A Fortnight in Boston, Massachusetts

I recently had the fortunate opportunity to participate in the CRA-W Grad Cohort for a third and final time.  I love this program because not only do we get to meet a lot of amazing women grad students in computer science and get some really valuable advice on grad school, we also get to visit some really neat places.  Last year's event was in Seattle, and the year before that in San Francisco.  This time around it was held in Boston, and I loved learning all about this incredible city in every spare moment we had!



One of the highlights was the Freedom Trail Walking Tour. I must admit that I am not terribly familiar with American history, but no matter - on this tour I learned how it all began! The stories behind the American Revolution were as exciting as they were interesting.  (Our amazing tour guide in full period costume probably had something to do with that.)



Stepping onto the USS Constitution, build in the 18th century, was also something else.  Sure, a lot of the wood would have been replaced as it rotted, but it's still the same ship built all those years ago - at least in spirit! I can't help but imagine all those men who fought on this Navy Frigate, and I can't help but notice how much I would hate to have been one of them.

Finally, before heading home, we made sure to stop by Harvard and MIT.  At MIT we stumbled on a public panel called The Veritas Forum.  We arrived when it was more than half over, so we only saw the moderator ask questions from her iPad as the audience tweeted them.  The four panellists were MIT professors - two Christian, and two atheist - who debated over issues of religion.  It was so refreshing to see a respectful and insightful discussion on the subject.  We even met a French exchange student questioning his own faith after the talk, and had a real intellectual conversation with him.  MIT is definitely a place I feel like I could fit into.



We didn't have much time to spend at Harvard, and it was past dark.  It was neat to stop by the main square after seeing the campus in so many movies.  We also checked out Memorial Hall, but could only see the lobby as a concert was going on at the time.  We explored the basement where a student-run pub lay hidden in the depths.  I struck up a bit of a conversation with the bartender to get a feel for what students are like there.  (As you might expect, they are really no different than anywhere else.)

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked Boston, and since it's actually relatively close to home, I think I might try to bring my husband there for a visit in the next few years.

Last Minute Preparations for our Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering

Tomorrow is our second annual Carleton Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering, hosted by CU-WISE.  This is an event I came up with last year after attending Grace Hopper.  I wanted to emphasize women "doing stuff" rather than focusing only on the problem of too few women in science and engineering.  We had research, outreach, and professional development talks followed by a speaker's dinner where some amazing networking took place.

This year, I wanted to take it a step further.  I put out a call to high school girls, inviting them to attend the talks and a speaker's lunch where they could network and be mentored.

Although most outreach events have hands-on components and we weren't able to fit any in to this event, our speakers know that their talks are to be geared toward the level of understand of these students.

As a result, anyone outside of your own discipline, be it the general public or even students in a totally different area of science/engineering, will be able to understand and get excited.  I've been encouraging the speakers to look at TED and TEDx talks for inspiration and ideas (particularly the video below from TEDxCarletonU).



During our lunch, we will also have some robots from the robotics club, and hopefully some Snap Circuits to play with.  Plus one of our talks will be a dissection demo! Cool!

Putting this event together was more stressful for me than last year, given how much more is involved with the venue and the inclusion of high school students.  (For example we almost ended up not having chairs for the audience!!)  But I think it's all coming together now.... which means I should get started on my own talk, "What do soap operas and video games have to do with women in computer science?";)

I'll let you all know how it goes!

The Nicol Challenge and My Latest Idea for Girls, Computer Science, and Games

On a whim, I entered the Carleton Nicol Challenge and was thrilled to make it to the Top 8.  I pitched my idea in front of a panel of judges (apparently in Dragon's Den fashion, not that I watch the show).  I didn't make the top three, but am perfectly happy with this first attempt at any sort of entrepreneurial competition.

My pitch was titled Girls and Computer Science: Increasing Interest Through Stories and Games.  It's similar in some ways to our recent Imagine Cup game, Gram's House (which sadly did not make it past round one).  However, there are some key differences, such as focusing on a novel with an accompanying app rather than a stand-alone game.

There are many outreach initiatives, and the main themes that appear in most include ensuring girls and women know what computer science actually is (e.g. it is not about learning how to use software), that life in computer science is not what the stereotype portrays, and that you can make a difference in society with computing.

In my pitch, I proposed the creation of a mobile app / novel combo designed to tell a compelling story about computing through story and games, thus encouraging middle and early high school girls to see the field in new light.

The most important aspect of this proposal is the story told to the users.  This story must be targeted to the audience of 12-15 year old girls and paint a positive image of computer science.  The girls must be able to relate to at least one of the main characters so they can imagine themselves in their shoes.  In other words, the story should encourage the girls to project their identities into those of computer science students, a concept explained by video games and learning expert James Paul Gee.  If done right, these identities can transcend into the real world and help counteract the many reasons that girls are not entering the field.

