DCSD Schools to Participate in ‘Girls Who Game’ Program

Three DCSD Schools to Participate in ‘Girls Who Game’ Program to Encourage and Mentor Girls in STEM

Briarlake Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, and Smoke Rise Elementary will participate in the Dell Technologies and Microsoft Girls Who Game program, an initiative focused on increasing young girls’ access to technology to prepare them for success in a digital world.

The extracurricular gaming project provides female students the opportunity to learn through play with a focus on building global competencies and computational thinking using Minecraft: Education Edition. The program establishes a girl-centric ecosystem that empowers young girls to learn from one another as well as build confidence in a secure and positive space.

The program aims to achieve three goals:

• Provide authentic application and engage female students (grades 4-8) in learner-driven experiences that broaden their knowledge, skills and dispositions within STEM-related fields.
• Develop mentorship by fostering the pursuit of academic and career aspirations of young women.
• Build a community of learners by using gaming to build relationships, amplify success, and promote reflection for continued growth and ongoing feedback. Dell Technologies and Microsoft will be providing Dell Latitude 3190 devices for the program.

Dell Technologies and Microsoft Learning Design Specialists will also provide ongoing professional development for coaches and for the girls in order to build knowledge, confidence, and advocacy in STEM disciplines. The program is currently established in schools across Canada and the US.