[Yr7-10it] How to interest girls in ICT electives at middle-secondary level?

Fri Aug 7 17:37:09 EST 2009

Thanks Kevork - nice work.

Would be great to extend this informal survey and get a bunch of Yr 7-9s
responses... really interesting.

I've been looking at this issue from the other end lately... big
discussions are a foot about the low numbers of women programmers in the
open source community, and at LCA this year we ran a workshop
brainstorming ideas for encouraging girls to consider ICT careers and
hobbies.

You can view the notes taken here:
 http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_girls_into_IT

There are 3 great books to give you background info, stats and stories
on the underlying issues of a lack of diversity in IT in the Western
world.

 Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing by Margolis and Fisher 
http://tr.im/vPv7 

 Reconfiguring the firewall: Recruiting Women to Information Technology
across Cultures and Continents by Burger, Creamer and Meszaros
 http://anitaborg.org/news/archive/reconfiguring-your-firewall/

 Women and Information Technology: Research on Underrepresentation by
Cohoon and Asprey
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10924

Have any of you tried using Alice or Scratch in the junior years
 - how have girls responded to this?

http://www.alice.org/
http://scratch.mit.edu/ 

This is an important issue...  If girls just aren't interested in IT we
all lose. As Kirrily Roberts said in her recent keynote address on this
issue "You can teach programming; you can't teach passion or diversity".
http://infotrope.net/blog/2009/07/25/standing-out-in-the-crowd-my-oscon-keynote/ 

Role Models, Mentors, Tasks of interest, but also - look at your IT
classrooms - are there any images of women using technology?

Perhaps get some posters made up of women in TV / popular culture using
technology - Angelina Jolie from hackers, Trinity in the Matrix, Willow
from Buffy, Mac from Veronica Mars, Angela in Bones - do people have
some more recent examples?

The use of mobile phones in gossip girl could be interesting too... 

cheers
Donna

On Fri, 2009-08-07 at 11:02 +1000, Roland Gesthuizen wrote:
> Kevork is right .. social networking is a poweful driver. I had
> forgotten how much the girls I teach VCE to liked using the Moodle
> social forums and chat room.
> 
> How to channel this powerful energy for good (makes me sound like I am
> talking down to a super hero) .. is the challenge. :-)
> 
> Regards Roland
> 
> 2009/8/7 Kevork Krozian <K.Krozian at fhc.vic.edu.au>:
> > Hi ,
> >
> >     I just surveyed the girls in my Yr 9 IT class - about 10 girls out of 24
> > in class.
> >   The background was that in our school I had not a single girl in Yr 12, or
> > Yr 11 or Yr 10 IT .
> >
> > The question was :
> >
> >    What topics would make you choose IT as a subject in Yr 10 and onwards ?
> >
> > Answers were gathered anonymously to get genuine and authentic data. The
> > suggestions were:
> >     1. A dating website  ( came up four times )
> >     2. Something to do with fashion
> >     3. Girly stuff
> >     4. Easy stuff
> >     5. Working on our own, the way we like,  like this DVD project we are
> > doing
> >     6. partner activities
> >
> > This got me thinking that one of my most successful projects was creation
> > and querying of a dating database for Yr 11 a number of years ago now.
> > There are some clues here about what girls are leaning towards.
> >
> >  Just thought I would share this with everyone.
> >
> > Take Care
> >
> > Kevork Krozian
> > Digital Learning Manager
> > Forest Hill College
> > k.krozian at fhc.vic.edu.au
> > Tel: 0419 356 034
> > ________________________________
> > From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au [yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On
> > Behalf Of Kent Beveridge [kbeveridge at stbc.vic.edu.au]
> > Sent: Monday, 3 August 2009 2:22 PM
> > To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
> > Subject: RE: [Yr7-10it] How to interest girls in ICT electives at
> > middle-secondary level?
> >
> > A themed op system...now THERE'S something different!
> > Fact: I have more girls than boys in my Cert II class at year 10 level doing
> > I.T. Didnt plan it, it just 'happened'.
> > KB.
> >
> >
> > Kent Beveridge,
> > St. Brigids CSC, Horsham.
> > Ph (03) 5382 3545
> > http://www.stbc.vic.edu.au/
> > kbeveridge at stbc.vic.edu.au
> > "This email and any attachments may be confidential.  You must not disclose
> > or use the information in this email if you are not the intended recipient.
> > If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately and
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> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of ken price
> > Sent: Sat 8/1/2009 5:33 PM
> > To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
> > Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] How to interest girls in ICT electives at
> > middle-secondary level?
> >
> > http://hannahmontana.sourceforge.net/Site/Home.html
> > Hannah Montana Linux is a linux Operating system based on Kubuntu with
> > Hannah Montana Themes
> > You may laugh but install it on one computer and watch the student response.
> > Seriously.
> > Then tell them you can give them a copy to take home, for free. Might want
> > to warn them not to reformat the parents' computer in the process though.
> > ken
> > TASITE
> > On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 2:07 PM, Clive Oldland <clive_oldland at yahoo.com.au>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi All,
> >> Has any one got any strategies that have worked to turn around the gender
> >> imbalance in selecting ICT electives in middle years?
> >> I would be particularly interested in knowing how you pitched your
> >> elective to make it attractive to girls.
> >> Also, is ICT compulsory in years 7 & 8 at your school? Do you believe that
> >> contributed to better participation from girls in higher years?
> >> (I have been a subscriber since May, but his is my first post. Many thanks
> >> for the interesting conversations I have observed this year.)
> >> Regards,
> >> Clive Oldland
> >> Montmorency SC
> >> ________________________________
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> >> Association Inc
> >
> >
> > --
> > Dr Ken Price MACS ACCE Professional Associate.
> > President, TASITE
> > _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
-- 
Donna Benjamin - Executive Director
Creative Contingencies - http://cc.com.au
ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414
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