 Letter from Donna: Marketing Technology & Trades in the Classroom
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Dear WomenTech Educator,
If girls are not exposed to female role models in technology and the trades in school, most will never even think to give these careers a try. How can we make sure that women and girls consider all the opportunities open to them? In our last e-newsletter we talked about finding female role models who can inspire female students to follow in their footsteps. In this issue, I wanted to continue in this vein and point out some of the marketing materials available online that you can bring to your classroom and school. Engineer Your Life site has free standardized downloadable brochures educators and counselors are welcome to print out for their female students. Also, IWITTS has posters featuring women in the trades and in engineering and a customizable Marketing Collateral Template Kit with templates for brochures, flyers and a PowerPoint presentation. Want more great resources? Keep reading!
Sincerely,
Donna Milgram
Executive Director, IWITTS
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Engineering: Go For It! |
 Engineering, Go For It (eGFI) is a 64-page magazine produced by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) every two years. A new edition has just been released in a free online Flash version and as a $4 full-color magazine you could pass around to your students. A $3 "Dream up the Future" 3ft by 2ft poster showcasing the wide variety of engineering jobs out there is also available on their website. The website also features many other resources for both students and educators. Under "For Teachers" eGFI has science and introductory engineering lesson plans, links to outreach programs and some of the latest news on the United States education system.
Although the website and magazine were not developed exclusively for female students, both include interviews with successful female engineers and with female engineering students enjoying their studies and looking forward to their future careers in engineering and technology. The magazine shows how engineering is saving lives and the environment every day, taking into account research demonstrating that girls want to know how their career will make a difference in the world. A "Girl Power" article talks about special programs at universities created to provide supportive communities for girls studying engineering and interviews female students in the programs. The website and magazine don't just spark students' interest in studying and doing engineering though; they also provide a directory of engineering schools and tips for pursuing a degree.
Visit www.egfi-k12.org to access the online magazine instantly (with accompanying online videos) and/or to order a physical copy for your students.
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TO GO: Trades Offer Girls Options |
 TO GO is a program developed by Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. to provide resources and workshops to educate middle and high school female students about careers in the building, construction, mechanical and utility trades. Through their website, educators can download PDF handouts on seven different trades careers from electrician to steamfitter. Even though these handouts have been created for girls in the states of Oregon and Washington, they can be used as models to create your own handouts with information relevant to your own state.
Visit the TO GO Resources webpage to download the handouts, a PDF with tips on creating a positive classroom environment for female students in technical classes, a comparison of what it means to pursue an apprenticeship versus a college education and more.
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Tradeswomen 2010 Calendars |
 Tradeswomen, Inc., a 30 year old nonprofit that advocates for women in the non-traditional trades, is offering a 2010 calendar featuring photographs of women working in the building trades. Among the crafts featured are electricians, laborers, ironworkers, carpenters, truck drivers, operating engineers, plumbers, and painters. Tradeswomen, Inc. promotes outreach, recruitment, retention and leadership of women in non-traditional trades. For information about purchasing the calendar and about Tradeswomen, Inc., please see www.tradeswomen.org or email meg@tradeswomen.org.
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The 30th National WomenTech Educators Train-the-Trainer Workshop February 18-19, 2010 in San Francisco, Register by November 17 for Early-Bird Rates and Save $100. |
 Strategies that work! Breaking news from the nation's expert on preparing women and girls for technology careers...
"Whether teaching in the curricular area of technology education, teaching information technology or teaching vocational education - Natl. IWITTS Training is a must." -Tom Frawley, Past President, New York State Technology Education Association (NYSTEA)
Register now for early bird rates and save $100. Hurry our workshops fill up quickly. Donna Milgram, Executive Director of IWITTS, will conduct a fast-paced, two-day interactive workshop for technology instructors, school administrators, counselors, school-to-career, tech-prep and equity coordinators. Ms. Milgram is the woman behind the WomenTech Training and she has conducted hundreds of national and state trainings in 42 states. Ms. Milgram is currently the Principal Investigator of the CalWomenTech Project, which is being highlighted by NSF for demonstrating significant achievement and program effectiveness to the Committee for Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Performance Assessment, where it has been very well received.
