2006 Campus-Community Partnerships

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Creative Computing Partnerships

Abstract:

During the last decade, a great deal of attention has focused on the lack of access to computers, the lack of participation by women and minorities, and the lack of opportunities for learning more sophisticated forms of technological fluency -- computer programming. This proposal aims at investigating a group of minority girls and young women who are already engaged with creative uses of technology at the computer clubhouse, a community technology center. We intend to study their technology interests and practices and to develop and implement workshops that promote media-rich programming activities and provide opportunities to learn about higher education and careers in science and technology. We anticipate that the findings from this research will provide us with a deeper understanding of what attracts minority girls and young women into technology, particularly computer programming, and with models of workshops that promote technological fluency that may be successfully implemented in other educational settings.