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S.T.E.M. Comics in Education #Predictions2015: An Interview with Gene Yang

December 26, 2014 by Matt Lam Leave a Comment

Gene Yang: 5 Fast Facts

  • Taught Algebra II math to high schoolers
  • Received his Masters degree from CSU East Bay
  • Compared, Secret Coders, his upcoming graphic novel to Hogwarts but with circuitry instead of sorcery
  • Observed, on a trip to South Korea with his Korean American wife, the country’s fully developed market of educational graphic novels
  • Fan (NOT) of any vegetable remotely related to squash
Gene Yang Comics in Education

Photo Credit: Gene Yang

SmartyGirlLeadership Press observed coding classes that filled up within 35 minutes of a social media posting by Devoxx4Kids.org in Norcal. For two consecutive weekends, parents of youth coders filled Saturday classrooms at Texas Instruments of Santa Clara and UC Berkeley’s Engineering building at BlackGirlsCode.com event to watch S.T.E.M. students animate characters on Scratch and build Lego Wedo robotics.

What might this surge in interest for kids to teach peers coding and dad-daughter workshop teams mean? Readers wanted insight from a S.T.E.M. education and coding comics expert who can explain why kids are doodling Big Hero 6 sensors and racing their parents to wake early on a Saturday for robotics camps. While one of our indie production crews covered the second event, Gene Yang answered a 20-minute phone interview request from our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol as our #Predictions2015 guide. A different indie news outlet, TaiwaneseAmerican.org spoke to Gene Yang in 2013. To hear about his American experience, see the video below.

Gene Yang, the 2013 National Book Award Nominee, gives us the FAQ on the history of comics in America, its use in K-12 education, his S.T.E.M. involvement, and what’s next since Baymax has hit Sanfrantokyo.

Frederic Wertham expressed concern in his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, about his belief that there was a strong correlation between juvenile delinquency and the reading of comic books. Gene Yang describes Wertham as a decent man who cared about the possible moral questions that the emerging horror and pulp fiction genre might introduce. However, Yang does not agree with Wertham’s conclusions. The examination of comic books as a social good or social evil for youth became a topic for the Supreme Court.

Even today with wearable tech and classrooms with requirements to BYOD as K-12 students, comics still suffer a stigma. Are visual narrative format books still “literature”? What makes real reading?

Gene Yang studied the use of technology and comic illustration for educating youth for his graduate studies. He observed real-life high schooler responses to his move from video lectures on Algebra II to comic panels illustrating the same math concepts. The result? His students preferred the format that allowed them to study Algebra II in graphic novel format. The advantages? Viewing the sequence, the logical progression. Self-pacing where the student could control the speed of information delivery and review.

Gene Yang S.T.E.M. Comic Avatar

Photo Credit: Gene Yang Avatar

A sure-fire way to get Yang to geek out in front of his students? In other words, his superhero weakness? Ask a question about comic illustration as an art and science.

Yang is modest and points the spotlight to his peers, the league of illustrators who have been using visual narrative to engage students in science, engineering and math for much longer. For instance, comics as teaching tools and recreational reading for youth in South Korea is commonplace.

As moms and dads in Norcal have commented, the new marketplace expects coding skills in our workforce so S.T.E.M. events and materials make our children (or Smarty Nieces/Nephews) competitive in the world.

Yang suggests Primates, and other education comic titles, as a Quickstart primer for the curious: What is a S.T.E.M. comic? In this example? Jane Goodall dropping science graphic novel-style.

This article was co-edited by Guest Media Intern SmartyFella Matt. Gene Yang’s interviewer? Renee, our Editor-in-Chief and eater of the most waffles in the Seattle office.

5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Spouse: Guest Post by Newlywed SmartyFella Topher Ellis & SmartyGirl Bethany

December 17, 2014 by Topher Ellis Leave a Comment

5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Spouse

Hello and greetings from me, Topher, and my wife and Bethany! It’s our pleasure to once again be guest bloggers for SGL. You might remember our last guest blog, 5 Secrets of Being a Great Gamer Boyfriend: A Guest Blog Post by SmartyFella & His SmartyGirlfriend. Since then a lot has happened and believe it or not, we tied the knot! So you might be thinking do things change now that you’re married? Do the same rules and secrets still apply? Well yes! The same secrets still apply but this time we’re going to share how they apply to being married. As your relationship grows and evolves, so does how you approach and handle things. Let’s get the ball rolling!

