GSE/EXT: Appalachian Information Technology Extension Services

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: The Appalachian Information Technology Extension Services (AITES) is a comprehensive, research-based Extension program of training and consulting services. Its goal is to promote underserved young women's interest in jobs requiring information technology (IT) skills in selected Appalachian counties of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The overarching goal is to develop community capacity through a sustainable program of change grounded in the Learning Partnership Model (LPM) and based on business practices. This goal will give Community Cohort Teams (CCTs) of school counselors, IT teachers, Family and Consumer Science and 4H Extension agents, and community development professionals the tools they need to increase interest among middle and high school girls in jobs requiring IT skills. Using a Unified Program of Change, AITES will build community capacity to enhance middle and high school girls' knowledge and interest in jobs requiring IT skills by: 1. Developing communities of practice that expand and strengthen partnership networks among CCTs, parents, community economic development professionals, IT industry partners, selected professional associations, and state and regional consortia. 2. Using content specialists in gender equity, parent education, counselor education, the LPM, and IT curriculum to train and support the CCTs in a Unified Program of Change addressing barriers faced by underserved Appalachian middle and high school girls. 3. Providing consulting services to the CCTs as they implement research-based Extension programs at the local level. 4. Evaluating the effectiveness of project initiatives and disseminating information to project constituents to create a continuous feedback loop that leads to refinement of project initiatives. 5. Creating an interactive Internet portal that builds community capacity by supporting social networking components and communication among project personnel and constituents across five states and provides access to information about resources, evaluation data, and participant interaction. AITES extends and implements the research-based recommendations reported in "Reconfiguring the Firewall: Recruiting Women to Information Technology across Cultures and Continents" about effective strategies for recruiting women to IT fields. AITES contributes to the literature about science, engineering, and technology (SET) by shifting the focus from a lens that emphasizes women's deficiencies to a response lens that frames their occupational interests and success as embedded in community capacity. It will demonstrate ways that the LPM and strategies of community capacity can create communities of practice that promote positive environments to support IT-enabled girls. Broader Impacts: The project has a commitment to sustain its efforts. It will facilitate the formation of networks at the community, state, and national levels through the creation of an infrastructure that includes partnerships especially important in Appalachian culture. The Partner Advisory Boards provide entree to a national network that spans corporate sectors, educational communities, nonprofit organizations dedicated to recruiting women to SET fields, government agencies, local businesses and IT corporate giants like Microsoft, Apple, and CISCO. By partnering this national presence dedicated to IT workforce development with state and local communities of practice and building the local workforce through a supportive environment for girls and IT jobs, AITES will create a model for Appalachian IT workforce development. Outreach and communication activities throughout the five years of the project will generate networks among members of effective CCTs and potential partners from other counties and states to sustain their initiative.