All Ages Early exposure

R

remnant

Legacy Member
Girls in most educational setups are more inclined to have a bias for subjects that are assumed o be gender friendly like languages. They are socialized to view technology subjects like maths or physics to be a male domain. Girls should be exposed to gadgets at an early age just like boys so that they can approach technology and design subjects with a positive attitude.
 
I think they do, in my experience I find that both boys and girls really tack to technology very well. They might use it in a different way but there isn't really a gender difference.
 
I don't think there's a gender difference, in my opinion. Nor do I think one gender is more exposed to technology than the other. I was introduced to computers at 3 years old. That was in 1993. Now we are, from day one, submerged into a world of wires, TV screens, and pixelated superheroes. Sure, there are gender differences in how we use technology. Out in public I've seen little girls ask for their mom's phone to check their hair. Meanwhile, the little boy wants the Whoopie cushion app.
 
Hmmm... From where I am, women are into technology and gadgets as much as boys. I would say that introducing gadgets is a great way of exposing them into that world. But what's even better is teaching our kids that they can be anyone they want to be. Don't teach them that as girl, they're supposed to be like this or like that. Remove all those hindering gender roles so that all people can fulfil whatever their dreams are.

You can be welder even if you're a woman. You can even be a soldier and right now, the US will start putting women into battle as well. So little by little, we're fighting the normal gender roles and with proper guidance as parents, we can help with that as well. I think even in a field like IT, more and more women are being involved in the scene. It's a nice change for sure.
 
Varerii said:
I don't think there's a gender difference, in my opinion. Nor do I think one gender is more exposed to technology than the other. I was introduced to computers at 3 years old. That was in 1993. Now we are, from day one, submerged into a world of wires, TV screens, and pixelated superheroes. Sure, there are gender differences in how we use technology. Out in public I've seen little girls ask for their mom's phone to check their hair. Meanwhile, the little boy wants the Whoopie cushion app.
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I agree, I think technology reaches out to everyone, it doesn't matter what gender or how old you are, everyone uses it. Since it has become more accessible in recent years most people have become dependent on it, you just have to go to your local coffee shop or bus stop and you will see people hunched over their smartphone.
 
This is a fascinating subject. Although I do believe that times are changing and more girls are exposed to technology, I think a gap still exists. Some of it is our expectations of girls vs. boys. I'd like to think we don't have a difference in expectations, but I think it exists. I teach preschoolers and I am amazed at how children learn about gender and gender expectations, technology included. For example, the girls at school gravitate towards the "quieter" activities such as the book area or dramatic play area while the boys are pulled towards the physical activities (ex: shooting hoops or navigating an obstacle course). This certainly doesn't apply to all children, but to many. I don't know if it is "built in" or if we are subconsciously teaching our children about gender bias. Technology does appeal to both genders.
 
I think that based on social desires and family influence, individuals will have different reasons for pursuing technology, and that might have a huge effect on them over decades.

In this light, young girls and boys might have common and similar social desires specific to their gender, which would certainly produce some patterns, but there would also be very many inconsistencies. I have to imagine that this means there are certain behaviors that either sex would develop more often than the other.
 
Kathy Reiter said:
This is a fascinating subject. Although I do believe that times are changing and more girls are exposed to technology, I think a gap still exists. Some of it is our expectations of girls vs. boys. I'd like to think we don't have a difference in expectations, but I think it exists. I teach preschoolers and I am amazed at how children learn about gender and gender expectations, technology included. For example, the girls at school gravitate towards the "quieter" activities such as the book area or dramatic play area while the boys are pulled towards the physical activities (ex: shooting hoops or navigating an obstacle course). This certainly doesn't apply to all children, but to many. I don't know if it is "built in" or if we are subconsciously teaching our children about gender bias. Technology does appeal to both genders.
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I find the opposite to be true, both girls and boys are drawn to technology. they might use it in different ways but there isn't a big divide were boys will be using tablets or laptops and girls will just use pen and paper.
 
So far so good I also don't see any gender gap or inequality when it comes to subjects and activities related to technology where I live. Both male and female have equal opportunities for learning and applying their interests be it technology wise or any other area.
 
Well I certainly agree that women and girls should be just as able to be exposed to technology, and in general I agree that the earlier the better. It is a big dilemma though, because at the same that you want to introduce early, you want to ensure that it is being used appropriately. Often times students at a young age are not able to use it appropriately, and so you have a difficult question to ask yourself.
 
