From the beginning, computers have been a sort of technology magnet, attracting boys and repelling girls. Now, after years of research, studies, grants, collaborations, teacher training, and pilot projects among educators, businesses, and government, the efforts to bring girls to the technology table appear to be helping. When she first started teaching a computer class eight years ago, says Nina Hansen, a computer teacher at Timothy Edwards Middle School in South Windsor, Conn., the girls approached computers the same way they would automobiles. They didn't want to appear unfeminine by knowing about the innards of the machine. That's changing, she says.
Girls come to class more confident.
They've had female role models in the younger grades as more elementary school teachers use computers in the classroom. In this affluent district, most girls have computers at home. When Hansen asked for volunteers to tutor and assist in the computer lab this year, all the applicants were girls. But Hansen still sees differences in the way girls and boys approach computers. And the boys' play turns out to be serious.