Why Girls

Funded by NSF, Program for Gender Equity in Science, Math, Engineering and Technology

Whyville (www.Whyville.net) is not your typical science education website. As kids enter the site they are greeted – not with information on the latest science information or activity to try – but by flying into Whyville Square. The square is a busy place with lots of different kids (shown as avatars) milling about and chatting. Word balloons show up over people’s heads as they chat. Some of the heads are elaborately decorated by the students designing "face parts" or by purchasing face parts with clams (the unit of the Whyville currency). One might wonder if this is even a science site at all. But as you look around the square you can click on Dr. Leila’s Science Question Center, the WASA Center (Whyville Aeronautics and Space Administration), and the Spin Lab. Several more science activities are found around the ‘ville. Science underlies virtually everything that exists in Whyville. On a typical day, over 11,000 science "games" are played on the site.

The other unique thing about Whyville is its popularity. There are over 90,000 registered users at the site (not counting guests). On a typical day last summer about 4000 different users visit the site each day. Most visits to the site are short (media logon time: 18 minutes, mean 50 minutes) but over 1000 users stay on for over an hour at a time. This amount of time is longer than most school science classes! The population ranges from young children (7-8 years old) to college age users, but the vast majority are in the range of 11-14 years old. Most surprising is the very high percentage of girls (~60% of users) on a science focused website. This age (middle school) is particularly important for girls’ interest in science because middle school is when a gender gap in science often appears (Jones, Howe & Rua, 2000). The appeal of the site to young girls suggests that the design and features of the Whyville site may have important implications for how to get girls interested in science and technology.

The unique nature of the Whyville website and its users makes it a rich topic for study. The CAPSI group (with funding from the National Science Foundation) has teamed with Numedeon Inc., the site creators, to study the community that has formed on the site and examine the potential of this type of website for interesting kids, especially girls in science and technology. This paper describes Whyville and our analysis of the features that seem to be of interest to the girls on the site. In addition, we describe a survey of Whyvillians (Whyville users) that is currently underway on the site. The survey will be completed later this summer and the results will be presented as part of a poster at AERA. This project investigates what it is about Whyville that motivates the users and especially the girls to come online and engage in science activities. This is important because of the need to interest more girls in learning science and using technology. Of the current Whyville users, over 60% of the users are girls, most from grades 4-8. This age is key for helping girls develop an interest in both science and technology.

The recent AAUW report (2000, Techno-Tips for Educating Tech-Savvy Girls) points out that the majority of computer games are based on violence and conflict, which many girls find unappealing. Since it is often noted that gaming is one of the ways boys seem to comfortably enter the technology ‘pipeline,’ providing more games of the type that girls enjoy is seen as a way to encourage girls to study and consider careers in technology. Girls are more interested in games that require strategy, interaction and "constructionist design". When asked to design their ideal computer games, many girls focused on the themes of identity play and simulation. For this reason, Whyville’s creative activities (e.g. making a face, building a house, writing for the ‘Whyville Times’) may appeal particularly to girls.

Interestingly, Whyville’s constructionist elements venture beyond individual online identity building and visual design. Much of the creative work occurs at the community level in this ‘town’. Whyville’s economy of clams has supplied the framework for the development of interactive "events" by the users themselves. Businesses have developed, ranging from fashion designers and makeover artists to tutors helping users with the science activities.Within the Whyville community exists a system of philanthropy created entirely by existing users aimed at helping new users ('newbies') integrate into the site. This seems to fit in with current studies indicating that girls’ interest in science increases when it involves helping others (e.g. Jones, Howe & Rua, 2000, Science Education, 84, 180-192).

Whyvillians engage in a number of science activities to increase their salary. For example, one science activity, "Spin Lab," challenges students to position the arms and legs of an ice skater in such a way as to make the skater spin as fast as possible. Citizens are encouraged to improve their performance to increase their salary. They are further rewarded (with an increased salary) if they play the games many times over. Clams allow users to buy things such as face parts, clothes, a house, furniture for their house, etc. The desire to buy things on the site provides a powerful motivation for students to engage in and master science activities.

We are currently conducting a survey of Whyville users. The survey is designed to gather data on demographics, science and technology interests/attitudes, and usage of the Whyville site. The survey asks the users about three major topics: their experiences on site (what they usually do etc.), their motivations for coming and doing different activities, and their experiences with science and technology in general. We expect to get over 200 completed surveys giving a large sample of the users. The survey will help us answer several important questions:

• What features of the site are most important to girls and to boys? What motivates students to engage in the site and the science activities?
  
• How does their experience on Whyville affect the users' understanding and attitudes about science?
  
• To what extent does Whyville stimulate girls' interests in technology and technological careers?
  
• How can the appeal of this site be leveraged to encourage girls to continue in science and technology?
  

Several unique methodological issues arise in gathering and analyzing data regarding children's Internet use. The anonymity and lack of direct contact with the users makes data collection more difficult than studying learning in a classroom. Given this, recruiting study participants and obtaining parental consent posed major challenges. We addressed these issues by: (a) offering rewards for participation (e.g. "clams") and (b) becoming active members of the Whyville community. Researchers on this project were introduced to the community as "Whyologists." We are easily identifiable in the community as we wear special "Why?" hats. We frequently visit Whyville to talk with fellow citizens and respond to Y-mail in regards to our study of the site. Our presence has generated positive interest among many users, including a desire to implement a Jr. Whylogist program.

This study seeks to understand the appeal and value of a science learning web-site that has a large following of young girls. Learning more about the features of the site and how girls utilize them may help us understand how non-traditional science environments, including the Internet with its vast educational potential, can foster greater participation of girls in science and technology. This study may provide a model for researchers, evaluators and site developers in future work. The findings should suggest guidelines for improving the effectiveness of educational web sites in attracting young girls’ interest in science and technology. They may also have important implications for improving school-based learning.