Does Involving Girls as Designers Result in Girl-Friendly Science Education Software? Comparing Processes and Outcomes of Same-Sex 5th and 8th Grade Girl and Boy Design Teams

目的：虚拟环境越来越多地被要求促进科学学习。由于交互式多媒体显示和学习者定制的可能性，这些环境具有很大的前景。但这些环境对女孩友好吗？由年轻人为男孩和年轻人设计的电脑游戏集中体现了技术对女孩、女孩的兴趣和价值观的排斥。不那么明显但更具破坏性的是，这种技术上的隔阂加剧了女孩们对计算机和科学的兴趣和自信的缺乏。技术本身，甚至技术强化的科学体验的设计都可能使女孩处于不利地位，使她们远离中小企业和技术培训，而不是让她们参与其中。专家们鼓励更多的妇女和女孩参与软件和硬件设计，开始改变计算机文化。让女孩参与设计（IGD）项目将研究当女孩设计自己的技术增强型科学学习体验时会发生什么。女孩和男孩对待设计过程的方式不同吗？如果是这样，一个女孩友好的设计过程的特点是什么？全女孩设计团队的产品是否比全男孩设计团队的产品更吸引其他女孩？性别差异是在中学结束时更加强烈地两极分化，还是甚至在五年级时也同样明显？方法：IGD将邀请女孩小组体验和批判性评估一系列高质量的科学学习体验，这些体验在技术、程度和互动形式上各不相同，从天文馆表演到角色扮演模拟火星使命，从光盘游戏到探索空间科学，从网络、电视到沉浸式虚拟现实。然后，这些年轻的新技术专家将设计他们理想的科学学习体验，目标是教授科学并激发孩子们对SMET的兴趣。IGD将描述女孩对各种形式的科学学习的反应。IGD将比较五年级女生（她们对科学的热情与男生相当）和八年级女生（她们对科学的热情和自信心有所下降），寻找在技术态度、设计过程和设计结果方面的异同。专业的软件开发人员将对每个团队的原型进行可视化。在没有设计师性别的情况下，每组可视化将展示给同龄学生，以发现男孩和女孩是否更喜欢由自己性别开发的原型。智力优势：IGD将测试让女孩作为设计师可以影响设计过程和产品的断言，并描述性别和年龄差异。更广泛的影响：IGD可以向软件开发人员提供令人信服的证据，说明让女孩作为设计师参与的至关重要性，以及如何实现对女孩友好的设计过程。IGC可以为教师和课程设计者提供指导，指导他们在技术强化的科学学习经验中做出选择。PI教授研究生设计研究课程（教育和数字媒体设计）。他们将让学生参与研究，并将研究结果融入他们的课程。对女孩友好的科学教育设计的新理解将被纳入火星先锋学习冒险计划，并纳入整体通信技术实验室软件设计过程和教育学院和数字媒体艺术课程。

OBJECTIVES: Virtual environments are increasingly being called upon to advance science learning.With possibilities for interactive multimedia displays and learner customization, these environments holdgreat promise. But are these environments friendly to girls? Computer games, designed by young men forboys and young men, epitomize technology's exclusion of girls, their interests, and values. Less obviousbut more devastating, this technological estrangement exacerbates girls' lack of interest and self confidencenot just in computers but in science. Technology itself and even the design of technology-enhanced scienceexperiences may disadvantage girls, turning them away from SMET instead of engaging them. Expertsurge more women and girls to become involved in software and hardware design, to begin to transformcomputer culture. The ihInvolving Girls as Designerslg (IGD) project will look at what can happen whengirls design their own technology-enhanced science learning experiences. Do girls and boys approach thedesign process differently? If so, what are the characteristics of a girl-friendly design process? Do all-girldesign teams create products that are more appealing to other girls than products designed by all boyteams? Are gender differences more strongly polarized by the end of middle school, or are they equallyevident even in fifth grade?METHODS: IGD will invite small teams of girls to experience and critically assess a series of high qualityscience-learning experiences diverse in their technology and extent and form of interactivity, ranging fromplanetarium show to role play simulated mission to Mars, from CD-ROM games to exploring space scienceon the web, television to immersive virtual reality. These young, newly expert technologists will thendesign their ideal science learning experience, with the goal of teaching science and inspiring kids to beinterested in SMET. IGD will profile girl reactions to the diverse forms of science learning. The designprocess and design outcomes of the all-girl design teams will be analyzed and compared to all-boy teams.IGD will compare fifth grade girls (whose enthusiasm for science parallels boys) with eighth grade girls(whose enthusiasm and self confidence in science has declined), looking for similarities and differences intechnology attitudes, design process, and design outcomes. Professional software developers will createvisualizations of each team's prototype. With no indication of the gender of the designers, each set ofvisualizations will be shown to same-age students to discover whether boys and girls prefer prototypesdeveloped by their own gender.INTELLECTUAL MERIT: IGD will test the assertion that involving girls as designers can impactdesign process and product and describe gender and age differences. IGD will contribute concreteunderstanding of girls' attitudes toward diverse forms of technology-enhanced science learning.BROADER IMPACTS: IGD could provide compelling evidence to software developers about the criticalimportance of involving girls as designers and ways of enabling girl-friendly design processes. IGC couldprovide guidance to teachers and curriculum designers about choosing among technology-enhanced sciencelearning experiences. The PIs teach graduate design research classes (in education and digital mediadesign). They will involve their students in the research and integrate findings into their courses. Newunderstanding about girl-friendly science education designs will be incorporated into the Mars PioneerLearning Adventures initiative and into the overall Comm Tech Lab software design process and Collegeof Education and Digital Media Arts curricula.