You raise some good points about different types of fluency.
We don't have many boys or girls who are interested in studying computers
themselves. Of those interested, most, but definitely not all, are still
boys. We try to do everything we can to make the girls who are interested
feel welcome and accepted.
However, computers are polymorphously perverse entities. They support a
seemingly endless variety of uses, and fluency can be developed in any
number of those uses. For instance, our yearbook class uses Adobe inDesign
for page layout. The class has been dominated by girls for years and these
girls become very good at inDesign, which is hardly a trivial application.
So again, to reiterate my original point, what girls and boys are doing with
computers may differ, but at my school using computers has lost any sense of
being a male or female activity. Thank goodness.
Fred
On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 1:08 PM, Brian Lee <blee@mph.net> wrote:
> Maybe we should define fluency in computers...
>
> Technical:
> Troubleshooting technical issues with computers?
> Using SSH to create a script using Emac that allows specific function to
> perform?
> Learning and understanding how firewall rules work in regards to their
> network?
>
> Non-technical:
> Using Word, Excel, and Powerpoint to create presentations?
> Using online tools for homework?
>
> Does your 1-to-1 program involve having girls replace hard drives and
> reinstalling Windows? I believe there is a difference between using a tool
> and fixing it.
>
> I have not seen any issues with girls embracing computers as a tool to
> finish their homework, but I know it is rare to find a girl who actually
> likes to fix computers.
>
> How many of you have actually formed a club/class that allows girls to
> learn
> about SSH, TCP/IP, OSI Model, PCI-Express vs. AGP, DDR RAM, partitioning
> hard drives, etc? Fluency in using the tool is easy, but fluency in fixing
> it is a different matter.
>
> Example:
> I know how to drive a car, but do I care enough to learn how to fix it?
>
>
> Brian Lee
> Manlius Pebble Hill School
>
>
>
> > From: Fred Bartels <fredbartels@gmail.com>
> > Reply-To: A forum for independent school educators <
> ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
> > Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:49:24 -0400
> > To: <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
> > Subject: Re: FW: Girls avoid "techie stuff"?
> >
> > One of the really beneficial aspects of a 1-to-1 program is that girls
> > become just as fluently competent with computers as boys. There are still
> > differences in what they do with computers, but both girls and boys have
> > fully embraced computers as essential tools for helping to achieve their
> > goals.
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > --
> > Fred Bartels
> > Dir. of Info. Tech.
> > Rye Country Day School
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
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--
Fred Bartels
Dir. of Info. Tech.
Rye Country Day School
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
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