✅ Encourage learners to answer each other’s questions
✅ Problem-solve together and make mistakes
✅ Screen-share learners project
✅ Plan learner-led mini-lessons
✅ Plan facilitator-led mini-lessons
✅ Create groups and have breakout rooms
✅ Offer Positive feedback and individual or small group check-ins
6. Celebrate Learners Progress
Since learners are not physically in the same space, it is important to celebrate everyone’s progress and showcase their hard work. Here are some ideas on how learners can showcase their coding projects:
👍🏽 Develop a virtual gallery of learner projects
👍🏽 Create video recordings of learner project
👍🏽 Invite learners to teach a coding lesson for another class/school
👍🏽 Invite parents to join a club meeting to see their children’s projects
7. Be Flexible
Expect hiccups when running your virtual coding club. Have a backup plan in case technical issues arise. During your first meeting, make sure to discuss the possibility of running into technical problems and give possible examples and solutions to your learners. Learning how to troubleshoot and how to handle mistakes is all part of virtual learning. Discuss the following questions with your learners:
🖥 What to do when the internet is not working properly?
🖥 Who to communicate with when having technical difficulties?
🖥 How to learn at your own pace?
Happy coding!
From Mélissa
melissa@hackergal.org
