Thursday, June 16, 2011

Girl Tech 2011 teaches hands-on lessons about technology



The University of Illinois Springfield Computer Science Department hosted two days of fun exploring technology during Girl Tech 2011, a camp for middle school girls. The third annual camp, which was held June 16-17, brought dozens of young ladies to campus to learn about technology.

“It was a lot of hands-on stuff and playing with the iPad was fun and I met a lot of new people,” said Amethyst Sidener, a camp participant.

Highlights included activities involving robotics, geo-caching, graphic design, Japanese anime, programming and more.

Studies show the number of women in higher education in computer science is falling drastically. Girl Tech is geared toward girls in middle school because interest seems to start decreasing around that age.

“If they are excited, if they like it, if we get the right software and show them how to use it they’ll go home and say look what I learned, I bet I can do it here,” said Mary Sheila Tracy, Girl Tech camp director and UIS Computer Science Instructor.

Participant Chloe Bellot has always had an interest in technology and now feels confident pursuing a career in the field.

“Most people think it’s more of a man’s job, but I think women can do things just as well as men do,” said Bellot.

For more information on future Girl Tech camps, contact Mary Sheila Tracy at mtrac1@uis.edu or 217/206-7328

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kudos to Mary Sheila Tracy and our Computer Science Dept. for providing this kind of experience for young girls!