Digital Mirror
Campus: Short Feature
From Aug. 8-11 this past summer, Bowling Green State University hosted “The Digital Mirror,” a computer camp for girls in grades 6-8. The four-day camp was intended to pique girls’ interest in digital literacy at a critical age developmentally, and allow them to explore the ways they define themselves within technological environments.
Co-sponsored by the Department of English and supported by BGSU’s Institute for the Study of Culture and Society, COSI Toledo, and the American Association of University Women, the camp was a huge success with twenty girls from Northwest Ohio gathering for four days of fun and learning on Bowling Green’s campus. Participants included junior high girls from Toledo, Maumee, Ostego, North Baltimore, and Bowling Green schools.
Through a blend of hands-on computer lab work, mentoring by University women involved in careers in technology, and access to the resources of COSI Toledo, the camp engaged girls in an exploration of how technological literacy is a vital part of their academic and professional careers.
Campers spent much of the time learning and experimenting with a variety of software including Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop, Apple iMovie, and GarageBand. And the girls put their new skills to work developing personal webpages and blogs and filming and editing movies to embed on their websites.
Many girls created their own songs, scanned pictures of family and friends, and linked to their favorite sites on the Internet, allowing for a sense of creativity and individuality. On the final day of camp, parents were invited to participate in a studio review as campers showcased their digital portfolios, complete with homepage, personal weblog, and a video clip about the role of technology in their lives.
Many girls came to camp only having used email, with less opportunity to compose with the range of digital tools available. In addition to gaining technical skill with these tools, the girls were encouraged to critically craft their own digital identities, producing new material rather than merely consuming existing information.
Discussions of safety and privacy are paramount to all technology users, and one goal of the Digital Mirror Camp was to make girls aware of how their actions are reflected in the media they use. The camp hoped to help adolescent girls feel more confident about their ability to use technology, and rather than see technology as something “boys do better,” realize that it is indeed a girls’ activity as well.
The twenty participants stayed in campus residence halls to enhance the mentoring and training environment. A number of research studies suggest that it is during early adolescence that girls begin receiving cultural messages that technology is not for them. Thus, a goal of the camp was to create a safe haven for girls to experiment with the newest literacy tools and to begin to create a digital presence that they could continue to sustain beyond the camp itself.
Besides time spent in the state of the art computer lab in the School of Art, campers were treated to a Thursday afternoon trip to COSI Toledo, where they took turns riding the human yo-yo, the climbing wall, and a number of other hands-on science activities.
Given the success of the camp and the enthusiasm of the participants and their parents, the English Department is exploring possibilities to sustain the camp as an annual summer event and to expand the curriculum to accommodate repeat participants.