Tech Trend 247

One socially conscious company is making your emoji keyboard a little less perfect in an effort to tackle food waste.

Hungry Harvest, a startup service that delivers "recovered produce" to consumers' doorsteps, has created a series of "ugly" fruit and vegetable emoji meant to get people thinking — and typing — about our preoccupation with aesthetically pleasing food.

In late September, the company rolled out Ugly Produce!, an iOS app that gives every user a package of new emoji, including a slightly misshapen strawberry and an imperfect potato.

Pretty produce is the standard in most U.S. supermarkets, meaning fruits and veggies that have visible variations from our standard idea of a robust apple or a snappy carrot are usually tossed. That means roughly 1 out of every 5 edible fruits and vegetables are thrown out every year — simply for appearing a little out of sorts.

Roughly 1 out of every 5 edible fruits and veggies are tossed every year.

This adds up to a lot of wasted food — but it's not only an American problem. About one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted or lost between the process of food production and consumption, worth around $1 trillion annually.

All this waste is disheartening when you consider the realities of hunger and food insecurity across the globe. But high rates of discarded food also have adverse impacts on the environment. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, organic waste is the second highest component of landfills in the U.S., contributing substantially to methane gas emissions that warm the atmosphere.

Hungry Harvest wants you to use its emoji to make an impact. But it isn't stopping with just an opt-in app. The company is taking its mission further, currently petitioning to encourage Unicode, Apple and Google to adopt the imperfect produce into their standard emoji keyboards.

While it isn't likely that these massive tech companies will change their faultless emoji fruit for something a little more flawed, iPhone users who want to make a difference can tackle the issue through tech. 

At the very least, it will make you think twice next time you scoff at a misshapen melon.

When 13-year-old Nathalia Lawlor was born, she seemed perfectly healthy, moving and babbling like any other baby. But at around six or seven months, she started to lose her coordination and ability to move. Once able to grasp small objects, she could no longer pick up pieces of food from her plate.

Nathalia was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that affects girls almost exclusively. Doctors said she would never be able to speak or walk again.

Rett syndrome occurs in 1 in every 10,000 female births globally, though there have been even rarer cases with boys (according to the National Institutes of Health, however, most boys with the condition die in infancy). The disorder typically manifests when a girl is 6-18 months old, and it inhibits many brain processes, including cognitive, motor and sensory functions. Those living with Rett syndrome are, like Nathalia, often unable to talk or use their hands, and in many cases they need to use a wheelchair.

Children with Rett syndrome didn't have a truly effective means to communicate.

Just a few years ago, children with Rett syndrome didn't have a truly effective means to communicate, says Nathalia's father, Joe Lawlor, who founded the Rett Syndrome Association of Ireland.

"Up until recently, we were using basic 'yes' and 'no' cards to communicate with [her]," he tells Mashable. 

This rudimentary means of communication didn't allow much room in terms of growth and development, preventing Nathalia from expressing herself and showing off her personality.

But Lawlor's family found something that could help. They turned to eye-tracking technology for an answer that might help Nathalia reclaim her ability to communicate.

Tobii Dynavox, a company based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, develops hardware that tracks a user's eye gaze and movements. This allows children with physical disabilities to operate a computer screen and communicate through different apps, moving their eyes between pictures and focusing on icons and commands to select them.

Beginners can start by playing simple games — popping balloons, for example — but they're encouraged to grow toward more significant uses. With one app, Nathalia's computer is connected to the lights in her home, so she can switch them on and off without assistance.

Ultimately, the technology gives children with Rett syndrome greater independence and control.

The potential to change lives

For many with Rett syndrome, eye-tracking or eye-gaze technology is a means to have their voices heard.

"When I first met a family with Rett's, it was about seven years ago. There was no way to communicate," says Tara Rudnicki, Tobii Dynavox's North American market president. "With eye tracking, it shows the fact that they are cognitively there. They understand what's going on, but they need something to interact with."

