The 11th edition of WordCamp Miami was held this past weekend, a three-day event that featured multiple learning workshops and six different tracks. The speaker ratio was 50% male and 50% female, and nearly half of the speakers were new to WordCamp Miami.
Another great year of amazing, diverse speakers! #WCMIA #WordPress pic.twitter.com/e2smmCpPAF
— WordCamp Miami (@wordcampmiami) March 17, 2019
One of the highlights of this year’s event were the WordPress stories coming out of the Kid’s Panel. WordCamp Miami has been hosting learning experiences for kids since 2014 and for the past four years has included a two-day Kid’s Camp along with a Kid’s Panel. More than 100 children (not including parents and guardians) attended this year’s event. Some of the kids who are more experienced with WordPress shared their experiences during the Kid’s Panel.
Kids reported that they using WordPress for blogs, science projects, and robotic competitions. One fifth grade student, who has been using WordPress for three years, said she plans to continue using it to document her life and share her future educational experiences:
“I plan to be using it later in my life when I go to college, so I can be talking about what my life journey was and what I’m going to be studying, which is software engineering.”
Listen to how a 4th grader explains why she likes using #WordPress. #WCMIA pic.twitter.com/Zd5cRP3Afg
— David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) March 17, 2019
Miami to Host New One-Day WordPress Event for Kids and Teachers
The growing popularity of WordCamp Miami’s kids events has inspired organizers to host a new one-day event for kids and teachers. The date has not yet been set but the plan is to have it scheduled for summer 2019.
The event will be divided into two tracks, one for kids aged 6 to 18 and another for teachers and educators. The kid’s track will include talks on WordPress, MineCraft, STEAM/STEM activities, and ways they can improve their coding skills. Teachers and educators will have a dedicated track with talks that will help them incorporate coding, WordPress, and broader STEAM/STEM activities into their curricula.
In their announcement, WordCamp Miami’s organizers said they believe the next generation of WordPress users are “vital to the growth of the open web.” They are looking for sponsors to cover the costs of snacks and lunch for approximately 100 students, volunteers and speakers to give presentations on various subjects for kids and teachers, and people to spread the word to schools in the Dade/Broward area.
Kids engaging with WordPress is one of the most inspiring things happening in the community right now. It’s the spark of a new generation of users who are embracing the concept of sharing their ideas on the open web. WordPress’ Community team also has a new Kids Event Working Group that kicked off last month to support the growth of these kinds of events around the world. They are currently working on documentation, training guides, legal documents, supply lists, and other resources. This is another way to get involved if you don’t live near a local kid’s event.
