The attitude to technology within a school can influence the extent to which students, male or female, will elect to study IT. Schools are usually responsible for professional development, including technology training for teachers (Dawson & Rakes, 2003). School principals play a pivotal role in promoting technology use in schools (Anderson & Dexter, 2005; Schiller, 2003; Scrimshaw, 2004). We could not have implemented Digital Divas in any school without the support and encouragement of the principal. Research by Dawson and Rakes, (2003) concluded that the larger the amount of IT training and experience a principal has, particularly focusing on computers and the curriculum, the better IT will be integrated in the school. This is consistent with the findings of a study by Miranda and Russell, (2011), who found that how much a principal used technology influenced teachers’ use and beliefs in the value of IT. Other studies such as that by Lai, Trewern, and Pratt (2002) argue that leadership is important for successful technology integration in schools. The ICT co-ordinator often provides this leadership by contributing to ICT school policy (Lai et al., 2002).
The ratio of computers to students ranged from 1 to 1.2 to 1 to 6. We were only able to obtain data from seven schools regarding the teaching of IT in students’ final year (Year 12). Of the seven schools only four offered a Year 12 IT subject.
Given that some schools are not teaching IT widely, or as a separate subject, it is therefore important to reflect on the response of schools to the Digital Divas program. Four of the schools have now run the program more than once; one school ran the program four times and another three times.
At the beginning of 2013 we contacted each of the schools and asked if they were planning to run Digital Divas in the future. Three other schools indicated they will be offering the program as an elective or it will be running as a non-elective subject. Two schools think it is likely to be offered again but decisions had not been made at the time of writing this book.
Many of the schools do not provide details of the electives they offer on
their websites; however, two schools advertised on their website that they are offering Digital Divas.
The majority of the schools participating in Digital Divas did not have a strong focus on teaching IT, although they did recognise the importance of providing students access to technology. In one of the all-girl schools, because it is a selective-entry school, the girls are very academically driven.
It was interesting to reflect on the impact of the program on that particular school. It was clear in our early interactions with the school that most of the girls were looking towards careers in medicine and law, not in technology;
hence interest in technology was not strong. Reflecting on the program, the teacher saw its potential for these girls:
I would like to try all modules and to see how the girls take to those modules and what can be done further in those modules but this time, time was not sufficient enough to do a lot, which is just our problem because we discovered Digital Divas a bit too late. I would like to spend a good year on it to really see what I can do for our cohort with regards to Digital Divas. (McAllister)
This school ran the program for three years and for two of those years it was delivered concurrently in Year 9 and Year 10 using different modules.
As researchers, we considered it important that Digital Divas be run as a single-sex class. A number of schools that requested to participate in the program were not included because they could not guarantee the class would be all girls. The participating schools were willing to provide an all-girl environment. Now that the research project is finished, schools that choose to start or continue teaching Digital Divas are able to run the program in any way they like. However, it is encouraging to see that the co-educational schools that are interested in continuing will still offer, or have offered, Digital Divas as single-sex classes. This suggests that one impact on the school is understanding the value of teaching IT to an all-girl class.
There was also a broader impact of the program on other aspects of schools, particularly with respect to the curriculum. As described earlier, teachers adapted the materials we provided for them and also supplemented the materials with the resources they had found themselves. Almost all of the teachers involved in Digital Divas have increased their IT skills and knowledge ultimately to the benefit of the school, particularly as a number of the teachers had very limited IT skills prior to becoming involved.
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One teacher developed her own approach to teaching one part of the program. This involved the girls making fairy bread, which they then took outside to eat. As this quote illustrates, the involvement of the Expert Diva encouraged other girls in the school to ask questions about university.
