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Daniel Saenz
Prof. Lizbeth Tinoco
English 1311
15 May 2014
LACIT Computer Lab at UTEP Description
The Liberal Arts Center for Instructional Technology (LACIT) computer lab
is located in the fourth floor of the Liberal Arts Building at the University of Texas at
El Paso (UTEP). This computer lab has certain colors and is arranged in a certain way
that sets a mood; people that go there behave and act in a similar way. This essay will
include a description of gender issues inside the lab. What type of people go there;
What activities do the people that go there realize. It will also include ideas of people
who visit the lab frequently about if the lab is gendered or not; also if technology in
general is gendered and why. It will also going to show some statistics about studies
that have been realized to determine if technology is gendered. The way a specific
space is decorated and arranged can be a symbol of gender protocols of that specific
place; some symbols can be very clear and other symbols can work subconsciously on
peoples minds.
Here is a detailed description about LACIT computer lab. Entering the
computer lab, on your right hand is the help desk, which is a wood bar that is as
tall as your chest, with an approximate 135-degree angle. Behind the bar there
are two computers, which are the computers that use the personal of the lab that
are there to help students with technical problems or solve any doubt or issue
that a student could have about the equipment in the lab. On the left hand of the
lab there is the Apple computer section, which is constituted with approximately
fifteen Apple computers; ten of them placed on a pentagonal shape; and five of
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them in the center of the pentagon. The Apple computers have a twenty-inch
monitor. They have a gray aluminum color with an L shaped stand and no CPU.
All the components of the computer are included inside the monitor. If you enter
further the lab and you walk approximately twelve meters, the Microsoft
computer section starts which is much bigger than the Apples computer section.
This section is organized in four rows of computers, with approximately 8
computers each row. Microsoft computers are a 22 inch black monitor; the CPU
is also included inside the monitor. The tables of the lab are gray with black legs.
There is one blue chair for each computer inside the lab. The computer lab room
has light green walls and four or five blue columns aligned in the center of the
lab. There are two classrooms inside the lab, which are situated in front of the
Microsofts computer section. The classrooms have a black glass door, which
they are always closed. There are three printers located one on the beginning of
the lab, one in the middle and one at the end. This particular accommodation of
the equipment in the lab, the mixture of colors, tables and chairs are intended to
create a neutral gender mood; where both female and male students feel
comfortable to work inside there.
People who regularly go there are Hispanic students. I always go there on
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:00 pm and I have realized that. I think that every
place in UTEP is going to be like this, taking into account that nearly 80 percent
of UTEP students are Hispanic. People that are working in the lab are always
quiet because it is a rule that the computer lab has; even though there are some
people that go in groups of three or more people and sometimes they are talking
very loud. The majority of the students that go in there are working on projects
and homework; others are just checking or chatting on Facebook or other social
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networks that they shouldnt be doing, because it is a restriction of the lab to
check social media. I think there is an implicit gender issue in this computer lab.
There are men and women in the same proportions; some days you see a lit of bit
more men and some days you can see a little bit more women. What I noticed is
that in the small section of Apple computers there is usually more women than
men always. I think that women use Apple computers because they are more
easy to manage and the computers are very friendly to work with them. In the
section of Microsoft computers this is not as marked as in the Apple computers;
the distribution between men and women is equal.
I made a survey of five different questions to ten random and anonymous
people (seven women and three men) inside the lab on Friday, February 28,
2014, to determine if people who visit the lab feel that the ambient at the lab is
gendered or not. I got sort of the same answer with each person. My first
question was: What do you think about gender in technology? The answers I got
were the same but with different words. The idea that all answers had were: I
think technology is not gendered at this time. It was gendered in the past as all
other fields were gendered, today with all this revolution about equal rights
between men and women, gender issues have almost completely vanished in
technology. This answer reflects what students think about gender in
technology and since I interviewed more women than men I can assume that
women nowadays have no longer any problem using technology to success in
their daily activities and/or work. In my third, and most successful question I
made for my purposes was: What operative system do you prefer to use? Why?
On this question I got interesting results; five of the seven women interviewed
answer that they preferred Apples operative system. Three of the three men
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interviewed answered that they preferred Microsofts operative system. The
reasons that the women who preferred Apples operative system was that they
switched from Microsoft to apple because the easy way an apple computer can
be handled. The reason of one of the two women who answer that they preferred
Microsoft was: I prefer Microsoft because Im very used to it; I once tried with
apple and I never get used to the way it is controlled. I also like it more because it
has more free apps and it is compatible with more programs. Apple charges you
for everything. the other woman just answered that she has never tried to use
Apple. The three guys that preferred Microsoft said the same reasons about their
election. They basically said that Microsoft had more and better programs to
install and that they get a much better computer with the same money they
would spend on an Apple. These answers can give us some sort of conclusion.
Women prefer apple and men prefer Microsoft. There is some sort of a gendered
issue between these two brands, but talking about technology in general there is
no clear evidence about if it is gendered or not with these questions. The fourth
question I made to the students was: Is this lab gendered? Why? Why not? The
ten students answered that they didnt feel that the lab was gendered at all. The
fifth question I made to the students was: Do you feel comfortable working on
this lab? The ten students interviewed answered that they felt very comfortable
and they never felt any discomfort while they were working there.
Past studies have revealed that male students have more confidence in
using technology for learning than female students. According to the Womens
Foundation magazine (2006) a study realized in Hong Kong examined the
confidence toward using technology programs such as AutoCAD, SPSS, Compiere
and Arena. The study consisted of a survey methodology, collecting 211
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questionnaires from a University in Hong Kong. The study confirmed that male
students are more confident using technology than female due to gender
inequalities in computing are socially constructed and not related to a learners
natural ability. (Hon Keung, 75)
Francesca Bray published an article called Gender and Technology about
how technology is gendered and judged by the people. Since technology and
gender are both socially constructed and socially pervasive, we can never fully
understand one without also understanding the other. (Bray, 376) This author
clearly states that technology is very related with gender; this means that
experts have noticed that technology is stilled gendered even though people
dont realize it this can be proved on the examination of LACIT computer lab.
Women usually use more Apple than men; but if you question them why, they
dont give us a concrete answer.
We can conclude that in the specific LACIT computer lab gender issues
are not visible and people dont feel uncomfortable working there as a female
student or as a male student. With these observations we can say that most UTEP
female students prefer Apple operative system rather than Microsoft because it
is very control friendly; and most of male students prefer Microsoft operative
system rather than Apple because it is cheaper and better. Also we can conclude
that technology in general is still gendered and favored for male students. Male
students feel more confident to learn with technology than female students.




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Cited works:
Hon Keung, Yau, and Cheng Alison Lai Fong. Gender Difference Of Confidence In
Using Technology For Learning. Journal Of Technology Studies 38.2 (2012): 74-
79. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

Bray, Francesca Gender and Technology. Women, Science, and Technology: a
Reader in Feminist Science Studies. Third edition (2013): 372-384. Web. 4 Mar
2014