Janese Swanson

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Janese Swanson
Born1958 (age 65–66)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSan Diego State University University of San Francisco
Occupation(s)Inventor
Software developer

Janese Swanson (born 1958)

software developer. Swanson co-developed the first of the Carmen Sandiego educational games, and founded the company Girl Tech,[2][3]
which creates products aimed at making technology more interesting for girls. She has developed award-winning curricula, electronic toys, and books that encourage girls to explore technology and inventions. Her toy inventions include the Snoop Stopper Keepsake Box, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N’ Lock Journal, and Swap-It Locket. Her publications include Tech Girl's Internet Adventures, Tech Girl's Activity Book, and Girlzine: A Magazine for the Global Girl.

Biography

Swanson was raised by her mother in

model.[1] She convinced a computer company to donate laptops, and taught her mainly female fellow flight attendants how to use them during their spare time.[6]

She also continued her studies, eventually earning a total of seven academic degrees[3] including a doctorate in organization and leadership, with a doctoral thesis on gender issues in product design, play patterns and gender preferences.[2] Swanson received her Ed.D. in Organization and Leadership Technology in 1997 from the University of San Francisco.[4]

In the late 1980s, Swanson was hired by

Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?.[7] She invented gadgets for her daughter, including a voice recording device that she hoped to install in Jackie's daycare cubby and in her own office. She said, "I missed her so much that I used to call my home answering machine to hear her voice, and I thought this would let me talk to her during the day."[1] In 1992, she left Broderbund to develop technology for electronically altering a voice's pitch and modulation; started her own company, Kid One For Fun, for developing and licensing Yak Bak to Yes! Entertainment and Talkboy F/X+ to Tiger Electronics.[1][6]

In 1995, Swanson decided that she wanted to create toys aimed specifically at girls, and founded Girl Tech as an independent company with headquarters near her home in San Rafael, California.[6] Products included the "Friend Frame" talking picture frame, the Snoop Stopper "Keepsafe" Box storage box with a remote-controlled lock, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N’ Lock Journal, and Swap-It Locket, and a remote listening device called "Bug 'Em".[6] Swanson claimed that her vision for the company did not match the expectations of existing toy distributors: "For two years after I founded the company, toy store buyers would say, 'Can you make it pink?' 'Can't you make it for boys?' And I would say, 'No, this is what girls like to play with.'"[1] This company also publishes books on technology for girls, works with community groups, and developed a technology curriculum for Girl Scout councils.[6] She later sold the company to Radica Games, now a division of Mattel, for $6 million.[1] She has also licensed her technologies to Hasbro and Sega.[8]

Swanson worked as Education Coordinator at the

San Diego County Office of Education,[10] and she was the education chair of SIGGRAPH in 2007.[11]

References

  1. ^
    New York Times
    . 1999-09-30. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
  2. ^ a b "Inventor of the Week: Janese Swanson". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 2003-03-02. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  3. ^ a b "Beyond Pink and Fluffy: Janese Swanson". Smithsonian Institution. 2005-03-03. Archived from the original on 2005-03-16. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  4. ^ a b "Guide to the Janese Swanson Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
  5. ^ "Innovative Lives: Janese Swanson, Beyond Pink and Fluffy | Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation". invention.si.edu. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  6. ^ a b c d e Halliday, Kelsey (24 April 2017). "Janese Swanson". Women, Art & Technology. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. ^ Slatalla, Michelle (30 September 1999). "Inventor Fills Girls' Desire for Their Own Gadgets - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Janese Swanson - Art & Design Educator". Lean In. Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
  9. ^ "Welcome". The Art Apprentice.
  10. ^ "Special Achievement Awards: "The Incredible Shrinking Students"". iVIE Awards. 2008.
  11. ^ "Educators Program Fact Sheet". SIGGRAPH. 2007.

External links

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