Jacquelyn C. Hurst

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Girls Just Wanna Compute

• Jacquelyn C. Hurst
• Educating Girls in the Tech Age A Report on
  Equity
• Sharon Schuster
• http//www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech028.shtm
  l

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• Equity issues in technology are not only faced by
  low income and minority children. Perhaps the
  biggest equity issue that I face as a teacher is
  one of gender equity, how to encourage and
  promote technology use by girls of all ethnic and
  socio-economic backgrounds. As a teacher I see my
  female students at a disadvantage when working in
  the computer lab or in the classroom with
  technology. When asked to choose between projects
  that utilize technology, iMovie, digital or movie
  camera, Photoshop, scanners, PowerPoint, etc., or
  using posters, hand drawn illustrations, low
  level word processing, or pen and pencil, they
  often choose the low level methods rather than
  utilizing technology. How we identify and
  address girls so that we may encourage and assist
  them to become technically savvy women is the
  focus of this presentation. Girls are not well
  represented in advanced technology classes and
  they are not choosing careers in technology. What
  are the ways that we can promote gender equity
  for girls in computer education and technology?

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• Research Findings Girls find programming
  tedious Computer games violent and
  redundant Computer careers uninspiring

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• What to Do About It
• Need to use technology proactively
• Show use across curriculum
• Choose and use relevant topics and activities

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• What to Do About It
• Understand and interpret
• information that technology
• makes available
• Develop content applications that use technology
• Use multilevel software

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• What to Do About It
• Understand design concepts to become a lifelong
  learner of technology
• Encourage multiple approaches to learning
• Encourage girls to see themselves as designers,
  not just users

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• Teacher Training
• Teach tinkering activities that let learners
  experiment
• Teach tinkering activities that let
  learners experiment with technology
• Technology must be relevant for nontraditional
  users and learners

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• Teacher Training
• Focus on innovative uses of computing
• Literacy includes skills in literacy, numeracy,
  cognitive science, problem solving, analysis, and
  logic
• Hardware and software skills are minor

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age

• Teacher ResourcesAmerican Association of
  University Women Educational Foundation Commision
  on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education
  Tech SavvyEducating Girls in the New Computer
  AgeExecutive Summary of Educating Girls in the
  New Computer Age
• Techbridge Encouraging Girls in Technology,
  Sponsored by the Chabot space and Science
  CenterTechbridge Encouraging Girls in
  Technology, A project from the National Science
  Foundation to increasing the pursuit of women in
  technological fields. InGearDavid Sadker, Ed.D.
  Equity Primer and Gender Bias Equity
  PrimerChanging Girls' Attitudes About
  Computers, from the Educational CyberPlayground,
  Changing Girls Attitudes About Computers
  National Academy Engineering, Girl
  EngineeringGirl Power, sponsored by the
  US.Department of Health and Human
  ServicesU.S.Department of Health and Human
  Services focuses on encouraging and motivating
  girls in technology. Girl Power Technology

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Educating Girls in the Tech Age