Setting the stage for diversity in maker spaces and high tech learning environments

On Valentines Day I wrote a post on TechSavvy Girls blog featuring some fun geeky projects that could be used to engage girls in high tech (on Valentines Day and beyond).

Somehow that post got me thinking about other ways that I've found to engage diversity in in my high tech classes through the years and how the same strategies could be used to engage a diverse community of makers.

I think that one of the key strategies is understanding how important "the early stages" of a new maker community can be towards setting the stage for attracting a diverse maker community. Whether your diversity includes different genders, cultures, economic status, it is certainly the different abilities and the different ways of thinking and relating with the world that will generate the most innovative solutions to complex problems now and in our future.


So I thought today I'd share a small but key bit of learning that some of us discovered in our work on increasing nontraditional gender participation in Career and Technical Education. When setting up a new program in Career and Technical Education, it was very important to consider explicit strategies for engaging nontraditional gender participation in the initial stages of program development. Whether we were talking about the Metal Fabrication courses or the Health Careers program, If a program started off with a mix of male and females, then it had a much better chance of continuing to attract both males and females. A new program (or maker space) will tend to attract visitors who are curious about the new program. If visitors to the program see themselves in the picture, then word about your program will spread to more than 50% of the population.


But left to its own devices, the biases or stereotypes around us may primarily lead one gender to the program or space. Once that happens, it is harder to turn it around.


This may seem to be common sense, but the inclusion of explicit strategies to create a diverse community is sometimes an after thought that gets a back burner in the initial days of setting up a 'maker space' or a "learning space". There are always so many details to tend to.. but tend to this detail earlier and your return on investment will be much greater than if you come at it after the program or space is launched.

Inspired by Chelsea Clinton at SxSw 2014

In the past few years, I've had the opportunity to quote Chelsea Clinton (or at least what I remember) from her 2014 SxSw presentation and Q & A. Today I discovered a You Tube video of her presentation: Harnessing the Power of Data in Development. This was a great opportunity to listen again to the words that inspired me almost a year ago and to jot down more accurate "quotes".

Chelsea's speech helped me think through the question "Should I move Tech Savvy Girls towards becoming an "organization" or should I keep working as an INDIVIDUAL who COLLABORATES with OTHERS  in a freelance capacity towards this cause which I believe in - "empowering girls with technology skills."

From Chelsea's keynote:

Technology today allows individuals greater opportunity for Giving, Volunteering, and Contributing than ever before. The ability to participate in a cause have truly been democratized by technology...

Greater connectivity, Greater knowledge, Greater awareness, provide us with more outlets to engage and influence government, nonprofits and for profits organizations.
Through social media we can do something immediately such as change Facebook page, tweet, contact government officials more easily. 

Through technology we can find "Where we are positioned to uniquely make a positive difference",  Technology helps WE engage in the world around us

Chelsea describes how in the days of her grandmother, individuals could NOT send their own CARE package

CARE was a collaboration between 22 smaller organizations that TOGETHER could SCALE their efforts and they did wonderful things, but individuals had littler opportunity to contribute in the ways we can today. But technology has changed this by giving individuals a way to contribute to causes they believe in.

Technology has allowed me  to find venues where I can make a difference as an individual, but technology has also allowed me to find and support organizations I believe in who are also working to make a difference in this area.

Through the years I've struggled with the question "Should I move Tech Savvy Girls towards becoming an "organization"? Currently I continue to chose NOT to use my energy towards creating an organization. And although there are organizations, I work with or volunteer for that are positioned to support the cause of bridging the gender gap, I've decided to, also, focus on what I as an individual can do.  I like the  freedom of being able to DO something that is within my reach "right here, right now" and to remain agile enough to move quickly when an opportunities to make a difference present themselves.

