Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Girls Who Game Program Provides Access to STEM Opportunities

  • By Sara Friedman
  • 10/14/19
Female student using Minecraft

Microsoft and Dell Technologies are working together to encourage girls to become interested in STEM through an after-school pilot program. Girls Who Game teaches female students about coding and computational thinking using Minecraft: Education Edition.

The pilot program is aiming to engage students in grades four to eight through learner-driven experiences and mentorship opportunities. By building a community of learners, Girls Who Game wants to help girls build relationships and encourage them to continue to develop their coding skills.

"We are thrilled to provide access to technology to girls across North America and give them the chance to explore multiple disciplines and global competencies," said Dell education strategist Katina Papulkas. "If we can engage these young girls early on to develop their skills and build their self-efficacy and confidence and to realize their potential, that would be a major success, essentially encouraging more women to explore STEM careers."

Each pilot school will receive Dell Latitude 3190 devices equipped with Minecraft: Education Edition. Dell and Microsoft are also providing ongoing professional development for program coaches.

About the Author

Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe covering education policy and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.

Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.

Friedman can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.

Click here for previous articles by Friedman.


Featured

  • Young Woman Programmer Uses Laptop To Analyze Neural Network Models

    AI Leaders Warn of Risks at United Nations Security Council Briefing

    The heads of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face recently joined AI researcher Yoshua Bengio at the United Nations headquarters in New York to warn the UN Security Council about the security risks of increasingly capable AI.

  • circuit patterns

    Anthropic Intros Lower-Cost Claude Sonnet 5

    Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as its most autonomous mid-tier offering to date and a lower-cost alternative to its flagship Opus 4.8 system. The company said the model can plan multi-step tasks, operate tools such as browsers and terminals, and complete agentic work at a level that previously required larger and more expensive models.

  • lock icons, shields, and glowing data paths

    Studies Suggest AI Is Accelerating Familiar Cyber Attacks

    Research released around the recent Black Hat USA 2026 conference demonstrates that artificial intelligence is increasing the speed and scale of cybersecurity activity without replacing the attack methods defenders already face.

  • Abstract background with digital shield made of data particles glowing blue blocking against cyber attacks

    AI Attacks Push Organizations Toward Autonomous Cybersecurity Defense

    Artificial intelligence is raising the stakes of cyber conflict as attackers use the technology to accelerate reconnaissance, uncover vulnerabilities, and launch attacks faster than many security teams can respond, according to a new report from agentic AI security company Kai.