Girls and coding

A couple years ago, I walked into a big toy store and was struck by how gender-specific the marketing of specific toys was, even as their basic characteristics were pretty similar.

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It turns out that this same gender-specific marketing might be to blame for the lack of women in coding-related professions, a field that was originally dominated by women. A great Planet Money episode called “When Women Stopped Coding” is a good look at when and why the tide turned.

 

Children and Technology

Thank you to RAPA for putting together a panel on Children and Technology that featured Ridgefield Academy’s division heads, Alison O’Callaghan and Clinton Howarth; the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning’s director, Basil Kolani; and the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury’s Director of Education, Training, and Outreach, Ann Rodwell-Lawton.

You can watch an archive of the panel presentation here: