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1. From Unblackboxing to Deblackboxing: Questions about what to make visible in computational making.

   Dixon, Colin; Hsi, Sherry; Oh, HyunJoo (April 2022, ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing - CHI 22 Workshop: CHI '22 Workshop: Reimagining Systems for Learning Hands-on Creative and Maker Skills)

   This paper draws on critical perspectives and a specific design case of learning in making with physical computing cards to argue that unblackboxing as a design goal must go beyond technical or computational aspects of computational making. Taking a justice-oriented stance on computing education, we review earlier perspectives on unblackboxing in computing education and their limitations to support equitable learning for young people. As a provocation and practical guide for designers and educators, we propose the idea of deblackboxing, and outline a set of prompts, organized into four areas, or layers – disciplinary knowledge and practice, externalities, histories, and possible futures. Tools and materials designed through the lens of deblackboxing could provide new possibilities for interaction, production, and pedagogy in makerspaces. We demonstrate how these might be applied in the design of a set of creative physical computing materials used with youth in a weeklong summer workshop. 

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2. Variance-Based Digital Logic for Energy Harvesting Internet-of-Things

   Kondapalli, S; Zhang, X; Chakrabartty, S. (July 2017, IEEE Symposium on Circuits and Systems)

   In this paper we propose a novel approach for designing digital circuits that uses the variance of a signal to represent Boolean logic levels. The variance-based logic (VBL) representation enables embedding of rectification and multiplication modules within the basic logic cells and unlike AC coupled or energy-recovery logic circuits the proposed approach obviates the need for any phase synchronization. As a result, VBL representation can be used for designing low-latency digital circuits that are directly powered by a combination of energy transducers with different frequency and source impedance characteristics. We present some representative examples of VBL circuits that can be implemented in a standard CMOS process and we present measurement results from fabricated prototype. 

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3. Applying a Transformative Justice Approach to Encourage the Participation of Black and Latina Girls in Computing

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3451345  

   Erete, Sheena; Thomas, Karla; Nacu, Denise; Dickinson, Jessa; Thompson, Naomi; Pinkard, Nichole (December 2021, ACM Transactions on Computing Education)

   Global protests and civil unrest in 2020 has renewed the world’s interest in addressing injustice due to structural racism and oppression toward Black and Latinx people in all aspects of society, including computing. In this article, we argue that to address and repair the harm created by institutions, policies, and practices that have systematically excluded Black and Latina girls from computer science, an intersectional, transformative justice approach must be taken. Leveraging testimonial authority, we share our past 8 years of experience designing, implementing, and studying Digital Youth Divas, a programmatic and systemic approach to encouraging middle school Black and Latina girls to participate in STEM. Specifically, we propose three principles to counter structural racism and oppression embedded in society and computing education: computing education must (1) address local histories of injustice by engaging community members; (2) counter negative stereotypes perpetuated in computer science by creating inclusive safe spaces and counter-narratives; and (3) build sustainable, computational capacity in communities. To illustrate each principle, we provide specific examples of the harm created by racist policies and systems and their effect on a specific community. We then describe our attempt to create counter structures and the subsequent outcomes for the girls, their families, and the community. This work contributes a framework for STEM and computing educators to integrate transformative justice as a method of repairing the harm that both society and the field of computing has and continues to cause Black and Latinx communities. We charge policy makers, educators, researchers, and community leaders to examine histories of oppression in their communities and to adopt holistic, transformative approaches that counter structural oppression at the individual and system level. 

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4. “Design for Co-Design” in a Computer Science Curriculum Research-Practice Partnership

   Victor R. Lee Jody Clarke-Midura Jessica Shumway Mimi Recker (July 2022, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2022)

   Clark Chinn Edna Tan Carol Chan Yael Kali (Ed.)

   This paper reports on a study of the dynamics of a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) oriented around design, specifically the co-design model. The RPP is focused on supporting elementary school computer science (CS) instruction by involving paraprofessional educators and teachers in curricular co-design. A problem of practice addressed is that few elementary educators have backgrounds in teaching CS and have limited available instructional time and budget for CS. The co-design strategy entailed highlighting CS concepts in the mathematics curriculum during classroom instruction and designing computer lab lessons that explored related ideas through programming. Analyses focused on tensions within RPP interaction dynamics and how they were accommodated when RPP partners were designing for co-design activities, a critical component that leads to curricular co-design itself. We illustrate these tensions with examples of clusters of activity that appeared repeatedly among the research and practice team members when" designing for co-design". 

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5. “Design for Co-Design” in a Computer Science Curriculum Research-Practice Partnership

   Lee, V. R.; Clarke-Midura, J.; Shumway, J.; & Recker, M (January 2022, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Learning Sciences)

   Abstract: This paper reports on a study of the dynamics of a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) oriented around design, specifically the co-design model. The RPP is focused on supporting elementary school computer science (CS) instruction by involving paraprofessional educators and teachers in curricular co-design. A problem of practice addressed is that few elementary educators have backgrounds in teaching CS and have limited available instructional time and budget for CS. The co-design strategy entailed highlighting CS concepts in the mathematics curriculum during classroom instruction and designing computer lab lessons that explored related ideas through programming. Analyses focused on tensions within RPP interaction dynamics and how they were accommodated when RPP partners were designing for co-design activities, a critical component that leads to curricular co-design itself. We illustrate these tensions with examples of clusters of activity that appeared repeatedly among the research and practice team members when “designing for co-design”. 

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