Background: Being one of the fields with highest prospect for development and opportunities,
it is now time for females to grab these opportunities in Computing. In
order to accomplish, the first priority is to increase females’ interest towards Computer
Science from young age. While researchers have made attempts to assess
and increase young females’ interest in Computing, they have failed to address the
prospects of careers in Computing and why females should be interested in them.
There is a lot of potential to influence preteen females’ choice of career through
interactive technologies.
Objective: This thesis explores the impact of an educational quiz application on its
users’ perception towards Computing careers. The research aims to exhibit relevant
research studies performed to address this research problem, and reveal results
and discussion on the topic of educational applications and serious games. Additionally,
the research focuses on designing and developing an application which
aspires to increase preteen females’ interest in Computing careers.
Method: The research method employed is design and creation where the developed
artefact (the quiz application) is the produced outcome of the method. Additionally,
to evaluate the application, an experimental research method has been
implemented with the assistance of 76 participants.
Result: The result includes the background of the research and the evaluation of
the quiz application. The participants, professionals in the field of Computer Science,
displayed positive attitude towards the quiz application and indicated the
possibility in increasing preteen girls’ interest in Computing careers.
Limitation: The application, developed as a proof-of-concept, is in its early development
to strongly appeal to preteen girls. Subsequent changes in the application
must be made and evaluated. Inability to evaluate the application with the focus
group (preteen girls) gives rise to an unpredictable outcome in the future.
Conclusion: The outcome of the research reveals opportunities for using educational
applications and/or serious games to teach Computer Science concepts and
eventually, increase female participation in Computing industry.
