Using Twitter to Engage Ecuadorian High School Students in STEM
Abstract: The study and application of STEM careers have proven to be the running motor for the development and progress of a country. However, STEM careers have fallen behind prospective students’ preferences, especially for women and minorities in a global context. Ecuador is not unique to this reality; the country struggles with poverty and inequity, in addition to the lack of interest of its youngsters in these fields. This paper shares the result of an engaging STEM activity that was developed to reach out teenagers in order to raise their awareness of this social phenomenon and to foster and cultivate their interest in STEM careers. The use of a social network and micro-blogging platform, such as Twitter, was selected as the vehicle to perform these activities because of its acceptance and widespread use among young people. Pre- and post-activity surveys were administered to gauge the change in participants’ interest, and the results so far are very positive.
Presider: Lara Ervin, University of San Francisco