This paper introduces and discusses Virtual Family (VF): A gender-neutral game-based software that introduces Java programming. VF provides a completely functioning game that students extend and enhance via programming. We discuss the background and context within which Virtual Family was developed and other available multimedia resources for teaching programming. The paper then goes on to describe Virtual Family's concept and design. Finally, feedback received from Virtual Family teaching workshops is related, as well as preliminary results from using VF in high-school teaching units. Virtual Family is under development in a research lab at the University of British Columbia and is an initiative of Supporting Women in InFormation Technology (SWIFT). SWIFT is a five-year research action and implementation project to increase the participation of women in Information Technology. Virtual Family is available free of charge to anyone interested in using it for teaching or outreach purposes, to order email 〈swift@interchange.ubc.ca〉.
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Duplantis et al. (2002) studied this question.
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