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Gender Inequalities Within STEM |
For my Personal Project, I narrowed it down to Scientific and Technological Innovation but more specifically, virtual environments and the information age. After I uncovered the general field of what I wanted to research into I had to focus on my product. My final product ended up being an independently programmed website based around spreading information about the gender inequalities and discrimination females face in STEM because of the overall connectivity I have with that topic. I was able to expand my knowledge of programming languages such as HTML and CSS and understand the severity of women in STEM. My final product consists of five different pages containing information about statistics, resources, about, and prevention. Although I wasn’t able to completely publish my website because of the financial aspects required, I was able to expand my knowledge and spread awareness through the educational perspective I received during my researching phase.
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Question Section
Challenges
My biggest challenge was definitely deciding what I wanted my final product to be and how I was going to consequently complete this goal. This was a main challenge because of the shifts I had to take into consideration due to the pandemic and various health and safety precautions. I was able to overcome this challenge and choose a product to continue with through an idea bracket and problem solving techniques. I had initially thought of either: creating a “club” for local women in hopes of spreading the education of computer software, or developing a group in which I tutor younger Zambian students in their academics. Since both of these depended heavily on person to person contact, I had to focus my attention on a more independent process.
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Achievements
The most enjoyable part of the project was actually organizing my time and deciding deadlines. I really enjoyed this part because it allowed me to feel in control of my process and decide how I would work according to how I am as an IB learner. Don’t get me wrong, having to personally balance this project with schoolwork and extracurriculars was difficult. Although, the independence associated with Personal Project was by far stressful but also one of the aspects that made it so worthwhile and enjoyable. I am most proud of the process that I had to undergo in order to officially create the product. I went through rigorous computer programming coursework and self exploration in order to actually receive a foundation for my base product. I am proud of the time-management, research, and thinking skills that I concreted through this process in addition to the actual coding and development of the product.
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Advice
I feel as though the main bit of advice that I have is actually managing your time wisely and planning out everything in the first one-two months of Personal Project. Time management is always spoken about and is quite repetitive but the importance of it provides reasoning. Another bit of advice I would give is to always consult the Personal Project libguides. The information presented there is extremely valuable to your end goal and how to reach it. I would say to constantly look at the libguide and reflect on what you’re doing in comparison to what is shown on the libguide. Finally, I would say to constantly look at your report and write down anything that would be useful. Even if you don’t think it’ll be helpful in the future, still write it down because even “bad” entries could be included to demonstrate growth.
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