Appening Rhondda
Girls in Tech Weekend
Only 17% of all those working in the digital technology sector are female. We have had some great male and female participants in our Appening Rhondda Game Jams and Tech events – as can be seen by the video on this page. However, although we have tried really hard to be as inclusive as possible, we have, until now only had about 20% female participation. To try and address this, we asked a group of female tech developers and coders to host an event exclusively for girls and women. Girls in Tech weekend, held in February 2020 was hugely successful. We had seven young female participants and five female tech developers – all keen to have fun with data, YouTube, statistics and coding – eventually creating their own websites which explored huge data sets around popular songs on YouTube. Most participants want to do more! Some will be helping host the next Tech weekends to be held later in 2020. Most also want to have a career in digital technology.
Girls in Tech Weekend at Webfibre
Game Jam November 2018
Rhondda young people creating mobile apps
for their communities
Appening Rhondda is a collaborative approach between schools, charities and private businesses to foster IT development skills in Rhondda young people.
It was created from the partnership working of Stronger Rhondda, an initiative to bring people and groups in the Rhondda Valleys together to answer local needs. The project was established to address the growing concern that many students are not being challenged in technology development. We found many young people with naturally developed skills in coding and design lacked the opportunity to explore those interests before moving on to 6th form, college or the world of work.
How does it work?
A group of 5-10 young people come together for a full week or a long weekend to allow them an opportunity to work under the mentorship of professional app developers and create an app from start to finish.
A typical Appening Rhondda development week consists of:
Day 1 – Meet the client and prepare development brief
Day 2 – Begin building the app based on the brief
Day 3 – Really get into the coding of the app
Day 4 – Finishing the app development and testing
Day 5 – Prepare marketing materials for the app
The weekend version usually does all of the above in four days!
Game Jam October 2017
Partnering with Coleg Cymoedd
Coleg y Cymoedd has teamed up with Appening Rhondda to provide an opportunity for learners and staff to experience the Tech Industry through Game Development.
There have been five opportunities already in 2018 to have a go at designing, coding and publishing apps and games for anyone with a mobile or tablet to use! A sixth opportunity is available this autumn!
Brush It - Kids Dental Care
Daily tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste is an effective means of helping to prevent tooth decay, but for many children cleaning their teeth or having their teeth cleaned does not form part of their daily routine. The students of Ferndale Community School have developed the Brush It App to help children practice the proper teeth brushing technique. We should all be brushing our teeth for 2 minutes at least twice a day using a fluoride toothpaste.
Developed in partnership with Little Ferns Partnership
Developers:
Keetran Bull
Ethan Bull
Nathan Oliver
Lingkuin Chen
Daniel Hall
Politically Correct App
The Politically Correct App helps explain where the laws, which affect all our lives, are made. Before we can challenge our governments and elected representatives to deliver the services we feel are important, we need to know who these people are and what they have influence over.
The Politically Correct App aims to outline whom is responsible for the laws that govern our lives and point you in the right direction to make sure your voice is heard by the people making those decisions.
The app was developed to support the ‘Not’ the Usual Suspects project run by the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales.
Developed by students from Treorchy Comprehensive, the app’s aim is to raise awareness about where our laws are made and help illustrate the roles different tiers of government play. Then, once you know which tier of government is responsible for the issues you care the most about, you can take action by making your voice heard by voting or starting a petition.
Developed by:
James Denton
Nicolaus Denton-Abbott
Samuel Lewis
Kyle Button
Robert Pengelly
Jackson Griffiths
SitFit - Armchair Exercises
Developers:
Samuel Lewis
Joseph Davies
Jakub Kupcik
Jackson Griffiths
Charities
Maybe we can develop an App for you
GTFM - Pontypridd Radio
Working with GTFM Community Radio in Pontypridd, students from Ysgol Gyfun Cymer in Porth created the GTFM Radio App.
The app was developed to improve access to the award-winning broadcasts from GTFM Radio. The South Wales Valleys offer geographical challenges for radio signals, meaning the FM signal transmitted from Pontypridd doesn’t reliably reach all the areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf. With the GTFM app, you are never out of touch with the best in community radio. You’re just one click away from local news and good time music direct from the heart of Rhondda Cynon Taff.
GTFM is the top radio listening choice of local residents and is an independent non profit station which is also a registered charity. GTFM was established in 1999 by local residents in Pontypridd, as a community project working with local radio enthusiasts.
Developed by:
Aaron Hopkins
Cerys Evans
Heather Turner
James Smee
Tyler Lewis
More Than Just Code
Appening Rhondda was devised as an opportunity for young enthusiastic technology creators in the Rhondda to create real solutions for their communities while working alongside professional developers to create mobile apps for charity sector clients.
Since it was launched last year, Appening Rhondda allows young people to spend a week working with a team of designers and developers to create a real mobile app which is released for free to download. They get to be part of the process from start to finish including meeting the client, preparing a development brief, building the app and finally marketing the app. This approach allows the students to understand the full life-cycle of developing a mobile app.