Volume 1
Issue 1
16 March 1998
Gender
Inequalities in Education
The
Gender Gap in the Computing Field
Whitmore
High School: A Case Study of Computer Usage
Computer
Projects for Mother and Daughter
Expanding
Your Horizons in Math and Science
Computers
and Technology: Differences In Gender
Gender
Bias In Educational Software
Educational
Software For Girls
- Purple Moon: Thanks but No Thanks for Rockett's New School
- Girl Tech - Not Girl Friendly Enough
- Her Interactive
- Broderbund - Classroom Software Done Right
Computers
In the Classroom: What is the Effect on the Gender
Gap?
The responsibility for changing the gender gap in computting and in education does not lie wholly with teachers and students. It also depends on parents. Parents' expecations and attitudes towards their daughters heavily influences whether or not girls will go into non-traditional fields like engineering or science. If girls' mothers get involved in technology, they will provide their daughters with a role model and will assure them that it is okay, and possible, for women to deal with traditionally masculine tools like computers.
Projects for Moms and Girls to Spark Girls' Interest In Computers
An aritcle from the Association for Women in Computing cited a male computer professional who feels that women have problems with technology because "they are afraid to just try something new, without having seen someone do it before. Men won't hesitate to 'go for it' -- push the button, what the hell!" In order to develop this recklessness and experiementation in girls, the author suggested some hands-on projects that mothers could do with their daughters. The first is to buy a computer and save everything critical before leaving the store. Then, when they take the computer home, mother and daughter should reconfigure everything, messing around with the computer to figure out how everything works. The idea is that if they know that they can reload all the critical information in a week or two, they won't be afraid to mess up while learning. Another thing the author suggested was to get an old, junked computer and take it completely apart -- then put it back together. Many girls did not get this skill growing up, like boys did, and this would allow them to develop that skill.
The purpose of these projects is not just to cause girls to learn about computers -- it is also to build interest in computers and to build the skills necessary to deal with them. Furthermore, if girls can learn all this while doing these projects with their mothers, not only will they learn that they can get along with computers, they will learn that their mothers can too.
