E-Learning in the K-6 Classroom

One area of interest to me is the role gender plays in the ICT classroom. During the past few months research into E-Learning in the classroom I have noticed several articles referring to the obstacles girls face in this area. As quoted on the NSW Public Schools site, “The Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) study Real Time: Computers, change and schooling (1999) found that girls are falling behind boys in attainment of advanced ICT skills, despite showing considerable interest in computer technology.” The PDF version of this study can be found here.
An article in the Australian Educational Computing journal, July 2000, about promoting gender equity (see pages 13-16), offers some ideas as to why girls may not be on the same playing field as boys when in comes to IT. The authors also suggest improving teacher awareness on the issues involved and list several teaching strategies that might reduce gender inequality. I would be interested in finding out whether this issue has improved over the past 8 years.