C'mon Girls!

I attended PETE&C 2010 this week in Hershey, PA. I learned, shared, collaborated, and enjoyed many thought-provoking discussions.

But what I am taking back as my biggest WOW moment is this: A colleague and I attended a concurrent session. We lingered after the session, finishing a task and discussing what we had learned, not noticing the next group coming in for the next session. But, as we got up to leave what I did notice is that the large room was now filled with just about guys - barely a girl in the room - not something I was used to seeing in the sessions I attend!! Jokingly, I said to my colleague, "This must be an IT-techy session coming next." Sure enough, as we looked at the display outside the room, it was some "network, safety, security, I-don't-get-it" session.

WOW! I teach second grade and I think gender equity is something that exists in our classrooms. I see a mix of abilities in all areas for both boys and girls, whether it is reading, math, technology. Our elementary school has many strong technology-savvy female teachers too. But, something isn't right when the "techy" room is filled with guys (sure there were some women in the room - maybe more came later - maybe they were still in line at the ladies room).

So what I am taking back is an eye on the girls. What are they talking about? What are they interested in? What are they doing in the computer lab that might look different from what the boys are doing? Are there differences? I don't know. But I am going to find out...

Hands on Science Meets a Great Final Presentation

Not only do second graders learn sorting and classifying, they can now document their learning with an Animoto video!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.