"With eye tracking, it shows the fact that they are cognitively there."

Rudnicki says Rett syndrome can strip away a child's ability to actively connect with their family. But this technology can bridge that gap.

"I can't tell you how many families have told us that. They have a sense of humor and can say how much they love their family," she says.

In April, Tobii Dynavox co-hosted an event with Lawlor and the Rett Syndrome Association of Ireland for teachers, parents, and speech and language therapists. The event focused on how they can use eye-gaze technology to teach and interact with their children, especially because there can be an extensive learning curve. 

"There are some kids who get it in 10 seconds, and there are some kids who take a year or 18 months to really develop knowledge of what they're doing and the skills required," explains Hector Minto, Tobii Dynavox's director of global services and education, and one of the event speakers.

"There's understanding what you're doing, and then there's physically learning to coordinate your eyes and make them work as a pointer," Minto says.

At the Tobii Eyegaze event, one family brought their young daughter, who has used an eye tracker for more than a year. Her father told Mashable that after using the technology for 18 months, and with the help of her teacher, she's now developing further communication skills to help her interact with her family and other kids.

When assistive technology isn't accessible

Not everyone has the opportunity to experience such success, however. One of the aims of the many Rett syndrome organizations around the world is to help make this technology more accessible to children and their families.

The cost range is broad: A basic eye tracker that can be used with a regular laptop for in-home use can cost around $200. Tobii Dynavox's most robust system, the I-Series+, which includes a monitor and built-in software and can be used in outdoor settings, costs more than $12,000.

"Having a child with disabilities is very expensive; it just takes a lot of money for all the extra needs."

"Unfortunately, it was cost-prohibitive," Lawlor says. "It still is very expensive, but through a lot of hard work, I was able to purchase one myself and show [Nathalia’s] school."

For some families, it's still too expensive, he says — especially when you factor in day-to-day costs of living with a disability, whether it's medication, education, transport or adapting your home.

"Having a child with disabilities is very expensive; it just takes a lot of money for all the extra needs," Lawlor says.

Making teachers and therapists aware of the technology, and proving that it works, is just one step. Lawlor hopes that governmental health care and education departments, in Ireland and abroad, will see the benefits of eye tracking for children with Rett syndrome and many other complex cognitive conditions — and ultimately fund the tech for schools and caregivers that need it.

But cost isn't the only issue. Because Rett syndrome is so rare, it's more difficult for families to get the care and services they need.

That's according to Elizabeth Halford, who works with UK charity Cure Rett and blogs at Grace for Rett about her daughter Grace, who has Rett syndrome. She says there are many hurdles that families have to clear to get access to the technology, like having to prove their children really need it.

The condition is still misunderstood, Halford says. She claims that most health services with funding for eye-tracking technology tend to distribute it to people with more prevalent conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and cerebral palsy.

A spokesperson for the National Health Service in the UK, where Halford lives, said that funding for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices is based on the "exact needs of the individual," but could not comment on cases of Rett syndrome.

Not a catch-all solution

While many eye gaze users have seen positive results, these devices are not a guaranteed solution to the communication barriers children with Rett syndrome face.

Dr. Daniel Tarquinio, a child neurologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, says that parents and teachers need to adjust expectations, as the technology cannot fully solve a child’s communication restraints. Families often put too much faith in devices too quickly, he says — using eye-gaze technology, then, is as much a learning experience for families as it is for the child.

"Just like sign language would be introduced to a deaf child, eye gaze should be introduced very early."

"There's no good way to verify that what [a child using this technology] actually did is what they meant to do," Tarquinio says. "Often … families get very excited early on. They try [the devices] for a while, and due to frustrations, they put them in a drawer," he says.

Every child is different, so every experience with the technology is going to be different, too. As a result, Halford believes eye gaze as a means of communication should be introduced to children like a new language.

"Just like sign language would be introduced to a deaf child, eye gaze should be introduced very early," she says.

