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

Fri Aug 7 18:17:23 EST 2009

Donna

Some great links and readings there!
I was chuckling to myself that we have been talking about girls in IT 
ever since I can remember ...
16 years ago when I was at uni, it was a hot topic covered in my IT 
Method class!

:)

Margaret

Donna Benjamin wrote:
> 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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>>>>         
>>> --
>>> Dr Ken Price MACS ACCE Professional Associate.
>>> President, TASITE
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>>>       
>>
>>     

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