Technology and Achievement Gaps

This week in my Educational Technology course we discussed a topic I found to be intriguing and quite shocking as well... I'm sure most of us have heard something about the achievement gap in our education system, one of the subcategories is the gap between female and male students. It seems as if technology has actually had an effect on widening this gap in time. Research has shown that females and males respond differently to the use of technology in and outside the classroom making how and what they learn very different, especially at an early age. It is a proven fact that males tend to gravitate more towards the scientific/technological jobs than women and it is believed to be caused by the way boys and girls are exposed to technology throughout their development. In early childhood, computer games are actually beneficial to a child's development. However, most games are geared toward the male gender (shooting, racing, sports, etc.); thus, already turning girls away from technology. I think this is a valid argument and I think that it is important to realize how big of an impact a seemingly small issue can have on society.