skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 10:00 PM ET on Friday, February 6 until 10:00 AM ET on Saturday, February 7 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Internet-enabled lab-on-a-chip technology for education
Abstract Despite many interventions, science education remains highly inequitable throughout the world. Internet-enabled experimental learning has the potential to reach underserved communities and increase the diversity of the scientific workforce. Here, we demonstrate the use of lab-on-a-chip (LoC) technologies to expose Latinx life science undergraduate students to introductory concepts of computer programming by taking advantage of open-loop cloud-integrated LoCs. We developed a context-aware curriculum to train students at over 8000 km from the experimental site. Through this curriculum, the students completed an assignment testing bacteria contamination in water using LoCs. We showed that this approach was sufficient to reduce the students’ fear of programming and increase their interest in continuing careers with a computer science component. Altogether, we conclude that LoC-based internet-enabled learning can become a powerful tool to train Latinx students and increase the diversity in STEM.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2034037 2134955
PAR ID:
10557089
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Scientific Reports
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Scientific Reports
Volume:
14
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2045-2322
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; (, SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science)
    null (Ed.)
    The AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) high school course introduces students to computer science and programming. What should motivated students study after successful completion of AP CSP? The AP CSA class teaches Java programming and it has traditionally not attracted students from underrepresented groups. We are working on an alternative, projects-based course that will teach cutting edge CS concepts, such as distributed computing, computer networking, cybersecurity, the internet of things and machine learning, in a hands-on, accessible manner. Such an approach enables students to work on problems that interest them making computing more relevant and the curriculum more engaging. We utilize NetsBlox, a collaborative, block-based programming environment that extends Snap! with a few carefully selected abstractions that open up the vast array of resources freely available on the internet for student programs. Moreover, the tool enables students to work together on the same project remotely similarly to how Google Docs operate. This demonstration will introduce the environment and highlight its utility in creating distributed applications such as a shared whiteboard app and projects that access public domain scientific data sources and visualize them in various ways using online services such as Google Maps or charting. More information is available at https://netsblox.org. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; (, Computer Science Education)
    Background and Context: The study was conducted in a special education classroom in an elementary school with multilingual Latine students, utilizing a computer science curriculum focused on community-based environmental literacy. Objective: This study explores the experiences of diverse elementary students with disabilities in learning computer programming and identifies instructional strategies that enhance their learning within a culturally sustaining curriculum. Method: An exploratory case study approach was used to examine students’ learning experiences and teachers’ instructional strategies during curriculum implementation. Findings: Students who typically did not engage with peers collaborated effectively, and those with behavioral and performance difficulties exhibited heightened engagement. Instructional strategies included multisensory engagement and connecting environmental and computational concepts to real-life situations. Implications: The result underscore how a culturally sustaining computer science curriculum can empower diverse students, foster inclusivity, and leverage their strengths through effective teaching practices. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; (, Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence)
    Historically, female students have shown low interest in the field of computer science. Previous computer science curricula have failed to address the lack of female-centered computer science activities, such as socially relevant and real-life applications. Our new summer camp curriculum introduces the topics of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other real-world subjects to engage high school girls in computing by connecting lessons to relevant and cutting edge technologies. Topics range from social media bots, sentiment of natural language in different media, and the role of AI in criminal justice, and focus on programming activities in the NetsBlox and Python programming languages. Summer camp teachers were prepared in a week-long pedagogy and peer-teaching centered professional development program where they concurrently learned and practiced teaching the curriculum to one another. Then, pairs of teachers led students in learning through hands-on AI and ML activities in a half-day, two-week summer camp. In this paper, we discuss the curriculum development and implementation, as well as survey feedback from both teachers and students. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; (, Future in Educational Research)
    Abstract Despite a growing movement towards expanding computer science education in PreK‐12, gaps in computing opportunities along lines of race, ethnicity, class, and gender have widened. Emergent theories and practices related to culturally responsive computing show promise in addressing this gap; however, little is known about engaging Black, Latinx, and Indigenous preschoolers in computer science. In this paper, we utilized qualitative content analyses to explore how an early childhood computer science curriculum created opportunities for young Black and Latinx preschoolers to develop computational thinking skills while engaging in culturally responsive computing. Overwhelmingly, we found the curriculum, co‐developed with educators and caregivers, emphasized unplugged tools and coding activities to support computational thinking. These unplugged opportunities positioned children as innovators with technology and technosocial change agents, in developmentally‐appropriate, play‐based ways. Findings demonstrate a need to emphasize the value of unplugged tools and coding activities in order to support computational thinking and align the goals of culturally responsive computing with the unique needs of young children. We discuss implications for a theory of culturally responsive computing specifically for early childhood education. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, ASEE Conferences)
    Gate-keeping courses provide students with their first and formal exposure to a deep understanding of science. Such courses influence students' decision to pursue STEM education and continue their college experience. Our records indicate that the many STEM students perform poorly or marginally in the introductory required courses and decide to change their major to non-STEM degree programs. One way to address this is using active learning techniques. The objective of this paper is to describe our experiences with the use of few of the active learning techniques in introductory computer programming courses offered in our Computer Science Program. One of these programming courses are required of all computer science majors and other course is usually taken by engineering, technology and science majors. The findings presented in this paper may be used by interested parties involved in STEM curriculum. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Text Encoded Conversion
  • XML
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email