I, Joy Forbes (formerly Kesten), earned a Masters in Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2011 and began teaching right away.
While in Santa Barbara, I took an interest in computers and how they work. To satisfy my desire to learn more about technology, I sought out the guidance and support of Wayne Iba, head of the Computer Science (CS) department at a private college near Santa Barbara. Shortly after diving into the world of CS, I began working with EdTech companies in Silicon Valley and quickly moved back to my childhood stomping grounds in the Bay Area. You can find my courses for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Digital Literacy, How the Web Works, How the Internet Works and How Computers Work on Treehouse; or listen to my webcast on the Sonic Pi language on O'Reilly, and check out my STEAM projects, website and design lab on the Purcell Design Lab website; or purchase one of my lessons on Teachers Pay Teachers. Currently I'm writing and developing Swift Playgrounds books, for Apple. One day I will continue writing my book series that gives a narrative to young girls who want to break into web development. This website is meant to offer students and teachers a free list of resources and ideas. Enjoy! |
Articles about Joy:
Portland Business Journal Providence Journal Edumuch Articles written by Joy: When should kids Learn to Code? How to kids learn tech? Tips to get Your Child Coding It’s Time to Join the Hour of Code Intelligent Toys: a Guide for Parents Articles that include Joy: Al Jazeera Mashable Society of Women Engineers High School Student Prepares for the Future with Treehouse PR Newswire |
Conference Presentations:
Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association Speech Description: Treehouse in the Classroom An introduction to using Treehouse to support technology education in your classroom or after-school program. Teachers learned how to use the tool, got an overview of supplemental lesson plans, as well as mock classroom demonstrations. Oregon Science Teachers Association Speech Description: Software and CC Math and Language Arts Students will use cloud-based tools, such as Scratch, Khan Academy's JavaScript, and Treehouse to demonstrate their understanding of Math and Language Arts Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and ISTE Standards for technology. Blended teaching replacement lessons and projects as well as tools to get you started. Rev Up! 18th Annual Region 5 After School Conference Speech Description: Today’s Students are Tomorrow’s Developers! Become acquainted with new coding curriculum for middle and high school aged students. Treehouse’s self paced program challenges students to collaborate and solve problems in fun and interesting ways. Students learn to build websites, mobile apps and more! |
WorkShops, Webcasts, and Events:
O'Reilly webcast - "Sonic Pi on the Raspberry Pi"
Leysin American School Switzerland - Teacher Workshop on programming in the classroom
Hour of Code Assemblies and Student Events - Bel Aire Elementary 2013, 2015, 2016
Twitter Headquarters- Bring Your Kids to Work Day programming workshop for kids
eBay and Treehouse teamed up with eBay for a Changing the Ratio event. The girls from Girls Inc as well as sponsorship from ChickTech and Clinton Global Initiatives made the evening a night to remember. Joy Kesten and three designers from eBay lead an hour long coding lesson, followed by an extended adult networking evening all at eBay. View pictures here.
Girls Inc, ChickTech, and Clinton Global Initiative teamed up with Treehouse to close the gender gap and place more women in technology positions through Changing the Ratio. It was a great event of inspiring talks and Joy Kesten lead a hands on coding experience for the girls. View pictures here.
iInspire Workshop - Teaching Teachers How to Teach Coding - Reed Union School District - 2014
Chabot Elementary Family Coding Night - Computers, tablets, smart phones: Our children live in a very different world than we did as kids. It is one thing to know how to use technology, but it’s another to understand the logic behind it. Coding will be an important skill in creating change in the future, as students will need to be able to not only consume, but understand and control technology. All grades and skill levels were welcome. See picture on Twitter here.
Westmont College Visit, Santa Barbara - CS class Q and A sessions about the tech industry
O'Reilly webcast - "Sonic Pi on the Raspberry Pi"
Leysin American School Switzerland - Teacher Workshop on programming in the classroom
Hour of Code Assemblies and Student Events - Bel Aire Elementary 2013, 2015, 2016
Twitter Headquarters- Bring Your Kids to Work Day programming workshop for kids
eBay and Treehouse teamed up with eBay for a Changing the Ratio event. The girls from Girls Inc as well as sponsorship from ChickTech and Clinton Global Initiatives made the evening a night to remember. Joy Kesten and three designers from eBay lead an hour long coding lesson, followed by an extended adult networking evening all at eBay. View pictures here.
Girls Inc, ChickTech, and Clinton Global Initiative teamed up with Treehouse to close the gender gap and place more women in technology positions through Changing the Ratio. It was a great event of inspiring talks and Joy Kesten lead a hands on coding experience for the girls. View pictures here.
iInspire Workshop - Teaching Teachers How to Teach Coding - Reed Union School District - 2014
Chabot Elementary Family Coding Night - Computers, tablets, smart phones: Our children live in a very different world than we did as kids. It is one thing to know how to use technology, but it’s another to understand the logic behind it. Coding will be an important skill in creating change in the future, as students will need to be able to not only consume, but understand and control technology. All grades and skill levels were welcome. See picture on Twitter here.
Westmont College Visit, Santa Barbara - CS class Q and A sessions about the tech industry