Students learn about the many careers that feature skills in technology and consider these careers for the future. They use online resources and creative thinking skills to complete the lesson.

This lesson can be completed in one to two 50-minute periods.

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• To introduce information technology-related careers.
• To encourage girls to consider careers in technology.
• To open up student minds to the many aspects of careers in technology.
• To help students understand the importance of education in their future.

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Students will need to be able to go online to check out career opportunities. If you don't have one computer for each student, divide the class into groups. Groups, if needed, should be all-boys and all-girls groups.

Although there are numerous sites that focus upon technology-related careers, many of them are too detailed for this age group. The sites listed in our Additional Resources should be on a level that would be of interest to Middle School students. You may, in addition, know of or find other sites that would work for this lesson.

Decide if you'd like your students to record their work in word processing, spreadsheet or database documents. What you use will be dependent upon what programs are on the computers you are going to use and the skill level of your students. No matter which computer application you use, students will be able to gather information about technology-related careers and record that information in the program.

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1. Introduce the topic of technology-related careers. Ask your students to consider what tech careers were involved in the making of Peter Packet and what careers are related to the Peter Packet content. (programmers/software engineers, designers, graphic artists, tech writers, tech editors, web developers, network specialists, computer technicians, network designers, software engineers, systems engineers, information technology managers, marketing people, educators, etc.)
2. Have students set up the computer application they are going to use with categories such as: Career Name, Job Definition, Other Information, and Interest. The interest category would refer to whether the student may be interested in this job as a career.
3. Ask students to begin by listing under the category Career Names all the computer-related careers they can think of. The careers can be careers in areas other than would be considered a computer job (writer, magazine layout designer, robotics engineer, physician, musician, tool designer, architect, etc.) Give them the web addresses of the sites in Additional Resources so that they can add other career names to their list and fill in other categories with information they find. They may not be able to locate all the information they need about some of the careers. Remind the boys that the "girls'" sites may have some of the information they need.
4. When the students have gathered their information and made decisions about which tech-type careers would be of interest to them, let them discuss why they picked certain careers.
5. Bring up the fact that not as many girls as boys select traditional tech-related fields such as network troubleshooting, computer systems design, software engineering, and in fact, many of the higher paying careers in the field. Ask your students why they think this is. Will the girls in your class opt for other careers, and if so, for what reason?
6. For a home assignment, have the students design their ideal tech-related career. Will it be one where they go to an office, work from home, or travel the world? Will it be one in which they can use their creativity? Their artistic skill? Their organizational ability? Their interest in helping others?
7. Present students with the Networking Certificate ( PDF - 54KB).

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• Killing a Virus & Working with the Secret Service-in High School!
  Have students read the success story about a high school student who stopped a virus from spreading in his school and also helped the United States Secret Service locate a student in his school who sent a threat against the White House to the Secret Service.



• Technology Professionals
  Invite members of the community with tech-related careers to your classroom to talk to your students or arrange for your students to have a video conference with a technology expert.



• Role Playing & Drawing the Future
  Let your students role play themselves doing their favorite tech-related job, dress up and act out their view of themselves in the future engaged in their favorite tech-related job, or draw themselves involved in their favorite tech-related job.

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• Streaming Careers (online video interviews with IT leaders)
  Video clips of leaders in the field of technologies.
• Girl Power - Cool Tech Jobs
  Interesting career opportunities for girls.
• Get Tech
  Nice site that promotes tech careers.
• Girls Go Tech
  Additional information on girls and technologies.

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