How the Association of Women Educators Works

Girls and ICTs role models kit

Parent & teacher Event
What are the aims of a parent & teacher event?
This event aims to:

Promote ICT for girls in education, training and employment opportunities.
Raise awareness and knowledge of what ICT is, what skills, attitudes and knowledge is desirable to enter ICT-related careers.
Explain educational requirements and career opportunities that are available.
Offer local, national and global perspectives on ICT careers.
Establish links between the educational institutions, industry, local government and the community.
Convey the pervasiveness of ICT.
Celebrate women in ICT success stories.

What time of year should a parent & teacher event be held?
When deciding on the time of year to run the event, consider:

The calendar of all educational institutions (including schools) involved with event.
The local community calendar.
Holding it close to year 10 subject selection time.
Avoiding last weeks of semester while teachers are marking and producing report cards.
Avoiding times directly after school holidays as this can make promotions difficult.

What would happen at a parent teacher event?
Below is a basic outline of a parent teacher event.

Time allotted	What happens
5 mins	MC introduces opening speaker.
10 mins	Welcome and opening address.
5 mins	Explain to the audience the purpose of the pre and post surveys and how to data will be used.Get audience to complete a pre-survey.
2 mins	MC introduces the first group of ICT role models.
5 mins	ICT role model 1 speaks.
5 mins	ICT role model 2 speaks.
5 mins	ICT role model 3 speaks.
15 mins	Question and Answer time. Audience has the opportunity to ask the role models questions.
2 mins	MC introduces the next group of ICT role models and describes the new the format, named “The Long and Short of I.T.”. One speaker will speak for 5 minutes. The following speaker will participate in a 2 minute question and answer style interview.
5 mins	ICT role model 4 speaks.
2 mins	ICT role model 5 is interviewed by MC.
5 mins	ICT role model 6 speaks.
2 mins	ICT role model 7 is interviewed by MC.
15 mins	Question and Answer time. Audience has the opportunity to ask the role models questions.
5 mins	Participants do post survey. Vote of thanks. Event close.

What variations / additions are possible for this type of event?
Ideas include:

Giving participants an item that they can refer to during the event and take away with them after the event that will display the speakers’ backgrounds and a photograph of the role models. Items include placemats, coasters, calendars or bookmarks
Giving participants a mentor booklet that contains further information about the mentors.
Considering a variety of ways for your role models to interact with your participants. Options include:
- Role models speaking to the entire group.
- Role models speaking to smaller groups.
- Informal mingling and conversations, possibly while eating or at a cocktail party.
Giving away lucky door prizes.

When implementing these ideas, it is important to consider:

Matching your event with your target group. For example, a cocktail party may be appropriate for parents but not for students
That when running a breakfast event, parents may need to take leave early to take children to school or leave early to start work.
That if you are planning to hold a cocktail party, find out if you need alcohol licences and also have non-alcoholic beverages available.
Matching the food with the event. For example, you may like to have finger food at a cocktail event with no seating.

Tip
If there are admission charges associated with the event, it is best if payment is received prior to the event. It may be possible to use the facilities of a professional organisation (eg. AWE) or a school to collect payments.

Additional Resources

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