Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Background: Being one of the fields with highest prospect for development and opportunities,\nit is now time for females to grab these opportunities in Computing. In\norder to accomplish, the first priority is to increase females’ interest towards Computer\nScience from young age. While researchers have made attempts to assess\nand increase young females’ interest in Computing, they have failed to address the\nprospects of careers in Computing and why females should be interested in them.\nThere is a lot of potential to influence preteen females’ choice of career through\ninteractive technologies.\n\nObjective: This thesis explores the impact of an educational quiz application on its\nusers’ perception towards Computing careers. The research aims to exhibit relevant\nresearch studies performed to address this research problem, and reveal results\nand discussion on the topic of educational applications and serious games. Additionally,\nthe research focuses on designing and developing an application which\naspires to increase preteen females’ interest in Computing careers.\n\nMethod: The research method employed is design and creation where the developed\nartefact (the quiz application) is the produced outcome of the method. Additionally,\nto evaluate the application, an experimental research method has been\nimplemented with the assistance of 76 participants.\n\nResult: The result includes the background of the research and the evaluation of\nthe quiz application. The participants, professionals in the field of Computer Science,\ndisplayed positive attitude towards the quiz application and indicated the\npossibility in increasing preteen girls’ interest in Computing careers.\n\nLimitation: The application, developed as a proof-of-concept, is in its early development\nto strongly appeal to preteen girls. Subsequent changes in the application\nmust be made and evaluated. Inability to evaluate the application with the focus\ngroup (preteen girls) gives rise to an unpredictable outcome in the future.\n\nConclusion: The outcome of the research reveals opportunities for using educational\napplications and/or serious games to teach Computer Science concepts and\neventually, increase female participation in Computing industry.
Author: Kshitiz Adhikari
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2984307404