This presentation was given at the AzLA Annual Conference on November 17, 2010. Presenters include Kristen Curé; Jennifer Lehmann; Gina Macaluso and two IT Girls named Katie and Theresa.

1. Jennifer Lehmann
Customer Service Associate
Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
Gina Macaluso
Coordinator of Youth Services
Pima County Public Library
Kristen Curé
Librarian , Youth & Adult Services
Pima County Public Library

2.  Youth Development Partnership:
 Pima County Public Library
 Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
 Tucson Urban League
 Paid Internship for High School Girls
 Training teens to teach technology classes
at public libraries

3.  Graduate School LIS Ethics project:
 Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona needed a
computer and Internet policy for drop-in
youth lounge
 Growing adult concern about cyber-bullying
and online safety for youth

4.  The net effect: Girls and the new media,
Girl Scout Research Institute:
 a study of 1,246 teen girls
When teen girls are empowered with new
skills and proactive advice (rather than
prohibitive rules), they will be successful in
navigating the Internet and even negative
online experiences

5.  Proactive advice + encouraging teen voice:
 Let Me Know: LMK
 IT Girls give proactive advice and encourage local
teens to take action

6.  Youth Development Partnership
 Adult mentors for teen girls
 Paid Internship
 Professional experience for teen girls
 Training teens to teach technology classes at
public libraries
 Skill development: Internet, multi-media,
teaching and basic job skills

7.  High school girls (9th-12th grades)
 Recruited through public libraries, schools, case
workers, after-school programs, Girl Scouts of
Southern Arizona

8.  14 hours training
 18 hours preparation & teaching series of
library classes (series of 5 classes)
 8 hours preparation & teaching Girl Scout
Internet Safety Workshop
 40 hours total over a period of 6 months

9.  Pilot year/1st Cohort:
 20 teen girls signed up
 8 completed the entire program (July 2010)
 7 taught classes for a 2nd series (Fall 2010)
 1 library staff (youth computer monitor) completed
the entire program.
 2nd Cohort:
 18 teen girls attending trainings
 9 registered to teach series of classes in Spring 2011

10.  1 Interest Meeting
 8 Training Sessions
 1 workshop where IT Girls
teach younger girls
 Professional women
invited as guest speakers
 Multi-media topics
 Teaching/public
speaking/job skills

13.  Youth-named series of 5 computer classes taught
at public libraries by IT Girls
 Internet Safety
 Introduction to Social Media
 Photo Editing Online
 Basic Music Editing and Digital Stories
 Make Animated Videos with Scratch!
 Teens taught 90 customers at 3 library branches
 Library computer monitor taught 35 customers at
4th branch

14. Age, in years:
 37.3% teens
 41.1% over 40 years of age

15.  96% agreed that the instructors were helpful
 75% agreed that they learned new skills
 100% would recommend the classes to a friend

16.  “It’s pretty great every time I come to learn
something new. I look forward to come to the
next class.”
 “It was fun to be in these classes. The girls
really know a lot about how to use the
computer and explain to us everything and with
the information that they hand to us it is very
helpful too. I wish it could be longer. Thanks
for teaching us.”

19.  After attending an Internet Safety workshop
led by the IT Girls, middle & high school Girl
Scouts made this short video

20. Katie
Theresa

22. Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (2002). The Net
Effect: Girls and New Media (Executive
Summary). New York: Whitney Roban.
Online Safety Topics. (2009). LMK: life
online. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from
http://lmk.girlscouts.org/Home.aspx.