But when we went outside to eat it – you can’t eat fairy bread in this classroom –some of the girls wandered over here to chat to other kids out in the yard, which meant at various times different girls came and just had some one-on-one, or some two-on-one time with Eve [Expert Diva]. I tried not to hover too much, but their conversations were really quite relaxed. Just talking about uni, and her upcoming exams, and how she’d coped with assessments and just things like that. Whether or not that was in an IT direction or just tertiary study in general, I think that was really valuable for them. Otherwise the only tertiary-educated people they meet are their teachers, and their doctors. I think that could be a bit limiting, especially in [Mayer].
Mayer Secondary College is a disadvantaged school where most of the students are not expected to go on to tertiary studies.
Discussion
Reflecting on the data we had gathered at the end of the Digital Divas project it became obvious that there had been unexpected effects and/or influences on those other than the participating girls themselves; Digital Divas had had a ‘ripple effect’. Figure 7.1 summarises that impact.
Our target audience for the program were secondary school girls; however, as the ripple moved out further there was an impact on others. The next group on whom the Digital Divas program had the greatest impact, we believe, were the teachers. The extent to which the teachers would benefit from teaching Digital Divas was unexpected. Previous research highlights the effect on student learning when an enthusiastic teacher is teaching a class.
As we discussed earlier, teachers are also critical to the uptake of technology in the classroom. Interviews with the teachers indicated that all our teachers expressed a high level of enthusiasm for teaching Digital Divas and many teachers taught the program more than once. Almost all the teachers learned new skills. In the case of some teachers the software used was new to them and this required them to become familiar with it; for others the program offered an opportunity to refresh their skills.
Figure 7.1: The ripple effect of the Digital Divas program
Many teachers grew in confidence in terms of their IT skills and teaching IT. For those who had not taught IT previously, they acquired a level of confidence both with the technology and with teaching IT. Along the way the teachers became more aware of a range of other things such as different careers in IT, different approaches to teaching and the value of teaching an all-girl class. There was enthusiasm among the teachers to find new resources to complement the material in the modules and clearly a number of teachers saw value in the fact that they were extending themselves as a result of being involved.
There was also an effect on the Expert Divas involved in the program.
They too developed new skills learning software they were not familiar with;
they learned how to interact and engage effectively with the girls and the teachers, as well as how to communicate more effectively. They were exposed to some of the issues relating to girls’ knowledge about IT and IT careers which for some was a shock. Our Expert Divas also grew in confidence through the program; a number of them taught parts of the curriculum to the class and were not just involved in helping the girls with their work. One researcher noticed that even back at the university when there were calls for
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volunteers for school talks, or to host school visits on open days, it was often the Expert Divas who volunteered.
As the use of computer technology in schools becomes all-pervasive, it is critical for the teaching staff to be adequately equipped and confident with the technology. Bauer and Kenton’s (2005) research highlighted the import-ance of teachers being confident with IT in order to be able to effectively teach IT. Further, they found a direct link between IT skills and confidence. One clear effect on schools was on teacher confidence and equipping teachers who were not technologically savvy with new skills and knowledge, ultimately benefiting schools. The schools were exposed to a new way of teaching IT resulting in changing curriculum. The schools also gained insights into the value of teaching in all-girl classes.
Although the research did not measure the impact on the wider community extensively, chapter eight does provide details of the wider community of two of the schools – the circle represented by a dotted line – however information to the wider community was provided via the schools. The project attracted the attention of the media, with a short report on one ABC program and various items in newspapers both state-based and Australia-wide.
Conclusion
The designers of any intervention program, aiming for social change, generally expect their program to have an impact on an identified group. It is also likely, although rarely reported, that the intervention has had an in-fluence or effect on others. This chapter has therefore provided insights on how an intervention program can and does have an impact on others. We set out with the aim of improving the awareness and skills of girls in computers and technology. We ended up improving the confidence and expertise of both the teachers and the Expert Divas and provided the schools with a different perspective on teaching IT. As researchers these have emerged as outcomes that we did not anticipate or plan, but we welcome the ripple effect. For those designing interventions in the future we would argue that looking at the wider impact of the project has value.