Friday Five - Finding Ada (Role Models of Women in Tech)

How quickly can you answer the question "Who are the leading women in tech?"

This week's Friday Five will not only help you anwer this question, but will also challenge you to contribute to the number of female role models students and adults are exposed to as they explore the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. (often referred to as S.T.E.M.)

How many of you had Ada Lovelace's name at the tip of your tongue?

Ada Lovelace wrote the world's first computer program for the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software. Ada died an early death in 1852 at the age of 36 and never had a chance to explore her understanding of computing. The high level computer language "Ada" developed by the U.S. Department of Defense was named after her.

If you were not familiar with Ada's significant contribution to the computer world or had trouble naming at least 10 leading women in tech, this week's Friday Five will serve you well. It includes a list of sites where you can easily locate names, pictures, stories of female role models to share with your students or colleagues. And best of all the list is about to expand exponentially!

March 24, 2009 has been designated as Ada LoveLace Day, an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. On that day, thousands of bloggers have pledged to publish a blog post about a women in tech who they admire using the tag AdaLovelaceDay09 for Delicious, Technorati etc. or #ALD09 for Twitter.

The data continues to show that the challenge of attracting women into technology related careers continues. While the causes are complex and the solutions are many, everyone agrees that female role models have a huge impact on the career choices of girls.

“Outstanding women can function as inspirational examples of success,
illustrating the kinds of achievements that are possible for women around them.
They demonstrate that it is possible to overcome traditional gender barriers,
indicating to other women that high levels of success are indeed attainable”,
(Penelope Lockwood, University of Toronto)

One of the most rewarding activities I organize to provide girls exposure to female role models year are the Power Lunch with Women in Tech offered at annual TechSavvyGirls activities. The female role models who attend continue to talk about the value they feel being able to offer advice and inspiration to girls in their formative years. Not only do the girls leave the luncheon with enough pictures, audio, and video to create a webpage about their new role model, but they often refer back to the advice and inspiration they received that day in 'college applications', 'scholarship applications' or in their own mentoring of younger students.

If you desire to organize an activity that will connect girls to role models face to face, organizations like the Society of Women Engineers , AAUW, or other networks of women are great resources for role models. The National Girls Collaborative can help you get started by providing resources, a program directory of organizations and projects and mini grants to support collaborative projects between organizations. The Anita Borg Foundation Tech Bridge Program has compiled a fantastic guide called Get Involved to help prospective role models inspire girls in technology filled with practical suggestions and strategies.

I challenge you to consider how you might use this week's Friday Five Resources to design a classroom activity that introduces female role models to your students (both girls and boys). The images and stories of women in tech are beneficial to all students, and to society as a whole. The next generation of innovators will come from the curiosity and spirit of innovation we inspire in today's students. Helping girls see their future as women in tech will give birth to a more diverse wave of infinite thinkers. What can we as educators do to help?

• Perhaps you might display some of the photos on your school bulletin boards.
  
• Perhaps you might assign reading or writing assignments from the collection of stories featuring women in tech
  
• Perhaps you might brainstorm with your students ways to publish your own blog post for AdaLoveLace Day. If you don't have a place to post a blog, you can always post an entry in the comments of this section. Don't forget to tag it--AdaLovelaceDay09
  
• Perhaps you might introduce a lesson on using Technorati or the way "tags" can work to assimilate collective knowledge using the power of tagging.
  

So I challenge you to use the comments sections to share your ideas of how to use AdaLoveLace Day or to add to the collection of post that will be published. Looking forward to having you join me in fulfilling my #4 on my New Years Resolution post.

Friday Five - Sites with Role Models of Women in Technology

1. http://www.passionit.info/albums.php
   Probably the most impressive and global collection of role models were free albums from all 7 continents.



2. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/132/the-most-influential-women-in-technology.html
   The most influential women in technology according to Fast Comapny is broken up into the following categories
   

   Women in Tech: The Executives
   Women in Tech: The Entrepreneurs
   Women in Tech: The Gamers
   Women in Tech: The Evangelists
   Women in Tech: The Activists
   Women in Tech: The Bloggers
   Women in Tech: The Brainiacs
   
   

3. http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/11/influential-women-web.html
   Fast Company's 2008 picks as Most Influential Women in Web 2.0



4. http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk/role_models.php
   Although, this project appears to be a newcomer and has a smaller collection of role models in the technology area, it uses design elements with higher appeal to younger students.



5. http://www.sallyridescience.com/for_girls
   This collection of role models from the Sally Ride Science Web Site includes role models in several S.T.E.M. careers including
   -Contributions of 20th-Century Women to Physics Website:
   www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp
   -Role Model Project for Girls sponsored by ACM's Committee on Women in Computing http://women.acm.org/
   -The Archives of Women in Science and Engineering Iowa State UniversityWebsite: www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/wise/wise
   -Women of NASAWebsite: www.quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html

You, too -- girls!

