HGSE News: Addressing a Gendered Digital Divide

Two new studies on technology education and literacy show that while girls continue to excel in reading and writing, there is a perpetual downward trend in girls' performance in technology. Conversely, boys show promising results in computer science scores but a steadily downward trend in reading and writing skills.

A possible solution emerges in that computer games targeted at young people often translate into computer literacy. However, the games are problematic; products in the gaming market often reinforce negative gender roles.

To resolve this dilemma, an educational technology consultant is hired by concerned parties to determine whether a new reading and writing product should be geared towards a single-sex audience, or if it should be a co-educational product. Last fall, the students in Integrating Educational Technologies into Literacy Instruction, a class taught by HGSE faculty member Julie Wood, became the hired consultants thrown into a case study that addressed this issue.

The case study is one of two developed by master's candidates Jody Clarke and Elena Patiño for a new interactive Web site they designed with faculty members Wood and Sue Grant Lewis, and piloted in Wood's class. The second case—test-driven in February by HGSE students in the International Education Policy and International Education programs—asks users to assess the gender gap in technology education in "Sunnydale School District" and make recommendations on how the district could design effective policies that promote gender equity.

Both studies premiere on a new Web site called Exploring Gender and Technology in Learning Environments, which was developed to engage learners in an interactive environment that allows them to utilize existing research on gender and technology and explore innovative models to construct gender equitable technology programs and policies.

The Origins of the Site
"The underrepresentation of girls and women in computer culture indicates that gender equity is a critical dimension of the digital divide," says Clarke. "In order to address issues of equity and access in computer culture, we need to transform the way we use technology in learning environments and the way we design technology and technology curricula."

The site was conceived of by Wood and Grant Lewis last year, after they had attended a faculty workshop encouraging them to explore weaving new technologies into their curriculum. With funding from HGSE's Teaching & Curriculum Quality Fund and the McCoy Technology Grants, Wood and Grant Lewis commissioned Clarke and Patiño to develop an interactive Web site that could enrich and complement the curriculum of two classes: A-131, Addressing Gender Inequalities in Education: Comparative Perspectives and T-534, Integrating Educational Technologies into Literacy Instruction.

Clarke and Patiño, members of WIT, HGSE's Women in Technology group, began researching and developing the Web-based instructional resource last August.

"Julie and Sue allowed us to be in the role of designers and pursue what was exciting to us," says Patiño. "The case method really engages learners, so we decided to begin there."

What the Site Offers
The site, which publicly launched at an HGSE event on May 16, features original case studies developed to explore gender and technology issues facing policymakers and interactive designers; an annotated bibliography on gender-sensitive issues in technology; links for educators to professional organizations and sites that feature new research on closing the gender gap in technology; links to sites that focus on gender equity; and video clips of Carol Burger of the National Science Foundation, Jo Sanders of the Center for Gender Equity, and other prominent people in the field discussing the issues.

"Elena and Jody's design marries good practice and technological innovation," says Grant Lewis. "They really combined their knowledge in ways that illuminate the engendered digital divide and also provide learners with a vision of how to redress these inequalities."

The group hopes to turn their attention to collaboration with other faculty and students, the development of more cases, and the introduction of international and cross-cultural dimensions to the site.

For More Information
Visit the Exploring Gender & Technology in Learning Environments site. Read more about Suzanne Grant Lewis and Julie Wood in their Faculty Profiles.

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