Despite these challenges for children with Rett syndrome and learning how to use assistive technologies, Tarquinio says eye gaze still has great potential.

"I still have high hopes for this," he says. "I think the technology has the potential to benefit [children]. It's just that, [for] families that don't have guidance or have unrealistic expectations, those expectations will not be met."

The future of eye gaze for Rett syndrome

It's still early stages for this technology — education, awareness, price reduction and funding are all necessary for affected families to get the help they need.

Rudnicki, of Tobii Dynavox, says getting the word out is the crucial first step.

"We've set our mission out for awareness," she says. "Once we can hit that critical mass ... the next big thing for us is price reduction. That's obviously very important — we realize that."

"It's all about giving children their voice."

In the meantime, Tobii Dynavox is making additional products and software available at different price points to increase accessibility.

For the Lawlor family, the benefits of eye gaze have been profound for Nathalia, amplifying her voice and helping her establish her identity. They just hope more children and their families can benefit from the technology, too — and soon.

"It's giving them a right to communicate, and that's everyone's human right — to say how they feel, what they want, the basic fundamentals of life," Lawlor says.

"It's all about giving children their voice."

Twitter woke up this morning to a wonderful appreciation of #Blackgirlmagic, cataloguing centuries of achievements by black women with the hashtag #BlackWomenDidThat

Currently, only 1 in 10 science or engineering jobs go to black women (despite being the most educated demographic overall, according to the National Center for Education Statistics). But every day, more and more women break through the ranks. Read on to see how black women have paved the way for advancements in STEM throughout history.

1. Shirley Jackson, who allowed us to connect with loved ones from afar, and to screen their calls

2. Ola Orekunrin, England's youngest doctor

3. Claudia Alexander, who oversaw a NASA flight to Jupiter and the European Rosetta comet mission

4. Dr. Joy DeGruy, who studied the residual effects of PTSD in the descendants of former slaves

5. Alice Bell, a chemist who invented an injectable oil extract to treat leprosy

6. Mae Jemison, first black woman in space and frequent guest star on Star Trek

7. Dr. Katherine Johnson, the physiscist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory for humans to fly to the moon

8 & 9. Mildred Kenner and Mary Davidson, sisters who invented and held patents for the sanitary belt and toilet paper holder

10. Marie Van Brittan Brown, who invented the home security system in 1966

11. Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark, who along with her husband published research that showed the negative psychological effects of segregated schools 

11. Dr. Alexa Canady, who holds a patent to treat hydrocephalus, an abnormal accumulation of fluid inside the brain

12. Dr. Patricia Bath, who discovered ways to treat cataracts with lasers or ultrasound 

13. Octavia Butler, considered one of the important science-fiction writers of all time, and author of over a dozen novels

14. And finally, Bessie "Queen Bess" Coleman, daring aviatrix who was famous for her death-defying piloting  stunts

Inside a hot-pink classroom glowing with sunlight, 20 teen girls sit at refurbished desktop computers, tapping at their keyboards with laser focus. 

They're all coding — and it's a rare scene, considering the gender gap in technology around the world. But there's something additionally unexpected about this classroom: the teen girls inside live in Afghanistan, where cultural norms have historically blocked girls from school overall, let alone tech-based education. 

These girls are part of Girls Can Code, an intensive intro-to-coding program in Kabul developed by education-based nonprofit The Womanity Foundation. The global organization started the initiative to help galvanize and empower girls to pursue career opportunities in computer science. 

While various independent programs do exist in Afghanistan to get girls invested in coding — similar to other efforts around the world — they have never been affiliated with the public school system. Girls Can Code, however, has the Ministry of Education's stamp of approval. And that, the organization argues, makes a big difference in providing girls with stable opportunities.

Ultimately, it further proves that girls can code — even in the most unexpected places.

"Nobody in any public school in Afghanistan is teaching any kid to code — not boys, not girls," Elizabeth Rector, program leader for Girls Can Code, tells Mashable. "So this is brand-new as a school curriculum for public schools."

