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I U WATERLK)0 curtorvrcuz 'chnesday. July 17, 2013 - a I o I O I 0 How schools are changing to encourage more girls to I r . , pate m high-tech mhthehpunofathoe-ponseduloofl'u peered. like it does for most young girls. and cer‘ ,9 ‘ :1 . gag» g 1%.} minim”. minlynooneencouragedmetocontinueinanyof a; ' """LW‘fwf'gfef? dieseareasexceptformyparents' ‘ . .f ' ““Wge j? BrHunnr-Anev Wrthalackofrolemodelsintech. Chartrand's . ' z :5 1 f5} 4 Wmmk desiretomakethingsumsottenfimnelledintoart. , . ,‘ ., 23?. “Overall. the levels of discouragement came g 1': ' . edrnology is an increasingly large part of daily life. from not having any models. and also from my ' .“ ‘- Women buy tech, use tech. but have little presence in peers. who would make fun of some of my more , , ' "v designing it. tomboy qualities.” she said "And. ofcourse, «my 2': :5; Hard technology fields like programming are still domi» out any models it‘s not like I could prove to them 3%” "=- nated by men, and rectifying that imbalance starts young. that there were fabulom women doi amazing [5“ " or“ The local women in tech both say they became interested things" n8 fig“, eartyâ€"NatalieSilvanmridLMro works in computer ”cur-i» Societal rolemodelsfiorgirlsareusuallywomen Wsrwmfi ties for BlackBerry. and Terre Chartrand, who has been in nurturing roles but rarelylnything in hard tech- , involvedirrdiiferentareasoftednfrorncrentingwebsitesto nologyaccordingtoOnmand. 5' w pmgrarnmingtoteaching ' 'Iftlwreareproblemgoneofdremisthatwe 7‘ Silvanovidispendsherdayshackingâ€"looldngforwmk- don‘trecognizemr'rien‘hcontr'ibtitiomandvdm “it nesses in programs so they can be fixed before they are we do. we masculinize them. We don't recognize " exploited by others She first became interested in science them as a woman,‘ she said. “One of them is Ada , and technology at a young age and found support in both her mince, who has been thorougily masculinized parents and teachers by modern culture. insomuch that she's barely a 'My parents were very supportive. Probably drove me to woman in most people's frames of reference for so many science-related things that they were sick of it,” she her. And she's the person that invented the algo- said. rithm as it pertains to madrines ‘ Teachers were also encouraging. ensuring that she entered ‘For some reason or another. we choose to (a. any science. math or tech competitions that came up, and remember some people over others. and in those ' . .. . g . makingsureshehadem'ythingsheneededtosucwed. dioicesthatwemake.wedm’tdioosetoremem- AhWMWMMOWRWJMM “imammmmcmderzmgmmt. bummeng- thechnologymdamandWefromboduchool ed to the field I ‘m in now â€" computer security. That was While shifts in society could take a long time. MW "Ml companies “ ”’9 something that got me really interested in that specifimlly.” some school boards are making an effort to pre- Tannery. "“"" W "'°‘° Silvanovichsaid. , vent the imbalance beforeitbegim'ThediifiuiityMthgiris nowworkingonaddingprogramminganddigiml electronics She took a broad approach to science and tech through in technology is just. more a lack of awareness than any- tothearsenal. out high school and university. it wasn't until she went thing,” said Robert Holowack. a technological studies con- OtartI'and. Whoatone point taught computer science in a through several co~op placements after university that she sultant with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board high school. said that many tech projects don't appeal to girls figured out what she wanted to do. (WCDSB). and that there is no ”attractive prototype." Chant-and also became interested in tech at a young age “There are mo ways to approach a problem: either you try She referenced a project at Stanford as a prototype that and was supported by her parents, but found the lack of to fix it once it's a problem or you try and do something so it attracts girls through more traditional interests. but tactics female role models in the late “705 to be a problem. doesn‘t become a problem. We’re kind of going at it both them about tech at the same time. "l magically became interested in electronics at the age of ways" The girls used arduinos â€" easily programmable micro- five, when l discovered that there was cooler stufi than [Argo llolowack is helping to develop technology studies at the controllers â€" to control lights and other functions in a doll- that could make things move or could make lights go on or Grade B to 8 level. “At that level there‘s less predetermined this home. could make a noise." she said. is what girls do. this is what boys do." he said. “They had girls doing 9mm? [)th hefty codlng and also At seven years old she built (in M1 radio out Ufa bread box 'lhc hard is integrating technology into the science cur- soldering circuits and hefty hardware stuff, but building and some circuitry. riculum, and helping to better equip teachers. many of whom something that is an attractive prototype.‘ Chartnrnd said. Her chemist mother and economist father. who later are women. to demonstrate technology uses. “So the girls in "We have all these games that are built around girls build became a stay~at»home mother and \'l(‘(‘ principal respective the claxx all ofa sudden see a female taicher as being admt at lng avatars and soda] cxistcnccs. So. make your own cute lit ly. supported the pursutt and never enforced traditional gm, dorng this. No. to facilitate that we‘ve been offering workshops tle squee character and insert her into this span- where she's det roles. for teachers at the Grade 6 to 8 level on technology." he said. going to make friends or not We groom them for popularity Deeply bored with the curriculum at school. ('harrmnd The board also offers online resources and suppons for and those types ofthings. failed computer science In secondary school teachers. who may not be naturals in the field instructional “But what Ifa pan of earning your way into that very cool “In hindstght. it makes sense Back then It was tortamly a Videos and materials intentionally feature two teenage girls Space was that a pan of your fashion show was programming hit ofa knock. and I thought that I should never do anything l'he addition of tech to the curriculum has so far focused the platform of the fashion show Itself? i think its easier to technical after that.‘ shc said “My union-st ill math dump largely on hardware, according to lloluwack. but the board rs change the prototype than stxit'tyilself.” Eye Exams. â€" - . . 0' , .0 o . , BookmEyeExamthroudtusandyoumllrecerve Sfllllll' tit...| m. . - . ‘ r ' - l t . I a Free mm mm. .. KL“ - 21 20.3 n - | ‘ . r P . 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