Our newsletters highlight a variety of people, organizations, and resources that are doing work to broaden participation and expand equitable and engaging computer science and STEM opportunities. We are honored to work in this space along with so many talented and passionate individuals and want to help bring attention to their work.
This Week’s Spotlight and Project-Inspiration Theme: Women's History Month
Spotlight on Women’s History! This week’s focus is “Innovators”
For the next month, we will shine our spotlight on the contributions of women in history, culture and society.
This week’s focus is “Innovators”
Innovators see things others cannot. Their ideas can seem silly and sometimes
impossible to imagine. They think beyond our current capabilities and imagine a future
better than the one we currently enjoy. ‘Open your eyes’ and shine the spotlight on
these innovators.
Dr. Patricia Bath was the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology and the first African American female doctor to receive a medical patent. She invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment in 1986 which has been proven to help restore the sight of individuals who had been blind for more than 30 years.
Dr. Bath graduated from high school in only two years. Through her pursuit of a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University, she discovered that African Americans were twice as likely to suffer from blindness than other patients to which she attended, and eight times more likely to develop glaucoma. Her research led to her development of a community ophthalmology system, which increased the amount of eye care given to those who were unable to afford treatment. In 1976, Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that "eyesight is a basic human right."
Thank you, Dr. Bath, for ‘opening our eyes’ to new technology in eye care.
This week to celebrate Dr. Bath’s life achievements, can you use Scratch to make an interactive eye exam? Users could test their vision with letters that get smaller, and Scratch could let them know how many they get correct. Or maybe you could make an interactive biography highlighting her achievements. Be sure to share whatever you come up with!
Share Your CS to Go Projects!
How to Share: We invite CS to Go with Code Savvy participants to consider sharing your projects publicly with the Code Savvy and greater #MNCodes community via video with Flipgrid. We can’t wait to see what you create! Please be sure to follow online safety guidelines and get adult permission before sharing. You can find our Privacy Policy here.
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