Using Games to Promote Girls\u27 Positive Attitudes Toward Technology

Studies show that women make up only 35% of the IT workforce, and the schism between boys\u27 and girls\u27 interests in math and science is well documented. Richard Van Eck suggests that providing girls with more positive experiences with technology may impact their overall attitudes toward technology and perhaps even toward math and science. Van Eck chose games, naturally engaging experiences, as the basis of a two-semester study involving 92 fifth- and sixth-graders participating in game playing and authoring experiences in the classroom. He analyzes the differences in experience, attitude, and interest level between boys and girls. His results suggest that the use of a wide variety of games experienced in mixed gender groups may improve girls\u27 attitudes toward technology