Girls Creating Games: Cafe Universo

Etr Associates, Watsonville CA

Investigators

Abstract

Built on a prior NSF-HRD funded "Girls Creating Games: Increasing Middle School Girls' Interest in Technology," ETR Associates proposes "Girls Creating Games: Cafe Universo," a three-year, out-of-school technology program for rural, Latina, middle school girls from the Central Coast of California. Each of 80 girls will spend 120 hours/year for two years building and publishing web-based digital games that imagine life in outer space based in astrobiology content. The project utilizes Numedeon, Inc.'s online virtual world "Whyville?" combined with The SETI Institute's astrobiology curriculum. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District's after school program provides the program and recruitment structure through their existing after school program. Activities are organized around a three-semester after school and summer program. New process strands support and evaluate IT/science activity, focus on group cohesion, learning by design with project-based IT, linking science to IT, and career and identity exploration. Strategies to meet the participant's social needs include pair programming, peer mentoring, family activities and adult female IT role models. Staff development, evaluation of the girl's involvement and web based documentation provide sustainability. In order to provide scalability the program proposes extra funding for materials development for intended delivery to a group of national after school providers who have requested this resource, and the online community of "Whyville?."