While the story helps with the image problem the field of computer science faces, it doesn’t necessarily show the readers specifically what computer science is.

For this reason, mini-games relating to computer science problems will be introduced throughout the story via a QR code that can be scanned by a mobile device.  These games will be closely related to the problems that the main characters have to solve for homework and for personal endeavours outside of class.  On the surface they will appear to be puzzle games (one of the most popular game genres for middle school females according to research), but of course a meaningful connection to real computer science theory will be made, showing that computer science problems are actually fun and interesting.

Another key aspect is to emphasize that computer science can be used for social good.  The focus is not on the computer or programming itself, but on making a difference with these tools.  Research has shown that girls do indeed care about social good, so these games are an opportunity to connect the technical aspects with the impact they can make.

During the question period of my pitch, I was asked how much money I would need to get this going.  The truth is that what I really need is time.  I have all the tools and resources to accomplish this, but no time to do it.  Maybe it can be one of my post-grad projects.  On the other hand, if anyone out there wants to collaborate with me very closely to get this done sooner, I'd love to hear from you. ;)

The Difference One Woman Can Make

I was at the Board of Advisers meeting for the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) last week in Mountain View when it struck me just how much of a difference one person can make.

Anita Borg, like so many others, saw the lack of women in computer science and decided to do something about it.  But she's among the relatively few who have been able to truly make a difference.  (That's not to say there aren't other amazing organizations doing good work, such as CRA-W and NCWIT.  I'm focusing on ABI because it's the one I know the best.)

It struck me how amazing this is when one of the board members, a professor of computer science, commented on just how much we have been able to influence our field.  Reflecting on just those initiatives I've been able to participate in, I can list quite a few that are directly related to ABI: Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Systers, ABI Ambassadors, and a wonderful online community of technical women.

Other male-dominated fields might have "women in X" workshops and other programs, but nothing like what we've got.  Change is happening in computer science, even if the pace is slow.

The biggest takeaway is this: It is possible to make a difference, even if all you have is yourself and a good idea.  You just have to get started, build a team, and find your allies.  And most importantly, never give up.

So what are you going to change?

Patty Azzarello on Succeeding While Loving Life

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI for short) Board of Advisers meeting last week was really inspirational.  On the morning of the second day, we were treated to a talk by Patty Azzarello based on her new book Rise: How to be Really Successful at Work AND Like Your Life.  Even though the focus was on life in industry, I felt like there was a lot of advice I could apply to my own situation.

Business girl by Éole

The main theme was that "just working hard doesn't work."  In your career, it's easy to think that it's all about your expertise.  And it kind of is... at the beginning.  But then there's more to it.

It's not about politics, promotions, or raises — it's about how you approach your work.

There are three main things you should be doing / thinking about: aim to do better (have more impact), look better (be visible but not annoying), and connect better (get support).  Next are some tidbits on each of these.

Do Better

• Be less busy.  Nobody has motivation to make you less busy other than you.
• Know what the business values.
• Be wary of the trap of being a workhorse.  Although it might feel like the right thing, the only reward is more work. (Incidentally, this is one reason I don't believe in working overtime regularly.)
• Rise above the work and learn to delegate.
• Create processes and systems.
• Defend your time and be ruthless about priorities.
• Evolve your job in order to add business value, and change it to suit you better.  The better you make your career, the more value you will end up giving your company.

Look Better

• Don't be invisible, but never put politics before getting results.
• You don't need to have a big personality to succeed.  Humility is ok.  Build credibility as you.
• People with high credibility get more done, and are asked fewer (potentially dumb!) questions.
• Don't educate others about what you do. Instead, use the language of the business, and connect the dots to your own work for those you speak to.
• You have a brand that is defined by others. Ask yourself if it's what you want.  It should show who you are, why you are good, and what you care about.  A package of skills is boring.  (Patty talks about brand-building on her blog.)

Connect Better

• The biggest impact on your career will come from having a mentor.
• Don't be afraid to get help.  Build your team and never struggle alone.
• Build relationships.
• When networking, give more than you take, meet people for a reason, and keep in touch with people you know.  (During the talk I mentioned how I use Facebook to do this when someone asked how to find the time to keep in touch.)
• Schedule 30 minutes a month to send personal emails to your contacts.
• Get on "the list."  There is always a list.  Find it and get on it.

---

Want more? I definitely recommend picking up the book.  I'll be reading it myself, since Patty was kind enough to give us all a copy.  There is much more detail and lots of great stories in there, so it's totally worth the purchase.