4-H students learn to make websites at Mann Library


Susanna Plotkin

Cornell University Library staff taught high school students from across New York state how to design and code user-friendly websites during a 4-H event on campus June 27-29.

It was the second year that Mann Library has hosted the three-day “League of Coders” workshop, part of the annual 4-H Career Explorations event that brought 500 students to Cornell.

The 4-H event aimed to expose middle and high school students to various career paths and academic fields in collaborative and hands-on settings.

The 21 students at Mann broke into small groups to brainstorm ideas for a website aimed at teenagers learning about women in technology. The students were taught how to sketch in order to quickly convey an idea visually and how to conduct user testing with a paper prototype. They also learned how to code a few key features using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

“The library plus every big tech company, such as Facebook and Google, uses these user-centered design methods,” said Darcy Branchini, manager of Cornell's Land Grant IT and one of the workshop’s coordinators. “It’s pivotal to better understanding users and addressing their needs when developing an application.”

- Susanna Plotkin '18