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

Mon Aug 10 09:08:26 EST 2009

Dear colleagues
I teach at a girls' school and surprisingly I don't have a problem
getting students into middle school IT.
I offer a semester unit each of multimedia and programming at Yr 10 - no
IT any earlier.
In Multimedia I use Moviemaker and SwishMax (a cheaper version of Flash)
and teach Visual Basic for programming.
I have had large classes for Multimedia and smallish classes for
programming each of the last 3 years that I have offered these courses.

My problem is getting students to select Information Technology units
1-4.
We haven't run a Unit 1-2 class for this study design and my last 3-4
class was two years ago.
As soon as the students realise that Multimedia and/or Programming is a
small part of Units 1-4 and that they have to study databases and
spreadsheets, they run away in droves.

And there is no way I could get a course on databases and spreadsheets
off the ground here.
----------------------------------------------------------------
With thanks
Michael Torsello
Director of Computing
St Margaret's School, Berwick
Berwick Grammar School, Officer
Ph: (03) 9703 8111

-----Original Message-----
From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Kevork Krozian
Sent: Saturday, 8 August 2009 8:12 PM
To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] How to interest girls in ICT electives
atmiddle-secondary level?

Wow Donna,

   This is really an awesome amount of research and information you have

sent on. Must get on to some of these asap.
The only immediate action I can think of for this semester is to bring 
forward my intention to teach Alice even if it is only for several
weeks.
It is a matter of finding and creating enough material to use . I will
start 
my search very soon.

Take Care

Kevork Krozian
kevork at edulists.com.au
www.edulists.com.au
Tel: 0419 356 034
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Benjamin" <donna at cc.com.au>
To: "Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List" 
<yr7-10it at edulists.com.au>
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 5:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] How to interest girls in ICT electives at 
middle-secondary level?

> 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
>> > delete the email and all copies.  The School does not guarantee
that 
>> > this
>> > email is virus or error free.  The attached files are provided and
my 
>> > only
>> > be used on the basis that the user assumes all responsibility for
any 
>> > loss,
>> > damage or consequence resulting directly or indirectly from the use
of 
>> > the
>> > attached files, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or
not. 
>> > The
>> > content and opinions in this email are not necessarily those of the

>> > School."
>> >
>> > ________________________________
>> > 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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>> >> Teachers
>> >> 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
> open source - facilitation - web services
>
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