In 2016, I think it might be time to stop actually talking about certain subjects and how they can only be taught to specific genders. the school system in place today needs to serve every child no matter what gender, race, or religion they are to the best of it's ability, and that of course means that every subject should be open to every child in that school.

Teachers will be happier working in that environment, the parents will be happier, but most importantly so will the children and lets not forget, when it comes to education, they should be the ones that are at the top of the list.
 
I think the situation is getting better but in my country, at least, there's still some sort of stigma against women in traditionally male-dominated studies like engineering and physics. You don't see much of this scorn against women anymore in areas like biology, chemistry, and mathematics - but engineering still seems so stuck in that male tradition.

But when it comes to technology itself, I don't think there's much of a gap. Girls and boys alike love gadgets, and there's no one saying that a girl can't pick up a piece of technology just because of her gender (and if there is, then they're clearly bigoted). I think the problem lies more in who has access to education and technology. A lot of girls in poorer countries still don't have access to even the most basic of educations, let alone technology. Perhaps that's where the gap resides.
 
There are still some trades that are predominantly aimed at a certain gender, and even with a lot of education and barriers being broken down I have a feeling that it ill always be that way unfortunately. While there is nothing to stop females taking an engineering course for example, and in fact it's actually encouraged, when it comes to actually then trying to get a job in that sector they will find out that it easier said than done.

I think that puts teachers and the education system in a dilemma, as we should encourage the children to be anything they want to be, at the same time we also have to do whats best for them, and encouraging them to go into an industry that we know as a gender bias and they won't be able to make a living isn't going to help them in the long run.
 
It is almost impossible to escape contact with technology in the modern world. Even if you are part of a previous generation, at the very least you would be forced to use facebook or any other social network to communicate with relatives. It is the norm now.

Early exposure is practically mandatory (or we could say, natural) these days, which is making new generations more technologically literate than ever before.

Not exploiting this natural advantage the new generations have would be crazy.

If it were up to me, students would be immersed since childhood in a constant bombardment of small capsules of studies showing general knowledge and possible options for life. Then the mentor would analyze what topics the child showed more interest for, naturally.

As the child grows, the themes that attract him/her would deepen. This is done on every screen the kid has access to. In the classroom, in the living room, when using the mobile phone...

Gradually, it would be encouraging a desire for these new breed of students to excercise their own vocation. It would become something completely natural, thanks to their dive-in from an early age into it.
 
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Children are getting more technologically literate earlier than ever before, and while that isn't a bad thing (in my opinion) I do think we need to find a balance between embracing that but also making sure that the 'old fashioned' forms of learning are also maintained as well. The way things are going are going to end up with a nation of children that can find their way around a computer, but are unable to pick up a pen and write something down on a piece of paper.
 
Well I am glad that I returned because I really like the way that Lewriter put it above - to not give them the natural advantage would be crazy. If you have a child, you certainly want to see them grow up to be successful, and I cannot help but notice that the money is increasingly going into the tech sector, so I would absolutely push this on my kid. I think that you would thank yourself later.
 
I actually got my psychology degree before I got my education degree, and there definitely is research that indicates this is the case - males tend to often get pushed into the math/science domain, whereas females tend to be more encouraged in the literary side of things.

I think it's all the more reason to try and be neutral when it comes to pushing certain students into certain things - trying to ensure that everyone is encouraged with every subject, equally.
 
rz3300 said:
Well I am glad that I returned because I really like the way that Lewriter put it above - to not give them the natural advantage would be crazy.
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Unfortunately it seems that in many instances we are being "unintelligent". The truth is that -as a society- we are failing to use these new technologies to educate our new generations in an integral way.

Surely we all understand that children will look for single use and curiosity when they "learn to learn" (in this case, it means using search engines on their own), what we lack now is plenty of guided assistance.

There's no motive or reason why a child should be seeing adult content when a capsule of content didactically well done should be there to quench their thirst for knowledge. Just using this as an example.

There is so much inappropriate content that can reach our children online. This approach should be taken as something more important and serious in the developed world.
 
gracer said:
So far so good I also don't see any gender gap or inequality when it comes to subjects and activities related to technology where I live. Both male and female have equal opportunities for learning and applying their interests be it technology wise or any other area.
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I find the same thing, I think that it was something that was more present in the past then it's now.
 
This would somehow go out of topic but an obvious proof that men and women both have equal opportunities in the generation that we have now is the head-to-head battle between a man and a woman for the highest position in the most powerful country right now. If woman now has the chance to become the next president of the United States of America and it somehow represents the acceptance of women not only in equal work opportunities but also when it comes to leadership.
 
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