The K-12 Alliance will work to improve understanding of girls' contributions to computing and information technology, remove barriers to their participation in the field, advance the state of computing education at the K-12 level, and raise awareness that computational literacy enables success in many other careers.
By the year 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that more than one million computing jobs will have been added to the workforce. Yet, despite the strong job forecast for computing careers, NCWIT data reflects an 80 percent decline in the number of incoming undergraduate women who chose to major in computer science between 1996 and 2004. Currently, only 26 percent of information technology workers in the U.S. are women.
"In the next seven years, women will account for more than half the nation's workforce. If U.S. companies wish to maintain their competitive advantage in IT-related fields, they cannot afford to miss out on the input of half the population. Women can, and must, play a more significant role in building an innovative and technically trained workforce," said Lucy Sanders, CEO and co-founder of NCWIT.
As its first project, the K-12 Alliance will release a new resource kit, "Gotta Have IT," a high-quality resource package for teachers to use in the classroom. The kit will be released at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Atlanta on June 24-27. It contains computing and careers information, and digital media and high-quality posters like the Computer Science Teachers Association's "IT is All About Me" computing careers poster.
This resource visually illustrates the wide array of careers that can be pursued with a computing background. While the kit was designed for use with both male and female students, it is especially inclusive of girls. Links to materials included in the kit will be available online.
"We want girls to be more confident, aware and interested in computing; but even more so, we want girls to understand that a background in computer science is critical for 21st-century careers and for life in general. A background in computer science teaches a person how to be innovative and solve problems, teaches how to process information, and provides a basic level of knowledge about how to use computers safely and securely," said Chris Stephenson, co-chair of the K-12 Alliance and executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association, a membership organization that supports and promotes the teaching of computer science.
In addition to distributing the "Gotta Have IT" kit at NECC, the K-12 Alliance will inform conference attendees about this new coalition via speakers and participation in several workshops. The K-12 Alliance also is creating a permanent national networking system that connects the members of each K-12 Alliance organization to help distribute information across the country to educators, parents and other K-12 influencers.
"Women bring different life experiences and perspectives to the innovation process, and this diversity in innovation is what leads to the design of products and services that can benefit a broader range of people," said Ruthe Farmer, co-chair of the K-12 Alliance, and technology and engineering education program manager for Girl Scouts of the USA. "It is imperative that we begin to speak to girls at a young age about the potential they hold to become future innovators and leaders. And because technology is such an important part of our world, it is everyone's role to reach out to young women to build awareness and inspire an interest in computing."
K-12 Alliance member organizations include: American School Counselor Association, Association for Computing Machinery, The College Board, Computer Science Equity Alliance, Computer Science Teachers Association, Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Inc., Georgia Institute of Technology, International Society for Technology in Education, National Center for Women & Information Technology, University of Oregon, National Girls Collaborative Project, Sally Ride Science and Tech Corps.