Secret #1

 

Screen Shot 2014-12-17 at 7.10.01 AM

Zelda-themed birthday cake by Topher & Bethany Ellis

Photo: Bethany made Topher a Zelda Theme Birthday Cake.

A little goes such a long way. What does this mean exactly and no, I’m not talking about Charmin Toilet paper where less is more. I’m talking about the little things we think that aren’t a big deal. Now as a gamer, I completely know what it means to be caught up in a part of a game where you’re glued to the screen or where you’re just having so much fun you’ll pretty much ask for five more minutes whether your wife is calling you for dinner or the house is burning down (let’s hope not!). And for all you out there that play games that don’t have a pause button or pause function (e.g. League of Legends, World of Warcraft, some kind of online rank game, etc.), I know how tough it is to pull away from those games. So what does this have to do with the little things going such a long way? Instead of asking for those five minutes to finish your game or to get to a more convenient point to stop for a bit, stopping right then and there says so much more to your wife. It’s not always the task that they want done but the fact that you put something down that they know you love to do something for them. This says so much more. Yeah you might die in the game, you might lose some points or have to start the level over but those things are tiny compared to impressing your wife and showing her she is more important than winning. But once she knows that she comes first, she’ll be right there doing whatever she can to help you win and get the high score.

Secret #2

 

Pokemon Cosplay Costume ideas

Topher Cosplay Costume as Pokemon Meme

Photo: Topher Cosplay Costume as a Pokemon Meme

Gaming can be very complicated. There are so many different genres and sub-genres of games that to someone who isn’t familiar with gaming could be completely lost. Bethany isn’t clueless when it comes to gaming and can tell anyone that my favorite games series are The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy but that’s probably as far as it goes and that means so much to me. I love that she tries to be interested every once in a while and will ask me questions here and there but one thing you should never do is make it a requirement that they know as much as you do about what you love. I’ll never know clothes, make-up and jewelry like she does and I for one hope she never expects me to know but I can time to time figure out what she likes and get her something based off of that. Don’t force your hobby on her and expect her to change.

Secret #3

 

Gamer Spouse Dating

Gamer Spouse Date Tophany

Photo: Bethany and Topher

Gaming posters have got to go. Now this might not apply to everyone but if you’re a hardcore gamer like me who loves displaying posters of all my favorite games and you’re wife… well… isn’t, you’ll know where I’m coming from.  It was cool having all your posters up in your college dorm or your own place but now that you’re married, some things have got to change and sacrifices need to be made. Some things mean more to Bethany than they do me and one of those things is how the house if decorated. Long story short, I get the hang up posters in the guest/game room and she gets the rest of the house. Now you might be thinking that I got the bum deal in all this but honestly I didn’t. She gets to be happy and decorate the entire house as she likes and I get one room? That sounds awesome to me. She’s happy and I’m happy that I only have to decorate one room and that she’s happy. That’s a win-win situation in my book. Remember fellas, you want to make your wife happy. You love games but you love her more.

Secret #4

 

Gaming Dating Marriage Tips

Sim Topher Selects Bethany Late Night Gaming

Photo: Late night Gaming but Bethany planned it

Late night gaming cannot happen every night. Like a lot of you out there, I work 40+ hours a week and she does too. And this one took me quite a bit of time getting used to. Before I ever got married, what I did at night was up to me and up to me only. If I wanted to stay up all night catching up on that giant list of games I have yet to beat than I was free to do so. I’m sorry to inform you fellas, once you’re married, that do as I please at night thing is gone. Now I’m not saying she owns you and gets to tell you what to do, I’m saying you need to think of her now. So this is how I worked this out with Bethany and it works out great! We try to plan out the week ahead of time. Not to the extreme where every minute of the day is scheduled but mostly just big things that are going on like work schedules, date night and guys, you’ll like this one, nights you’d like to stay up playing video games. If you plan it ahead of time, she won’t feel neglected and you won’t feel bad that she’s sad that she wanted to cuddle and you wanted to beat that part of the game you were thinking about all day at work. Some women just like to know that you’re next to them at night and they fall asleep easier this way. Don’t feel like she’s just trying to give you a bedtime. Plan those nights so it’s no surprise but also plan to go to bed when she does.

