Exploring girls' perception on Computing careers via educational quiz-application

Background: Being one of the fields with highest prospect for development and opportunities, it is now time for females to grab these opportunities in Computing. In order to accomplish, the first priority is to increase females’ interest towards Computer Science from young age. While researchers have made attempts to assess and increase young females’ interest in Computing, they have failed to address the prospects of careers in Computing and why females should be interested in them. There is a lot of potential to influence preteen females’ choice of career through interactive technologies. Objective: This thesis explores the impact of an educational quiz application on its users’ perception towards Computing careers. The research aims to exhibit relevant research studies performed to address this research problem, and reveal results and discussion on the topic of educational applications and serious games. Additionally, the research focuses on designing and developing an application which aspires to increase preteen females’ interest in Computing careers. Method: The research method employed is design and creation where the developed artefact (the quiz application) is the produced outcome of the method. Additionally, to evaluate the application, an experimental research method has been implemented with the assistance of 76 participants. Result: The result includes the background of the research and the evaluation of the quiz application. The participants, professionals in the field of Computer Science, displayed positive attitude towards the quiz application and indicated the possibility in increasing preteen girls’ interest in Computing careers. Limitation: The application, developed as a proof-of-concept, is in its early development to strongly appeal to preteen girls. Subsequent changes in the application must be made and evaluated. Inability to evaluate the application with the focus group (preteen girls) gives rise to an unpredictable outcome in the future. Conclusion: The outcome of the research reveals opportunities for using educational applications and/or serious games to teach Computer Science concepts and eventually, increase female participation in Computing industry