- The WomenTech Training is based on best practices, solutions-oriented and "a lot of fun" according to our male and female educator participants. Here, you can develop an action plan to recruit women to your traditionally male-dominated classes and then put the plan into action right away to retain women in your classrooms with both high school and community college recruitment strategies.
- In IWITTS's NSF funded CalWomenTech Project, the schools that implemented the recruitment strategies actually saw an increase in female enrollment of 10%-15% within 16 months. In addition, schools that successfully implemented the retention strategies had both an increase in the completion rates of women (some by as much at 20%-40%) as well as men.
- You can learn a menu of new recruitment strategies that cost little or nothing at all based on proven best practice methods from urban, rural and suburban schools. Become skilled at putting on a WomenTech Career Expo and make girl geeks cool in your school!
- Concentrate on an in-depth module on gender differences in learning styles. Learn how to excite and engage female students in technology by teaching to their learning style; help technophobic female students overcome their fear of breaking the computer; incorporate bridge activities and course modules that will enable ALL of your students to succeed in the technology classroom, and much more!
- Work through case studies with your colleagues on retention problems that arise in classes where the number of female students is small. Help your female students withstand negative peer pressure and connect with female role models.
Send three or more participants from the same school and receive $50 off the participant price!
"This is an empowering workshop that gives you the tools to put ideas into practice to better the institution you work for." -Angela Fulkerson, Academic Advisor, Montana State University, Billings, MT
"Thanks for providing the class at ITEA in New Mexico; I really got a lot out of it. I have been very successful with recruiting more girls for my after school programs." -John Singer, Technology Education, Hanby Middle School, Wilmington, DE
Bring our WomenTech workshop to you! We provide trainings for NSF ATE Centers, states, regions and individual schools and colleges. Contact Donna Milgram for more information.
Learn more about the WomenTech Educators Workshop February 18 and 19, 2009. |
Career Videos of Women in 35 High Wage, High Demand Science, Technology and Trades Occupations |
 We are so excited to bring you these 35 outstanding career videos featuring women in traditionally male jobs that will inspire your female students to enter these technology, trades and science occupations!
Each 24-minute DVD reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful role models in technology and trades. They send the message that the sky is the limit to women and girls! Career areas range from Automotive and Aviation to Engineering, Robotics and Automation, to Heavy Equipment Operation.
Our career series will make a great addition to any career counseling center, library, technology classroom, or outreach team! Purchase the DVDs individually or as a 35-DVD set.
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Think Women Can't? Think Again - Poster Series |
IWITTS is pleased to offer its two specialized poster series: Think Women Can't? Think Again
1)Women in Technology & Trades
Think Women Can't? Think Again! set of 7 posters
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2) Women in Engineering
Think Women Can't? Think Again! set of 7 posters
These large, colorful posters come in sets of 7 occupational areas in tech/trades or engineering and are perfect for school classrooms, counseling offices and hallways.
Preview all Think Women Can't Be: Think Again Posters
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Featured Tools |
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Women in Science Kits Provide 9 Real Women Scientists as Role Models for Your Students!
PicoCricket Kits will teach your female students robotics, engineering and programming skills!
These 35 career videos will inspire your female students to enter exciting tech, trades and science occupations!
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Quick Links |
The CalWomenTech Learning Library identifies software and pubs for educators and students that boost tech building block skills.
The WomenTech Portal connects educators with research-based articles on recruiting and retaining women in technology.
WomenTech Proven Practices Library
Research-based articles for educators on recruiting and retaining more women in the technology classroom. View article descriptions and choose which articles to download - free.
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Our Mission |
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 IWITTS provides the tools to successfully integrate women into male-dominated careers -- such as technology and law enforcement -- via our training, publications, products, e-strategies, and NSF-research projects.
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