R. Benjamin Shapiro

Beyond blocks: syntax and semantics

How the future of general-purpose programming tools could include blocks-based structured editing, and how we should study students transitioning to text-based programming tools.

Toward Participatory Discovery Networks: A Critique of Current Mass Collaboration Environments and a Possible Learning-Rich Future

MOOCs, crowdsourcing systems, online games, and the maker movement are just a subset of the many genres for mass collaboration that have emerged over the past few years. All of these environments succeed in generating large participation and production. However, they vary considerably in the extent to which they are well-designed learning environments. I enumerate a set of findings from the learning sciences about the characteristics of good learning environments and then apply them to critical analyze current mass collaboration environments. After identifying the apparent strengths and weaknesses of these socio-technical systems, I describe how future mass collaboration environments might better support both mass production and mass learning.

Digital media and data: using and designing technologies to support learning in practice

ABSTRACT The use of data to improve learning, instruction and student achievement has been a popular educational intervention in countries across the globe. Yet, with all the available data generated by standardized tests or through the course of instruction, systematic use of data as a lever for school change still remains elusive. This article is an introduction to a special issue that explores the possibilities of digital media and technology to support data-informed teaching and learning. This paper introduces this topic by highlighting the need for investigating more closely how data are used to support learning in practice and briefly highlights some of the prevailing issues and opportunities related to the potential productive uses of data.

Growing Their Own: Legitimate Peripheral Participation for Computational Learning in an Online Fandom Community

Online communities dedicated to the creation of fanworks (e.g., fiction or art inspired by media such as books or television shows) often serve as communities of practice for learning communication, artistic, and technical skills. In studying one successful fan fiction archive that was designed and built entirely by (predominantly women) fans, we observed processes of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) in which some of these fans began in peripheral roles and came to be more involved in the technical aspects of the archive over time. In addition to outlining positive outcomes, we discuss the challenges of supporting learning within this CoP, particularly with respect to the burden on experts. We discuss potential implications and solutions for the problem of expert scarcity in CoPs, and propose that LPP within fan communities can be leveraged for broadening participation in computing among women.

Designing futures for peer-to-peer learning @ CSCW

Open, online learning environments, such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) and open learning communities have been promoted as a way to expand equitable access to quality education. Such learning experiences are potentially enriched via extensive networks of peer learners. Even though challenges exist to realize these aspirations, open, online learning environments can serve as a mechanism for how we provide transformative learning experiences. This workshop aims to bring researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to explore how the body of CSCW knowledge can better support the vision of sustaining peer-to-peer learning in online environments. Integrating contributions from designers, researchers, and practitioners at the intersection of CSCW & education, participants will co-create future visions and proposed implementations for open, online learning environments.

CSCW and education: viewing education as a site of work practice

Educational institutions, whether they are formal or informal, present a work environment in which technology, and social and cultural interactions mediate unfolding work. The interaction between CSCW and the work of education can hold great potential for both improving the educational institutions as well as providing greater explanatory power to CSCW theories that support the work of groups and the designs that are instantiated in those theories. The goal of this workshop is to build a community interested in the intersection between CSCW and educational work practice.

ARcadia: A Rapid Prototyping Platform for Real-time Tangible Interfaces

Paper-based fabrication techniques offer powerful opportunities to prototype new technological interfaces. Typically, paper-based interfaces are either static mockups or require integration with sensors to provide real-time interactivity. The latter can be challenging and expensive, requiring knowledge of electronics, programming, and sensing. But what if computer vision could be combined with prototyping domain-aware programming tools to support the rapid construction of interactive, paper-based tangible interfaces? We designed a toolkit called ARcadia that allows for rapid, low-cost prototyping of TUIs that only requires access to a webcam, a web browser, and paper. ARcadia brings paper prototypes to life through the use of marker based augmented reality (AR). Users create mappings between real-world tangible objects and different UI elements. After a crafting and programming phase, all subsequent interactions take place with the tangible objects. We evaluated ARcadia in a workshop with 120 teenage girls and found that tangible AR technologies can empower novice technology designers to rapidly construct and iterate on their ideas.

How machine learning impacts the undergraduate computing curriculum

The growing importance of machine learning creates challenging questions for computing education.

The growth of computing education doctoral research

Computer Science has been experiencing rapid growth in undergraduate and K-12 participation. This growth underscores the need for an improved understanding of the teaching and learning of computing topics, or in other words for progress in Computer Science Education (CSEd) and Computing Education Research (CER).

K12 CS Teaching Methods Courses (Abstract Only)

CS teacher development has become a major effort for the SIGCSE community in part due to NSFs CS10K efforts and expanding CSTA involvement. However there are few examples of university courses explicitly designed to train CS teachers. We do not yet have clarity on the topics CS education methods courses should cover and how best to prepare teachers to teach learners new to computational problem solving and programming. As an interdisciplinary field of study, CS education must necessarily draw on domain knowledge in CS, research in computing education, as well as research in education and the learning sciences about how students learn, both generally and in computing. At the same time, a methods course must provide prospective teachers with practical, hands-on experiences wherein they integrate research-based best practices with age-appropriate content for their target student population. BOF attendees are asked to bring materials from their classes and be ready to discuss multiple viewpoints about topics, pedagogical strategies and readings from a rich history of research in computing education and the learning sciences. Such a session will also afford attendees an opportunity to start an important conversation, connect with others who are currently developing and/or teaching CS methods courses, and form a community to share ideas, literature, and syllabi on an ongoing basis. Materials will be shared with the SIGCSE community.