Ugochi Acholonu

Uncovering barriers to participation through mapping citywide computing opportunities in Chicago: What do we mean by access?

Unequal access to quality learning opportunities is a key issue that shapes who is able to participate in computing relevant communities and jobs [1]. Although many educators, government officials, and business professionals acknowledge the need to provide computer science education to all youth, access to computing opportunities is still limited [2]. Understanding the current state of available learning opportunities is an initial step in addressing gaps, barriers, and unequal access. In this poster we present our in-progress mapping of the computer science ecosystem in the city of Chicago. As we present the landscape we ask: How accessible are the educational opportunities for youth in Chicago, particularly youth who are traditionally underrepresented in computing careers. The barriers to participation revealed through our mapping process include transportation, the time schedules of programs, and the lack of opportunities for elementary youth. Our findings suggest that in order to broaden participation in computing there is a need to 1) increase the number of local computing opportunities, and 2) to create opportunities that acknowledge the realities facing low-income and working class households, realities that include child care constraints, rigid work schedules, and limited disposable income.

Designing Blended Learning Models to Support Computational Learning: Minecraft Edition (Abstract Only)

This workshop introduces participants to the Digital Youth Networks Minecraft City Server; a project that seeks to lower the barrier of who can lead computing-related learning opportunities for diverse youth. We present teaching techniques and advice for adapting the Minecraft platform as an educational portal based upon the research we have done with youth across Chicago. Participants will receive handouts describing mentorship techniques and curriculum models that facilitate learning interactions in a blended space. Of critical focus will be exploring the question of how to coordinate mentorship when working in two learning spaces (online and physical) simultaneously. Handouts will be supplemented with a discussion of the adult support roles that we identified as being critical to running engaging Minecraft learning experiences for youth. The workshop will also allow participants to experience the affordances of Minecraft to create an engaging blended learning environment that teaches computational concepts. Participants will receive a hands-on introduction to the basic game mechanics, designing with Redstone, the in-game equivalent to electrical circuitry, and exploring computer programming in-game with Python.

Remixing Minecraft to broaden participation in computing

Minecraft is one of the most popular games among youth today, experiencing sales over 100 million worldwide and channels on YouTube generating over 47 billion views. Our interest in the game environment is due to its innate computational mechanics that integrate logic, design, and scripting elements. Because of these traits, many organizations and schools are looking to incorporate Minecraft into their curriculum to support computational thinking and computational practices. However, there are challenges surrounding the distribution and availability of individuals who possess the technical and computational expertise needed to support these opportunities. In this poster we introduce the DYN Minecraft Server project. The project is designed to address barriers of entry for adults at schools and youth-serving organizations who want to provide computing-related learning opportunities to diverse youth. We worked with families, city organizations, mentors, and youth to modify the commercially available Minecraft to support adults who may have limited expertise in computing or Minecraft, yet wish to use the platform in order to teach computational content The modifications include the integration of an information network that promotes STEM learning opportunities that are available throughout the city. We discuss our design process, designed activities and interfaces, and feedback from youth, partners, and mentors using the system.

Lessons learned from hosting an Hour of Code event

In this paper, we describe our process for designing the DePaul Hour of Code event, a free, annual event hosted at DePaul University. The four-day event was designed to 1) engage underrepresented youth in computing activities, 2) identify unseen barriers to participation, and 3) explore ways to reduce structural barriers to participation. We share our design process, lessons learned, and recommendations for designing accessible informal computing events for youth.

Understanding blended mentorship in Minecraft: Scaling computer science expertise across distances

A critical barrier in providing computer science learning opportunities to all is the dearth of professionals who have the expertise to teach computer science. Blended learning approaches have the potential to reduce this barrier by facilitating the distribution of expertise across distances. In this poster we present our approach to understanding how to design blended learning models for the informal space that take advantage of the expertise of adult mentors and computer science experts. Our theoretical framing is based on Nacu et al. (2014) adult mentor roles, which suggest that adults play different roles (e.g., encourager, monitor, broker) to support students learning. We use Minecraft, a popular, 3D, online, multiplayer game, as our study context. The poster presents two studies that investigate ways of facilitating mentorship in a blended learning environment to teach computational thinking. Study 1 focuses on documenting the roles mentors play while facilitating a computer science-related Minecraft workshop with middle school students. Study 2 focuses on understanding how these roles are modified when online and in person mentors work together to facilitate a computational learning opportunity. Our initial findings suggest that defining a scalable model to support blended learning models in informal spaces requires a variety of mentor roles. Additionally, when coordinating mentorship across mediums, gaps in student support can arise when there is a lack of (a) explicit strategies of communication in place between in-person and online mentors; and (b) clearly defined roles assigned to mentors.