Syllabus | WS 525 Gender and Technology

Official Description

Analyzes gendered nature of technology. Explores women's contributions and focuses in technology fields. Theory and practice of technologies for change and activism. (3 credits)

Prerequisites

No courses are required before taking this one, though basic computer knowledge is essential. You must understand:

• How to use a word processor.
• How to send and reply to email messages.
• How the internet works and how to use it as a research and communications tool.

It is essential that you ask for help with technology issues to complete this course.

Communications

This course will be delivered via Blackboard, which allows students to read the lecture materials and announcements about expectations, learn skills via tutorials, discuss issues, email other students and the instructor, and deliver projects.

Introduction

Even though the World Wide Web has enabled women to have their own voice in words and pictures, as well as build online communities and get work done, there is a documented need around the globe to integrate gender concerns in all aspects of academia, industry, and the arts.

Gender plays a key role in whether girls and women are provided the same opportunities to design, learn about, and use technologies as boys and men. Statistics about girls/boys, women/men, and technology will show that various factors contribute to a lack of females in technology fields, which may contribute to technology that does not meet female needs, and so perpetuates a lack of interest in technology developed to work with women rather than against them. "Who does what with a technology for what purposes is, at least in part, a cause and effect of gender." (Lana Rakow in Gendered Technology, Gendered Practice, Critical Studies in Mass Communications #5)

What can we do to make technology more accessible to girls and women? What gaps exist that we can fill with our skills and talents? GenderIT.org is one example of activism where support is provided to governments, businesses, and organizations involved in policymaking. As these groups become more interested in 'controlling' the internet and other technologies, GenderIT strives to defend them as secure and accessible spaces for social justice, campaigning, and promoting development. One of their principal objectives is to help make connections between women's rights, gender, and internet communication technology.

This course will provide you the opportunity to delve into the major issues that exist regarding gender and technology, discover solutions, and implement a plan to reduce the problems.

Required Textbooks

TBA ~ Readings go out of date, so by the time the term starts, I'll have a new list of updated readings. Check back mid March, 2012.

Old readings:

The Fire this Time, Your Activists and the New Feminism

Vivien Labaton and Dawn Lundy Martin. Anchor Books. 2004.

Techno Feminism

Judy Wajcman. Polity. 2004.

Optional Textbook

Unlocking the Clubhouse; Women in Computing

Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher. MIT Press. 2003. This quick read gets to the heart of our society's social and educational set-up that alienates women in computing fields.

Many additional online readings are listed in the Forum Schedules and project instruction pages. In addition, students will use the following online sources to complete projects:

OSU Valley Library

Online access to OSU library holdings.

Del.icio.us/GenderTechnology

Social tagging of resources

GenderTechnology.wordpress.com

Sample blog with project examples.

Required Software

Most all work produced for this course will be within Blackboard Forums and a personal blog you install. Other software needed to complete parts of your Activism Project include data-tracking, financial, and image-editing software, which most students already own (such as Microsoft Office). Online versions of these tools can be found online and used at no cost.

Use email to ask technical questions or to get clarification on my expectations.

Readings, Viewings, Interactions, and Projects

Discussions of the gendered nature of technology

Two textbooks, in addition to select articles and media, will feed our discussion of the masculine bias in technology, industry, finances, and policy-making. Discussion will allow us to argue for a different, feminist influence in the development, education, and use of technology, industry, and global success.

Each interaction and project below links to an instruction page providing introduction, supplemental readings, tutorials, objectives, description of tasks, scoring criteria, and examples.

1. Readings Discussion Forums (10 points per week, total of 60 points)

As a result of the Readings Discussion, students will be able to 1) discuss feminist theory, women's choices, race and cultural issues, and barriers related to gender and technology; 2) summarize the major issues, statistics, and historical significance of technology developed and/or used by women and men; 3) research and present history and current trends of women and men and technology of different cultures/ countries; and 4) interpret, compare, and draw conclusions of trends and analyze technologies from feminist perspectives.

Detailed readings, viewings, and activity schedules, instructions, and scoring criteria are available on the Forums page.

2. Peer Review Forums (10 points per week, total of 40 points)

As a result of the the Peer Review Forums, students will be able to interpret, compare, and draw conclusions of modern activism projects and analyze technologies from feminist perspectives.

Detailed topic schedules, instructions, and scoring criteria are available on the Forums page.

3. Blogging (5 points per week, total of 50 points)

As a result of the weekly Blogging, students will be able to achieve a level of understanding regarding personal lifestyles and how choices can change the future and declare personal principles, policies, or intentions for future use of technology.

Detailed instructions and scoring criteria are available on the Blogs page.

Activism Project

The following subprojects are the foundation by which you will plan and implement a strategy to promote technology awareness and use to women and girls or promote policy-making regarding gender and technology. With these projects you'll share your cultural, technical, and creative perspectives.

