Transcript Using Internet Megasites to Foster Girls` Interest in Technology

Web 2.0 and GURLs
Presented by Dr. Lesley Farmer
California State University, Long
Beach
[email protected]
What’s the Situation?
Are girls interested in technology?
YES! About 67% of 9-12 year old girls do and
over 90% of 13-17 year old girls do
Do they use it the same way boys do?
NO! Girls use it more for education and
communication; boys use it for entertainment
So What’s the Problem??






Girls don’t like the computer culture:
They find programming to be boring
They don’t like the nature of most
computer games
They see few female role models
And their attitude becomes more
problematic when they hit adolescence
because of social issues…
… by the way, did you know that
parents are more likely to buy
computers for boys than girls?
What Happens in Schools?




Technology-enhanced projects are genderneutral or more male oriented.
Girls are discouraged from taking advanced
tech courses.
Girls lack info about the impact of technology
on salaries and promotions.
Girls tend to classify all tech jobs as
masculine.
Using the Web to Engage Teen
Girls
¾ of teen girls use the Internet.
 Business, organizations and education
build web sites to attract teen girls.
 Companies are selling “girlie” equipment.
 Marketeers are reaching out to teens to
get information about current trends.

Tips to Engage Girls with Tech
Provide choice
 Get the girls’ input – and act on it
 Make it social: encourage buddy learning
 Focus on communication – and human
relationships
 Encourage intellectual risk-taking
 Emphasize effort more than mastery
 Have fun!

Focus on Megasites



What happens when searching for “teen
girls and technology”?
Lots of news, programs, AND
megasites that link to many other web
sites:
a likely place for girls to start
surfing, particularly if they’re looking on
their own
What Do Megasites Look Like?

Pretty much the same: pages of text
arranged alphabetically, like this:
http://dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Teen_Lif
e/Girls_Only
… and pretty much to the same web sites.
 DMOZ is an Open Directory Project, and is
the basis for dozens of these teen girl
megasites.

What Are the Ten 10 Topics?










Magazines
Online communication (chat, blogs)
Advice … and gossip
Teen issues (relationships, appearance, selfesteem, drug abuse, etc.)
Sex
Health and fitness
Fashion and beauty
Entertainment
Recreation and pastimes
Occult
Runner-Up Topics






Sports
Current events
Money
Academics
Careers
… fewer than 10% talk about
technology
How About the Site Names?






www.gURL.com
www.girlslife.com
www.girlsplace.com
www.girlsite.com
www.girland.com
Can you tell them
apart?
1/3 of Domain Names include the
word “Teen” or “Girl”








How many ways can you spell
“girl”?
Girls
Gurl
Grrl
Grrrls
Girlz
Gurlz
… there’s also Babz, Chicks,
and Minx
Commercial Megasites
These are flashier, better organized, and
more fun!: http://www.go-girl.com
 The covert agenda is to sell products and
to gather data (through cookies, surveys,
etc.)
 Some are highly interactive, like this one
(can you guess who owns this?)
http://www.girltech.com
 The creator is Radica games (electronic
entertainment)

Benefits of Commercial Megasites
Some give useful info: health, teen issues,
technology support
 Tech industries partner with education and
government to prepare girls for tech jobs:
 http://www.ignite-us.org
 http://www.girlsforachange.org
 … just teach girls how to view them
critically

Organizational Megasites





Female advocacy groups have created some
very good web sites, although they’re not as
glitzy as commercial ones:
http://www.girlsbestfriend.org/artman/publish/link
s_girls.shtml
http://www.engineergirl.org
http://www.techup.org/
Girl Scouts has national, council, and troop sites
that focus on technology.
Government and Educational
Megasites
Education and government support teen
girl engagement in technology through
projects and web sites:
 http://www.smartgirl.org
 http://www.girlpower.gov
 http://research.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst
/links_girls.html -- I really like this one
 http://mercury.mvhs.net/resources/resourc
es_for_girls.html -- made by teens

Tipping Point





Female millenials in tech jobs
BinaryGirl.com
Blogging/webcasting
High school courses
More girls than boys have web
pages
What Can Librarians Do?
Bookmark megasites to attract girls when
they use the Internet – make them easy to
find!
 Include these megasites on school portals
 Link to projects that support girls’ career
exploration
 Alert the school community about these
megasites
 Develop learning activities that use these
megasites

References









American Association of University Women (2000). Tech-savvy: Educating
girls in the new computer age. Washington, DC: AAUW.
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (2003). Girls go tech. New York: Girl Scouts of the
U.S.A. http://girlscouts.org/girlsgotech/index.html
Hackbarth, S. (2001, April). Changes in primary students’ computer literacy
as a function of classroom use and gender. TechTrends, 45(4), 19-27.
Koszalka, T. (2002). Technology resources as a mediating factor in career
interest development. Educational Technology & Society, 5(2), 29-38.
National School Boards Foundation. (2003). Safe & smart. Alexandria, VA:
NSBF.
Notess, G. (2003, Oct. 13). Search engine showdown reviews.
Silverman, S. & Pritchard, A.M. (1999, Sept. 17). Building their future: Girls
and technology education in Connecticut. Digital Library and Archives.
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v7n2/silverman.jte-v7n2.html
UNICEF. (2003). Girls’ education: Focus on technology. New York:
UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/index_focus_technology.html
U. S. Department of Commerce. (2002). A nation online: How Americans
are expanding their use of the Internet. Washington, DC: U. S. Dept. of
Commerce. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/.