For nearly 10 years, the computer programming class met in the lab next door. Only once during those ten years, did I see a girl walk into that classroom. A little bit of research revealed that young women were notably absent from computer programming classrooms across the country. According to the New York Times article “Where The Girls Aren’t” “more than 19,000 boys took the Advanced Placement computer science examination in 2001, compared with just over 2,400 girls”. Thirty years ago, it was not unusual to see 2 or 3 girls in a Calculus class; today nearly 50% of the students taking the AP Calculus are female. Reversing this trend took a sustained investment in strategies focused on increasing the success of women in mathematics.

With the increase use of computers in today’s classrooms, work places, and living rooms, it is easy to assume that we no longer have a gender gap in high-tech courses and careers.

But the reality is that the participation of women in these areas have actually decreased over the past two decades. Whenever I lead activities that raise awareness about male/female ratios in tech related careers and courses, participants are always surprised at the gender gap. As a teacher there are many ways you can implement gender equity strategies in your classroom. Tech Integration across the curriculum is one of the top strategies. If girls are not flocking to computer classes, let’s make sure the computers come to “them”. Along with making technology part of everyday learning, creating opportunities where girls can gain skills and confidence with technology can help address the “experience gap”. One of the biggest challenges young women face when considering a high-tech class or career is not “aptitude”, but experience.

Maya, the only girl in her Java programming class, quickly noticed that
most of the boys in the class seemed to already know a lot about programming
from their experience with robotic toys, or from having built pieces of their
own computers. They seemed to already have a rapport with the
programming teacher comparing notes about their favorite video games strategies during class. Her programming class quickly turned to a very frustrating and lonely experience. When asked by she enrolled in this class, she
answered, “one of my teachers noticed that I was smart with computers and
learned HTML code quickly and invited me to participate in a Tech Savvy Girls
summer camp.” There I spent a whole week learning cool new technologies
with all girls. I even took a mini-workshop in programming. It was
fun. I felt smart. I didn’t have “less experience”. My junior year I found I had an open timeslot in my schedule. I looked at the available classes that block. If it had not been for Tech Savvy Girls, I wouldn’t have noticed programming, but some of the women role models I met in Tech Savvy Girls activities often mentioned programming as a class they took when they were in school.

Year after year, I listen to girls tell their stories during our Tech Savvy Girls activities and over and over again, I hear tales of teachers who provided awareness, inspiration, and experience opportunities to young women. “ My teacher often gave me extra computer tasks to do; my teacher recommended me for a computer camp; my teacher asked for my help with the computer; my teacher believed in me; my teacher recommended this course for when I get older;”

Look for information and opportunities to create activities such as “The Creative Side of Engineering” that send a strong message to girls that the world needs more than girls who “use” technology, the world needs their input into design and innovation.

Resolution 2007 - Promoting Digital Equity

As you move forward in the digital age, take the time to notice who we might be leaving behind. How about adding digital equity to your 2007 resolution. Consider expanding the definition of No Child Left Behind to include “no child left behind in a digital age”. My 2007 resolution is to renew my commitment to digital equity and provide increased resources to teachers for bridging the digital divide in their schools.

1. I resolve to update my collection of keyboarding resources and promote keyboarding skills in ALL students.
   
   Ignore those who tell you that we don’t need to teach this skill anymore because of the voice recognition technology or because today’s kids are on the computers so much they pick it up naturally. Those who use effective keyboarding techniques will build skills and gain increased productivity, while those who don’t will get further and further behind in their schoolwork. Don’t forget to include assistive technology options for students with disabilities.
   



2. I resolve to know which students lack access to digital tools at home.
   
   Informally inquire about students access, so that you can provide solutions that help these students and their families. I make old keyboards available with keyboarding practice sheets AND teach students how to practice on a keyboard alone. I was surprised at the number of 3rd and 4th grade students who took me up on this offer (some of them have computers, but complain that other family members horde all the computer time). I know of at least one Vermont school that refurbishes old machines with Linux and open source software and makes them available to families in their district. Making parents aware of public library access to computers, or creating public hours for your own computer lab can increase access.
   
   
3. I resolve to promote sensitivivity to lack of or slow Internet Access.
   
   Many communities still have only DIAL UP access. If you post documents online for parents, make sure that the families without Internet are aware of how they can also access these documents. Break the documents down for quicker download for dial-up users. For example , if your school’s program of studies is online, consider posting it as separate “chapters” or text only format for dial-up users. Using a free PDF maker can ensure that your documents are posted in a format accessible to all users. Consider differentiated assignments and resources to accommodate students with limited or no access.
   



4. I resolve to revive the TechSavy Girls program and create new opportunities for girls to build skills and confidence in their use of technology.
   
   While it appears that most middle school girls have confidence and skills equal to their male counterparts when it comes to technology use, interest and participation levels decrease significantly during high school and college years. The ratio of girls to boys in high level computer classes has actually decreased during the past decade and hover around the 12% rate.
   



5. I resolve to make Web-based and Open Source Software available to students to increase home access to digital tool.
   
   Our regional technology users group is exploring the use of more Web-based and Open Source resouces in our schools. In a series of parent workshops, we distribute “FREE” open-source software for parents who attend. One of our teachers is adding OpenSource platform productivity tools to his lab to increase students familiarity with these tools. This is also a great way to promote greater understanding of tech “concepts” and skills transfer.