Chapter 5: Compugirls Speak: How We Use Social Media for Social Movements

Why are girls from high needs school districts not becoming technological innovators at the same rate as their more affluent, White counterparts? Responses to this question tend to proffer two explanations: (1) Girls from economically challenged districts are reportedly not motivated; and (2) structural or institutional impediments prevent their inclusion. While it is important to explore the impact of technologically challenged teachers (Stefl-Mabry, Radlick, & Doane, 2010), slow internet connections in urban schools (Warf, 2012), and the lack of advanced technology courses in such settings (Margolis, Estrella, Goode, Holme, & Nao, 2008), two significant factors remain conspicuously absent from most discourses: (1) The microlevel impact informal educational experiences have on girls; and (2) The voices of the target audience after navigating such unique spaces. This chapter considers these elements and provides two retrospective auto-ethnographic accounts from girls who experienced a unique multimedia enrichment program, COMPUGIRLS.