1. Research & Database Development (30 points, week 1, 2)

Using a blog, social tagging web service, or stand-alone database, students will build a bank of resources to help develop the Activism Plan. Detailed learning outcomes, activity requirements, instructions, and scoring criteria are available on the Plan page.

2. Plan (30 points, weeks 3,4)

Students will write a complete plan for an activism activity that can be accomplished in 7 weeks. Plan writing will be done in a blog. Detailed learning outcomes, activity requirements, instructions, and scoring criteria are availble on the Plan page.

2. Financial Analysis (30 points, weeks 5,6)

The financial analysis is a continuation of the plan. Using a spreadsheet, database, and/or accounting software, students will analyze the cost of financing their Activism Plan. Detailed learning outcomes, activity requirements, instructions, and scoring criteria are availble on the Plan page.

4. Education and Information (40 points, weeks 7, 8, 9)

Students will research and write about the solutions to close the gap chosen in the Activism Plan and declare feminist theoretical foundations for the activism. Students will develop and produce an online lesson that teaches knowledge and a skill(s) to the intended audience, which will help close the gap. Detailed learning outcomes, activity requirements, instructions, and scoring criteria are availble on the Plan page.

5. Promotion (20 points, week 10)

Based on the Activismm Plan, studetns will promote their activism activities using a variety of methods. Detailed learning outcomes, activity requirements, instructions, and scoring criteria are availble on the Plan page.

Philosophy of Teaching

I prefer to mentor, demonstrate, and share methods rather than mandate the memorizing of information. This approach, along with ample opportunity to explore and practice methods allows creative students to put themselves in a professional mode right away, if they're up for it, and use the freedom to study in a direction that interests them.

Technical challenges are opportunities to find solutions, through exploration, systematic troubleshooting, and group interaction. In group interactions, students have the opportunity to teach others; a highly successful way to learn. I like to engage students by bringing them to the podium to share their own methods. When teaching/learning online, this work happens in the discussion forums; again modeling the way professional developers solve problems.

Course content is presented in a variety of formats to aid a diverse student population. Links to multimedia-rich online tutorials aids the auditory and visual learners. Well-organized and well-designed course materials aid the visual learners and the learners who need only to read to understand new concepts and procedures.

Course logistics

By following these guidelines, you'll succeed in this course:

• Check Bb frequently for announcements and solutions.
• Ask questions about readings and projects in the weekly forums so I can answer them for everyone.
  • Please post answers you have for others; no need to wait for me to respond.
  • Type a subject that helps organize the issues; not "Help!!! but something like, "Links in Word," or "Confused about project criteria."
  • When asking a technical support question, be sure to provide a link to the problem page (or submit the file with the problem), and give detailed information that will help us provide solutions.
  • Write in complete sentences, not chat-ease.
• Try what you read.
• Put in the necessary time.
• If you have a question about your grade, please EMAIL me.
  • Grade information is private and does not belong in the forum.
  • Title all emails with the course number (WS 525).
    • This is a requirement! I get more than 100 emails per day and yours are the most important, so help me find them.
  • If you disagree with your grade, be sure to use hello, please, thank you, etc. in your email to keep me in an agreeable mood. A questioning tone rather than a demanding tone will help me meet your needs.
  • Finish your message with first and last name so I don't have to guess who you are. I will have from 50 to 100 students per term and cannot remember every detail.
• Remember that I am here to help you. Do not hesitate to ask questions. Because I want you to be successful, I can be quite flexible.

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098.

Statement on Academic Dishonesty

Many students do not understand what academic dishonesty is. It is important to become familiar with its different forms and the University's definitions.

At Oregon State University academic dishonesty is defined by the Oregon Administrative Rules 576-015-0020.1.a-c as: An intentional act of deception in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic work. Academic dishonesty includes:

Cheating

use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information or study aids or an act of deceit by which a student attempts to misrepresent mastery of academic effort or information. This includes unauthorized copying or collaboration on a test or assignment or using prohibited materials and texts.

Fabrication

falsification or invention of any information (including falsifying research, inventing or exaggerating data and listing incorrect or fictitious references.

Assisting

helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty. This includes paying or bribing someone to acquire a test or assignment, changing someone's grades or academic records, or taking a test/doing an assignment for someone else (or allowing someone to do these things for you). It is a violation of Oregon state law to create and offer to sell part or all of an education assignment to another person (ORS 165.114).

Tampering

altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents.

Plagiarism

representing the word or ideas of another person as one's own OR presenting someone else's words, ideas, artistry or data as one's own. This includes copying another person's work (including unpublished material) without appropriate referencing, presenting someone else's opinions and theories as one's own, or working jointly on a project, then submitting it as one's own.

Academic dishonesty cases are handled initially by the academic units (collection of evidence and documentation of incident, meeting with student regarding the situation, determination of responsibility and academic penalty) but will also be referred to the Student Conduct Coordinator for action under the rules. More information.