The Girls Creating Games Program: An Innovative Approach to Integrating Technology into Middle School Jill Denner Abstract The Girls Creating Games program is a demonstration project designed to increase the number of girls who become producers, rather than just users, of technology. The activities and instructional approach are aimed to increase girls' expectations for success with computers and the extent to which they value computer work and the support they receive. In over 23 sessions after school and in the summer, middle school girls worked in pairs to design and program a computer game that was supposed to help other students. Two hundred fourteen girls participated in a study of the program. Data from surveys and interviews suggest that compared to girls not in the program, participants increased their computer skills, knowledge about computers, and perceived social support. They decreased their negative stereotypes about girls and information technology workers. Implications for applying aspects of the program to middle school classrooms are discussed. Introduction Although men and women use computers at equal rates, there are vast gender differences in who designs and produces new computer hardware and software technologies (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). Women, Latinos, and other minorities are the least likely to be interested in or aware of high-tech careers (Kearney, 2002), and women make up only 27% of workers in the areas of computer and mathematical operations (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005). Barriers include a lack of confidence, negative attitudes toward computers, lack of social support, and the belief that computers require solitary work with little social relevance (American Association of University Women, 2000; Goode, Estrella, & Margolis, 2006; Zarrett, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006). Middle school may be a key time for intervention. In these years, students make critical choices regarding their identity and perceived ability, which shape their educational and career paths (Brickhouse, Lowery, & Schultz, 2000; Tang & Cook, 2001). However, most middle schools and high schools still focus on building computer literacy rather than promoting higher order thinking (Goode, Estrella, & Margolis., 2006), even though hands-on experiences that include programming can engage students with information technology (IT) (Tucker et al., 2004). In the last decade, hundreds of after school programs have tried to increase gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and math (National Science Foundation, 2003), but few collect the kind of data needed to determine whether and why (or why not) the program had the desired impact (American Association of University Women, 2004; Dryburgh, 2000). This paper presents findings from a study of an out-of-school program where girls work in pairs to create computer games. Only two other published studies (with elementary and high school students) have used game creation as a strategy to increase girls' interest in IT as part of a research-driven agenda (Kafai,

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