Introduction
The ComputerGirl team:
Jenny Jiang, Lynbrook High School (jenny at computergirl.us)
Amy Wu, Stanford University (amy at computergirl.us)
Amy Wu, currently a student of Stanford University, started this website as a high school student in hopes of bridging the gap between young women in high school and the computer world. Her initial interest in Computer Science had led her to research its possibility as her major despite the negative news regarding the field. After gathering articles, statistics, and success stories, and after conversing with many women professionals, she was confident and reassured of her choice of major. After time, Amy realized how important it was not only to encourage women to break the misconceptions and stereotypes by majoring in CS, but also to support them in advancing their computer and technological skills. Technology and CS will only increase in their importance to today's and tomorrow's society, and women are not to be left behind!
Since then, the ComputerGirl project has become an Association for Computing Machinery's Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W) project. We also won the site of the month award for Best College Girls Site for December 2002, presented by the Women in Engineering Organization (http://www.wieo.org). ComputerGirl is currently maintained by the ComputerGirl team.
The problem of the decreasing number of women in CS is most apparent in the choice of undergraduate major. Many students may be discouraged from CS by harboring misunderstandings about the field and by finding a lack of support and resources. In the course of my exploration, I had the idea of creating a web site to share the wonderful resources and research that are available, but may be unknown to high school students or difficult for them to find. I hope that this site will be a bridge for young women in high school to the computer world, helping them find the right resources quickly.
This web site is designed to focus on female high school students. Thus, all of the research on this site is specifically chosen to address their questions and concerns. Many experts and role models have been invited to provide advice and answer student questions. The open-database system allows authorized individuals to add relevant resources themselves and to post questions, responses, and advice. Therefore, this web site is a joint effort that involves the knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm of everyone. We also have a coming listing of free online classes for students to access to improve their computing skills at home.
Important Information
We are looking for ComputerGirl team members! If you are a high school student, please go here for details!
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This site is constantly being improved and updated. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!
The ComputerGirl Team
info@computergirl.us