Secret #5

 

Photo: Topher and Bethany being ourselves

This one might sound familiar but it’s probably the most important. BE YOURSELF! She chose you. Bethany once said she was never going to date or end up with a gamer and years later she just happened to meet and marry me. Gaming is important to me but I’d give it up in a second for her and never look back. You know they’re the one when you can give up your hobbies and passions for her. But back on topic, be you. Be the nerd gamer that rants for ten minutes during the car ride about this awesome play you made in your game and she has no idea what you’re talking about. Be the passionate and enthusiastic gamer that lights up when you learn your favorite series are releasing a new title within the next two years. It those things that your wife loves to see. It’s those things that make her want to endure going in to a game store to find out what that game is that you want so she can personally surprise you with it. Guys, it’s also the same thing for you when you see her light up about her favorite things.

Photo: Bethany & Topher Ellis Spouse Team

Photo: Bethany & Topher Ellis Spouse Team

Whether you’re a gamer guy, girl, or you’re passionate about anything. These rules apply. Taking the time to know, love and care for each other is what will get you from one day to the next. We’re not the same person we were ten years ago, a year ago, a week ago or even yesterday. We are constantly changing and will be changing even ten years from now. You learn to love that special someone over and over again every single day. And like they told me on our wedding day, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, till death do us part, I will love her. I hope you enjoyed this! Take care and Happy Holidays!

Meet Black Girls Code SmartyGirls and SmartyFellas December 2014: Bay Area Interview (Video)

December 15, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Black Girls Code SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls Interview: Bacon, Curtz, Williams, and Evearitt from Renee Marchol on Vimeo.

Robotics Event Transcript

My name is Joe Bacon. I’m at the Black Girls Code at UC Berkeley. It is Saturday, December 13, 2014.

I’m Joyce Curtz and I’m here at the Black Girls Code event. This event is working with Lego. Every child, even adults, still play today with Lego. So I think it’s a very good kind of toy if you want to make girls familiar with the technical aspect of Lego. And by doing that they get more familiar with the tech industry.

By using Lego, having that as an introduction to technology and the technical industry, kids can get familiar by just playing with the toy. Playing with Lego, building something, creating something, and having something created at the end by putting little pieces together. Then the technical aspect of it can be programming something on the computer and then putting that together with the toy itself. Then the toy can do things. It can make noises, it can work, or it can move. Children like that.

They like creating that does something. They can say, “I did that! I did that!” In that way they play. What you’re doing is you getting them introduced to the technical industry because this is all part of the tech of today.

My name is Matt Evearitt and I’m the Director of Technology at Mercy High School in San Francisco. It’s an all-girls high school and what were trying to do is start off with a small program with about nine girls to learn about technology and to learn about media production as well to create equity in the industry. And that’s one of our main goals. So our girls are going to start learning off with block coding with programs like Scratch, and then they’re going to learn about Media Production and Podcasting later on. And eventually we’ll be running our own independent Media Production Club through the school.

My name is Jennifer Williams. I’m here at Black Girls Code at the Robotics Event on the campus of UC Berkeley. I decided to volunteer at the event as I can lend a hand today. My daughter is seven years old and when we moved back to the Bay Area I was looking for an organization to get her involved in and it was mentioned about Black Girls Code. I never really thought about sending her or exposing her to technical experiences and now that I think back on my experiences when it comes to S.T.E.M. science and math. In 5th grade I attended an event in San Francisco called Broadening Your Horizon in Science and Math where I was exposed to the sciences, mathematics and things of that nature. So it’s really interesting to see that that gap still exists between young girls and young boys that we’re still trying to fill that S.T.E.M. gap. So I think that the organization of this event as a great segue way to get young ladies and parents thinking about other career opportunities or other points of interest. Here we are in 2014 and there’s still such a huge disparity in the field of science and mathematics so I’m so happy to be here. I believe she’s having a super awesome time. She’s smiling a lot. She’s nodding a lot. She doesn’t want me to interrupt her throughout the day so I’m trying not to be Mommy and just trying to be a super awesome volunteer.