And it goes beyond coding. The Girls Can Code program also works to connect the girls with mentors and internships, and further educational opportunities in computer science like certificate programs and college courses. 

"Nobody in any public school in Afghanistan is teaching any kid to code — not boys, not girls."

Rector says this type of comprehensive support is done with a single hypothesis in mind — that it can be truly transformative. 

"With this program, we're trying to determine whether teaching coding skills at a young age can fundamentally change the trajectory of a young girl's life," she says.

Launched in April 2016 to coincide with the beginning of the Afghan school year, Girls Can Code has been implemented in two of Kabul’s biggest all girls' schools — Spen Kalai School and Al-Fatah School. Forty girls between the ages of 16 and 18 are enrolled in the pilot program, which runs until the end of the school year in November. 

The girls in the program were chosen because of their high performance in both math and English language classes. Those skills, Rector says, are essential for success in tackling a challenging coding curriculum. 

The program runs in addition to the girls' typical school day — two hours per day, five days per week. One of the participating schools runs its program before the regular school day begins, while the other school runs it after. By the end of the program, the girls will receive a staggering 300 hours of web development-based instruction.

"Think about your high school career," Rector says. "Would you have gone to a coding class for two hours a day, five days a week for an entire school year? That's a huge commitment. But the girls are really excited."

 The Womanity Foundation adapted the coding curriculum from a course at the American University of Afghanistan, usually taught to undergraduate students working toward bachelor degrees. It's intense and challenging, and not only teaches the girls the basics of HTML and JavaScript, but also advancing them to MySQL and PHP — coding languages Rector says are unheard of in any high school, let alone in Afghanistan.

"We really want to get all 40 students across the line — and that's not going to be easy to do," she says.

With the Girls Can Code program, the Womanity Foundation hopes to create something that can be scaled and replicated across Afghanistan, as well as other regions where the organization already has a presence, such as India, Israel and Palestine. 

"If you can prove you can do this effectively for teenage girls in Afghanistan, imagine what we can do in other developing areas," Antonella Notari Vischer, director of the Womanity Foundation, tells Mashable. "It becomes a great model for women's empowerment in education."

In 2002, an estimated 900,000 boys attended school in Afghanistan. Women and girls, however, were almost completely excluded from schooling, a precedence that stemmed from Taliban rule of the region in the late '90s and early 2000s. But thanks to educational development programs in the region post-Taliban rule, more than 8 million students are now enrolled in school in Afghanistan — and that includes more than 2.5 million girls.

Even with strides toward broader access to education, schooling opportunities for girls in Afghanistan are still somewhat uncommon. An estimated 1.5 million school-age girls are still not enrolled in classes. According to government figures, there is only a 12 percent literacy rate among women in the region.

While girls in major cities like Kabul may be encouraged to pursue educational opportunities, girls in more isolated regions of Afghanistan are often denied access to schooling in favor of providing for their families.

The Womanity Foundation has been working to improve the access and quality of girls' education in the region for nearly a decade. Its work has largely focused on working with local teachers, activists and children to develop an understanding of the needs of girls in the region and the cultural context. That collaboration includes essential feedback on programming, which is what inspired the nonprofit to create a vocational program.

"What we began to hear at the beginning of last year was parents and students saying to us, 'This is extraordinary. We really appreciate the support — but you need to help prepare us for the job market,'" Rector says. "That's really how we got to Girls Can Code."

But it was practical data that inspired the decision to design the vocational program around coding. Market research commissioned by the organization indicated that in the next five to 10 years, when girls would be entering the job market, IT-related jobs would flourish. 

"We saw the growth in technology jobs in Afghanistan while also hearing parents and students saying [they] need more vocational training," Vischer says. "The intersection was obvious. One of the programs had to be something in or around technology."

Not only is tech a growing field in the region and around the world, but it also provides girls with job flexibility — which is crucial, given Afghanistan's cultural context. 

