Linda Liukas
{{short description|Finnish programming instructor and children's writer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Linda Liukas
| image = Linda Liukas at the Data of Tomorrow Conference 2017 (23496747288) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Liukas at the Data of Tomorrow Conference 2017
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}}
| birth_place = Finland
| death_date =
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| occupation = Children's book author
| alma mater =
| parents =
| children =
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| website = {{url|http://lindaliukas.com/}}
}}
Linda Liukas (born 1986) is a Finnish children's book author, illustrator and an instructor for beginner programmers. In 2014, her Hello Ruby coding book for children raised $380,000 on Kickstarter becoming the platform's most highly funded children's book.{{cite web|url=http://www.inspiringfifty.com/linda-liukas/|title=Linda Liukas|publisher=Inspiring fifty|date=8 July 2015|access-date=14 September 2015 |language=}}{{cite web|url=http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tiedotteet/2014/11/lapsenpaiva.html|title=Ministeri Viitanen palkitsi lastenkulttuurin tekijöitä|publisher=Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture|date=20 November 2014|access-date=14 September 2015|language=Finnish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309182300/http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tiedotteet/2014/11/lapsenpaiva.html|archive-date=9 March 2015|url-status=dead}}
In 2013, the European Commission gave Linda Liukas the title of "Digital Champion of Finland".{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/digital-champion-finland|title=The Digital Champion of Finland |publisher=European Commission|access-date=14 September 2015 |language=}}
In October 2015, Liukas delivered a keynote talk at TEDxCERN.{{cite web |title=TEDxCern |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/linda_liukas_a_delightful_way_to_teach_kids_about_computers |website=TED |publisher=TED |access-date=14 January 2019}}
Career
When she was 13, Liukas first showed an interest in creating websites. In 2001, she made a page in Finnish about Al Gore, hoping to show him how much she admired his values, not to mention his looks. For the next ten years she studied philosophy, business, French and engineering but maintained an interest in programming. When she was 23, she once again became interested in the web. She co-founded Rails Girls, a site designed to help women learn basic programming. Thanks to her involvement, the approach has become a worldwide success, leading to workshops in over 160 cities.{{cite web|url=http://sdtimes.com/for-the-love-of-gore-the-linda-liukas-story/|title=For the love of Gore: The Linda Liukas story|author=Mulligan, Christina|publisher=SD Times|date=24 February 2014|access-date=14 September 2015 |language=}} Liukas also works with the online training platform Codecademy which provides courses free of charge.{{cite news|url=http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/9043-programming-became-a-fad.html|title=Programming became a fad|newspaper=Helsinki Times|date=22 January 2014|access-date=14 September 2015 }}
Liukas also started to learn the programming language Ruby but encountered a number of difficulties. She sorted them out by drawing pictures featuring a little girl called Ruby: "Whenever I ran into a problem that I didn't understand, I'd think 'how would Ruby explain this?'."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/27/hello-ruby-kids-coding-book-kickstarter|title=Hello Ruby kids' coding book raises $185k (and counting) on Kickstarter |author=Dredge, Stuart|newspaper=The Guardian|date=27 January 2014|access-date=14 September 2015 }} Initially Ruby was a side-line Liukas created for herself drawing sketches of the little red-haired girl encountering a snow leopard or sorting out problems with penguins and green robots. When Liukas showed her approach to her friends, they encouraged her to publish the illustrations and explanations in book form. After a number of revisions and improvements, the book was scheduled for publication on 6 October 2015.{{cite web|url=http://blog.helloruby.com/tagged/backerupdate|title=Hello Ruby: Almost there!|publisher=Hello Ruby|access-date=14 September 2015 |language=}}
References
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External links
- {{Official site|http://lindaliukas.com/}}
- {{Citation|last=TED|title=A delightful way to teach kids about computers {{!}} Linda Liukas|date=2016-02-23|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcxwcWuq7KQ|access-date=2019-03-27}}
- {{Citation|last=NGV Melbourne|title=Linda Liukas|date=2019-03-13|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUHRtHeTVJM|access-date=2019-03-27}}
- {{Citation|last=TED Residency|title=Linda Liukas: Crawling into a computer|date=2017-11-01|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNLhCelYdb8|access-date=2019-03-27}}
- {{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/11643191/Why-women-make-gifted-coders.html|title=Why women make gifted coders|last=Burn-Callander|first=Rebecca|date=2015-06-06|access-date=2019-03-27|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}
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Category:Finnish women illustrators
Category:Finnish women children's book illustrators
Category:Finnish women writers