Virtual Middle School Girl ‘Jennifer Webb’ to Headline Computer Mania Day

ANNANDALE, VIRGINIA (09/16/09) –

Jennifer Webb is her name and even though she is a 3D, digitally animated puppet, she can flip her ponytail, twitter, download and prepare for a career in technology. In fact, she is just like the hundreds of middle school girls from around the region who will be able to interact with her live at Computer Mania Day at NOVA’s Annandale Campus on Saturday, October 31st from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Computer Mania Day is an annual day of free, hands?on, high?tech, fun activities for adults and kids sponsored by the Multinational Development of Women in Technology (MDWIT) in partnership with NOVA. The half?day event helps to get girls interested in technology and engineering careers while helping parents and teachers learn how to help prepare their kids for college and technical careers and keep them safe online.
While boys are welcome, the focus is on girls because of their continuing underrepresentation in engineering and information technology fields.
Arlington Public Schools teacher Kathy Gust is taking the lead on bringing Jennifer Webb to life by working with a team of middle school students as puppeteers for the delivery. “Jennifer Webb represents cutting edge technology that can figuratively and literally talk to girls to get the message across that technology is fun,” said Claudia Morrell, CEO of MDWIT. And it is working. According to Ms. Gust, there is a real interest not only in manipulating the puppet but also for children to design their own Jennifer Webb’s!

Jennifer Webb will address and take questions from a panel of business leaders as well as attendees at 10:30 a.m. in the gymnasium at the NOVA Annandale Campus. Later in the day, animators will discuss how bringing Jennifer Webb to life taught real?world lessons with a panel discussion led by Lockheed Martin up and comers, a behind?thescenes video of the making of Jennifer Webb, and for a few lucky attendees, a chance to make the puppet come to life!

At Computer Mania Day, students will experience hands?on workshops led by positive female role models from academia, industry, and government sectors. The day is designed to provide a broad?based introduction to the many careers available to students who excel in math and pursue technology and engineering. Girls’ event highlights include “Chasing Clouds: Prepare for Liftoff,” “A Pixel is Worth a Thousand Words,” and a behind?the?scenes look at the making of Jennifer with the Lockheed Martin Technology Troupe. All attendees will have the chance to win great giveaways and the first 250 students will receive a free goodie bag.

Computer Mania Day also offers resources for parents and teachers, including
workshops on how to prepare your kids for college, getting girls interested in tech careers, and keeping kids safe online. Admission to the event is free, but registration is required in advance. Adults and children should visit www.computer?mania.info for more information and to register online. Space is limited!

The Multinational Development of Women in Technology (MDWIT) was founded as a non?profit 501(c)(3) organization in 2006 to accelerate growth in the global knowledge economy. By combining women's latent potential with innovative ideas enabled through technology, all women, their families and communities prosper. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) was founded in 1964 and offers a quality and convenient educational experience at an affordable price. NOVA is the largest educational institution in Virginia and the second?largest community college in the United States, comprising of more than 60,000 students and 2,300 faculty and staff members. NOVA is also one of the most internationally diverse colleges in the United States, with a student body consisting of individuals from more than 180 countries.

Contact: Jessica Trzyna
jtrzyna@weissprassociates.com or 443.621.7690