On robots, classrooms and numbers…
So this morning, a link to a June article came across my desk and I thought I’d share a bit about the story. It focused on a joint project between Bryn Mawr College and Georgia Tech that brought robots into the classroom to try to engage more women into the computer field. The article referenced a recent study by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) that reported enrollment in undergrad CS programs had dropped 70% from 2000-2005—70%! I was surprised at the number. According to the article, universities noted one reason for the decline was that the courses are boring—hence, now there are robots responding to students’ codes in the Bryn Mawr computer classrooms. Seems like a great initiative. I’ll keep my eye on this story to see what comes of it next.
Also, in looking a little closer at this story, I found the NCWIT “By the Numbers” fact sheet that spelled out recent stats on women and IT—it’s worth a look.
Donna
PS from Pat: The folks at NCWIT are really great and not just because they're located in Boulder. Their mission "is to ensure that women are fully represented in the influential world of information technology and computing." And they have lots of free resources to help make that happen.