How to be an Anti-harassment Hero this Holiday Season: An Interview with The Unslut Project Founder Emily Lindin

December 11, 2014 by Renee Marchol Leave a Comment

Emily Lindin is the founder of The Unslut Project and a Harvard graduate. Like many, she is the survivor and overcomer of sexual bullying. When she was 14-years-old she was sexually curious and experimented sexually with a classmate. Unfortunately gossip spread  in her school and she was the object of name-calling. Her classmates, male and female, harassed her even telling her to kill herself. One incident included a school field trip where a boy grabbed her hand in a darkened theater and forced her to touch his privates. Emily did not receive the protection of her other classmates because the rationale was that she was a slut and did not have the right to refuse or complain.

Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol heard of SmartyGirl Emily Lindin’s anti-sexual bullying campaign while working alongside NuReality Productions, an indie documentary company in Berkeley.   The all male crew had respectful things to say about The Unslut Project so our blog readers wanted to know more about this social justice campaign. Our Editor-in-Chief has witnessed first-hand that #HeforShe allies are everywhere. Thank you, SmartyFellas!

Note: It is the strongly-held personal belief of our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol that individuals have sexual human rights including the “right not to be exposed to sexual material or behavior” and prior consensual acts do not mean “yes” to unwanted sex. Our Editor-in-Chief traveled from Seattle to Berkeley in order to complete an academic internship, in November, on the definition of consent through NuReality Productions’ documents.


Before Thanksgiving, Ted Talker Emily Lindin was willing to take our Editor Renee Marchol’s phone call for an interview and share the insights that follow.

Here are 5 Tips for Readers as Bystanders of Sexual Bullying

1. Listen without necessarily giving advice. Sometimes advice is warranted, but the point is that if you don’t know what advice to give, that’s okay – you can still be helpful just by listening.

2. Proximity is powerful. Sitting closely can be such a simple but powerfully affirming gesture. Emily shares that a then-acquintance, a female classmate on that same field trip, sat next to her to say, “I heard the rumors, but I think you are cool. Let’s hang out sometime.” Years later Emily says that acquaintance-turned-friend invited her to be one of her bridesmaids. The thought-starter? Support the bullied with your own reputation by showing: you are proud to have him/her for a friend publicly.

3. Allow for the possibility that the target of sexual bullying may take time to trust you. Someone who is sexually bullied has been set up for traps that lead to more mocking by those who pretend to be sympathetic only to add more torment. In other words, he/she may doubt your motives for showing solidarity (at first).

4.Choose in-person disclosure. If you are the target of sexual bullying at school or at work, consider finding allies offline. Why offline? On the phone or messaging, the hearer has the opportunity to be rude or dismissive with little consequence. Emily says, “In person, it’s that much harder for that person to respond rudely.” In addition, it reduces the opportunity for victim-shaming such as unauthorized forwards and gossipy shares.

5. Be mindful of timing for a show of solidarity or ally recruitment. Keep in mind that people are usually uncomfortable with sex as a topic. Victim-blaming still exists. You can’t control people’s responses, but you can take all possible steps to assure confidentiality.

Emily Lindin Unslut Project Ted Talks

Photo Credit: Emily Lindin TedxYouth@Toronto The Unslut Project

Follow @UnSlutProject on Twitter for more about Emily Lindin’s advocacy. Emily shares that she loves breakfast food, especially blueberry pancakes. She acknowledges that she has a really loud, unique laugh. She used to be embarrassed of it, but now she embraces it because it always makes other people laugh, too!

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