technology
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I have found that talking technology is so boring to some girls that it
actually puts them to sleep. I have to admit when my husband talks his
engineering technologies to me, I find myself thinking about other things.
I am just not interested in manufacturing technology like he is anymore. I
am however very interested in technology when I update my site, design a
site for a friend, play with graphics, make invitations for a party,
conduct
research or skim news articles that interest me. I think the key to
getting the majority of girls interested in computers and technology is to
connect them to something that interests them. It will be different for
each girl, fashion designing for one, biology and medicine for another.
They
should be given the opportunity to see technology at work in their area of
interest. I don't know how fashion designers use their computers, but I
bet
that they use them daily.
I have a very feminine 4 1/2 year old daughter who only wants to get on the
computer to play her Barbie game, or to go to one of the sites she hears
advertised on TV ( PBS.org, cartoonnetwork.com, etc. ). I am grateful for
Barbie, otherwise she would not know how to navigate a computer. She only
gets to play her Barbie game when we visit my sister who lives an hour
away.
Barbie does not operate on Windows NT or 2000( which is standard on our
computer and 2 laptops)! But neither do any of the other computer games
that she likes. Someday I will buy her a computer of her own that operates
on Windows 98 so she can play all the games she wants. I think access to
computers is very important. So until she gets her own, I'll take her once
a
week to the library where she can play with their gender neutral games. I
don't know if my daughter would be interested in computers if I didn't
remind her that they exist and give her access to the computers as freely
as
I can. My daughter and I couldn't be more different in our likes thus far.
Giving girls access and a connection to their personal interests is
important in getting girls interested in computers.
The topic is technology and equity, but I am going to finish by adding to
it
by stating that technology and equity don't mean a thing if our daughters
aren't able to reach the heights that their male counterparts are reaching.
The problem is not in some invisible glass ceiling, it is in the lack of
information on how to succeed as a woman in any given field. All of the
standards for success were made by years of men succeeding in what they do.
I would like to think that women can learn a new game and play it well
enough to reach the top in any field we choose. There is still a lot to
learn.
Dawn Nocera
mailto: dawn@educatingjane.com
Founder/Director
www.EducatingJane.com
5485 Nash Place
Westerville, OH 43081
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