The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) will host its Girls Coding Collaboration on Wednesday, Jan. 8, to help close the gender gap in technology by providing more computer science opportunities to elementary, middle, and high school girls in San Joaquin County.

The event is part of a growing movement to encourage girls’ interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and prepare them to succeed and embark on traditionally male-dominated careers by creating clear pathways and strong support networks. The second-annual event is a collaboration with the national Girls Who Code nonprofit, SJCOE STEM Programs, and CodeStack, the SJCOE’s software development department.

More than 100 students, educators, and other adults have registered for the event. The students will participate in engaging coding activities focusing on videogame development in the FabLab, the SJCOE’s high-tech makerspace and STEM education center. They will also learn from two keynote speakers, women who have already made their mark in technology careers: Connie Liu, mechanical engineer and founder of Project Invent; and Jackie Xu, Facebook software engineer.

Attendees will also learn how to further engage students in coding by starting a Girls Who Code club at their own school sites.

The Girls Coding Collaboration runs Wednesday, Jan. 8, from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The schedule includes: 4 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. – Opening remarks and keynote speakers; 4:40 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Students, will create a simple video game, construct a game controller, and use MineCraft Education to design a level.

This event will be hosted at the San Joaquin County Office of Education FabLab, Career Technical Education Center, 2911 Transworld Drive, Stockton.