I did however want an umbrella name to use for my collective efforts, so in the early 1900's I selected the name TechSavvy Girls as the project name for my Master's Capstone and for my future efforts and those of others who joined me in my many projects over the years.  These have included a day long event such as "Power Lunch with Women and Technology at UVM's engineering day", month long events such as a girl-developed entry in CyberFair International called "Creative Sides Of  Engineering" to week long summer camps for Middle School girls or High School Girls Leadership Camps. By not becoming an organization yet and remaining agile, I can work with more powerful organizations positioned to make a difference~ organizations whose leadership and modes of operation I respect.  If those organizations can can use my skills, energy, talents, I jump at the chance to join their effort. But the one thing I ask of them is to to honor my desire to remain agile (which I believe comes from being a freelance educator) and to allow me to "count my contributions" under the umbrella of Lucie's TechSavvyGirls projects as well as under their own organization.

I feel that one of the reasons I liked Chelsea's talk so much is it validated my thoughts about operating this way and that individuals can make a difference.

Chelsea mentioned that one of the factors that drives innovation (but is also a barrier) to solving problem is that we are obsesses with being the "FIRST" to solve the problem. By letting go of our egos we can form partnerships where each of us can contribute what we are uniquely positioned to contribute.  Being a freelance educator does uniquely position me to act quickly, follow a gut instinct to do something today that seems like it can make a difference.   I continually look for organizations interested in collaborating as I move forward in a nimble and agile fashion.

I have talents, knowledge, skills, energy to contribute towards bridging the technology related gender and look forward to sharing the work organizations are doing towards this goal. This year I will use this blog to raise awareness and will look to partner with those who can use my talents, knowledge, skills and energy.

My most inspirational colleague is a champion for equity

Today's prompt in the 30 day blog challenge asked us to reflect on our most inspirational colleague. 

My most inspirational colleague is a lady who walks the walk like no other I’ve seen.  She has a lens that sees the world as place where all men and women  were created equal and should have equal opportunities in our world.  Her uncanny ability to notice underlying conditions that interfere with this is amazing, as is her untiring efforts to advocate for a more equitable world. 

I met Kathy Johnson over 10 years ago when she was employed as the Director of Equity Initiatives at The Vermont Institutes. Kathy had noted my success in attracting female students in advanced computer classes and asked me to work with her on identifying strategies for increasing the number of girls enrolled in Information Technology programs in Vermont Technical Center. Kathy was a master at interviewing and helping me reflect on my teaching practice. She was able to synthesize key elements of my practice into a model that became part of future professional development in recruiting and retaining female students. 

Within a year of two of that observation, Kathy recruited me to work as a Technology and Equity Specialist for the Vermont Institutes. Kathy was more than a colleague; she was an incredible mentor. One of the first things she did was help me create a personal learning network of other professionals who were passionate about gender equity. She introduced me to both resources and people laid the foundation for me to continually grow in expertise in this area. Kathy had a gift for creating sustainable systems that would ripple in their reach and impact. Kathy didn't just "add" a person or resource to her toolkit; she created connections with people who were working (often in isolation) on similar issues to capitalize on the energy being extended to a particular issue, thus significantly increasing the momentum from individual efforts to connected, collaborative forces. 

Through her mentoring and power to connect, I found myself working on gender equity initiatives with individuals from The Vermont Women's Fund, Northern New England Tradeswomen, The Vermont Commission on Women, the Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education and more. Along with connecting people, Kathy also had a way of identifying important elements of the conversation or issues and bringing them to the forefront. It is through her influence that I now wear an "equity lens" when examining complex and sometimes messy scenarios. Her description of "who has the power" in transaction between people have had a lifelong influence the way I reflect on both professional and personal exchanges.

I have watched Kathy's expertise being sought out over and over again on matters of race, diversity, and gender equity. Whether being recruited to testifying as an expert on these important diversity issues or organizing conferences that brought people together for important dialogue and action planning around these issues, Kathy's influence has been pervasive and is one of  the most inspiring people I have had the pleasure of calling a  colleague.