"I can work safely from home, earn money and support my family."

The organization estimates 85 percent of jobs in IT in Afghanistan are available to women, with the majority of those allowing the flexibility to work at home. That makes a difference when navigating career opportunities as an Afghan woman, since women often aren't permitted to work in close quarters with men. 

"In my opinion, home-based jobs are good if they allow you to connect with the outside world," Vischer says. "And that's a positive part about IT jobs. They still open a window to the outside world."

Khadija, a 17-year-old student participating in the program, is aware of the limits of the job market for women in Afghanistan. But she hopes the Girls Can Code program will allow her to navigate current barriers successfully.

"The security is not good here [for a woman in the workplace]," Khadija tells Mashable via email. "If I know how to design and manage a project using technology, I can work safely from home, earn money and support my family."

From a Western view, one might expect difficulty in implementing a program that serves to empower girls in Afghanistan. In fact, Womanity staff expected a massive challenge in getting the program off the ground. Vischer says the group was prepared for pushback from the Ministry of Education and parents — and even disinterest from the girls themselves.

But that pushback hasn't happened.

"There's an image in the public that Afghanistan severely oppresses women and limits the ambitions women can have," Vischer says. "It's not true, and we'd like to deconstruct that. Girls are very ambitious and very eager to enter the job market. And, for the most part, their families are supportive of that. 

"There's a bit of resistance, but there is also a lot of support as well," she adds.

To the organization's surprise, the Afghan Ministry of Education — which acts as a gatekeeper for public school instruction — immediately saw benefits to the program. 

"There's an image in the public that Afghanistan severely oppresses women...It's not true."

Rector admits it may have helped that the Womanity Foundation offers schools infrastructure-related perks to support the program. Both of the schools participating in Girls Can Code received new tech from the organization to support the program at no cost, including refurbished computers. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education approved the initiative after only three meetings with Womanity.

Though ministry approval is essential, Rector says another key group had to invest in the project: parents. Though Afghan parents are often characterized as limiting their daughters' education, Rector says many of the girls' parents encouraged them to enroll in the first place.

That shift — from suppressing education under Taliban rule a mere 15 years ago to championing schooling for girls — is largely due to the work of nonprofits like Womanity, Rector says.

"There's no way we could have gone in, even with the Ministry's support, and introduced these programs without having a foundation of trust that Womanity has built over the last nine years in Afghanistan," she says.

Surprisingly, the most challenging part of the program was finding a woman to teach the girls. Since education for girls has, historically, been rare in the region, it was difficult to find someone who fit the hefty instructor requirements.

The organization wanted an experienced and determined local coding teacher who spoke English as a second language — and she needed to be a woman.

"The instructors had to be female, given the cultural realities," Rector says. "Could you do it with a man? It's possible — but there would be a lot more cultural and logistical hurdles to overcome."

Local universities aided in the search, and eventually the organization found 23-year-old Ms. Zakia.

"It is important for me to teach something that is so completely new and groundbreaking to the girls, and I find it most rewarding to observe how eagerly they listen, pay attention and ask their questions," Zakia tells Mashable via email. "They express their happiness and gratitude in taking this class, and I am impressed at how it has boosted their sense of achievement, self-confidence and aspirations."

And Zakia's philosophy, coupled with the coding curriculum, is working. The girls are spirited and inspired, according to the Womanity Foundation, seeing the potential of coding as a career. 

In that boldly painted classroom filled with computers and unwavering encouragement, students like 16-year-old Hasena are carving out a path once unimaginable to girls in the region.

"Before this class, my favorite field was health and hygiene; I wanted to become a medical doctor," Hasena tells Mashable.

"But now, I have changed my mind. In my higher education, I want to improve the skills that I have learned in this class and join the computer science field."

Editor's note: The last names of the girls participating in the Girls Can Code program, and the first name of their teacher, have been omitted to protect their identities.