1. Web 2.0 and GURLs Presented by Dr. Lesley Farmer California State University, Long Beach lfarmer@csulb.edu

2. 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

3. 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?

4. What Happens in Schools? Technology-enhanced projects are gender- neutral 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.

5. 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.

6. 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!

7. 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

8. 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.

10. What Are the Ten 10 Topics? Magazines Online communication (chat, blogs) Advice … and gossip Teen issues (relationships, appearance, self- esteem, drug abuse, etc.) Sex Health and fitness Fashion and beauty Entertainment Recreation and pastimes Occult

11. Runner-Up Topics Sports Current events Money Academics Careers … fewer than 10% talk about technology

12. 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?

13. 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

14. Commercial Megasites These are flashier, better organized, and more fun!: http://www.go-girl.comhttp://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 http://www.girltech.com The creator is Radica games (electronic entertainment)

17. 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

19. 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.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.

21. 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://research.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst /links_girls.html http://mercury.mvhs.net/resources/resourc es_for_girls.html -- made by teens http://mercury.mvhs.net/resources/resourc es_for_girls.html

23. Tipping Point Female millenials in tech jobs BinaryGirl.com Blogging/webcasting High school courses More girls than boys have web pages

24. 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 Teach information literacy using these megasites

25. 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/.