Connected Learning Summit 2019

An Asset-Based Approach to CS Equity: Ethnographic Research on Google igniteCS
Setareh Mahmoudi, Mizuko Ito, Kurt Squire
The field of computer science (CS) struggles to expand the representation of women and minorities. To help strengthen a sense of belonging and confidence in their field for these underrepresented groups, Google launched igniteCS, an educational mentorship program run by undergraduate CS students in the US and Canada. This paper presents a qualitative study of iCS which found the program exemplifies an “asset-based” approach that grows out of the unique strengths and interests of URGs. The program’s peer support and leadership opportunities led to significant positive outcomes for undergraduates most at risk of dropping out of CS programs. These positive outcomes included: (1) psychological safety, (2) peer relationships in CS, and (3) identity transformation. The key design features that supported these outcomes included: (1) validating and sponsoring the strengths of youth from URGs, (2) shared and meaningful purpose, (3) supporting student autonomy and initiative, and (4) peer-to-peer and near-peer mentorship.

Social Network Analysis for Connected Learning
Carolina Rodeghiero
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is applied to social media and online communities to show specially how its relations and social capital influences a social network in many fields. This paper shows how SNA with Connected Learning (CL) principles can be used to analyze how people, particularly kids and teens, learn from virtual communities when they have online interactions with each other. By CL I understand the one that comes from three learning principles: is interest-based, academically oriented, and peer-supported; and three design principles: it’s production centered, it has shared purposes and it’s openly-networked. CL also relates to non-school and non-formal educational sectors, like the one I use here: the Scratch community. Scratch is a free programming environment, language and community created for learners from all ages to build media like games and storytelling through coding. Beyond the programming tool itself, Scratch offers discussion forums, studios, collaborative commands, and specific features for educators. This investigation uses data from interactions in public forums of Scratch and presents a method framework to analyze its CL through SNA.

The Responsibility That Comes With Prestige: Top Computer Science Programs and Broadening Participation
Fay Cobb Payton, Matthew Hoagland
In this study, we investigate whether resources from top ranked university computer science (CS) programs trickled down to the high school level. Advanced Placement Computer Science exams are used as a means to measure participation in the CS field at the high school level. This opens up numerous questions about why is this considered a success measure to predict CS participation when access issues remain. Based on our findings, we provide implications regarding computing pathways, educational equity and existing learning cases that provide context for the issues associated with CS underserved and underrepresentation groups.