This dissertation presents the first Systemic Functional Linguistics-based analysis of the teaching/learning of computational thinking through computer programming and comprehensive analysis of discourse of a whole computer programming course at any educational level. The current educational research raises questions about the nature of authentic…

Computer use has become a fact of life, especially for children, many of whom were forced to switch to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and resorted to digital hobbies as a safety measure. Further the amount of time children spend on computers, as well as the number of different computer devices that pervade our post-pandemic society…

Computer game programming has been touted as a promising strategy for engaging children in the kinds of thinking that will prepare them to be producers, not just users of technology. But little is known about what they learn when programming a game. In this article, we present a strategy for coding student games, and summarize the results of an…

This article describes the Girl Game Company's involvement in teaching Latina girls to design and program computer games while building a network of support to help them pursue IT courses and careers. Afterschool programs like the Girl Game Company can fill an important gap by providing opportunities for underserved youth to build IT fluency. A…

In its second year, the Tech Savvy Girls Project adopted "Teen Second Life" as a platform for interest-driven learning and designed projects and objects around themes important to them and their futures as technology-using, creative people. By using the building tools in an open-ended virtual world, they were able to pursue interests common to…

Many believe that girls lack the confidence and motivation to persist with computers when they face a challenge. In order to increase the number of girls and women in information technology careers, we need a better understanding of how they think about and solve problems while working on the computer. In this article, we describe a qualitative…

The Invention Factory is a nontraditional youth-based, after-school program in Honolulu that teaches information technology and mechanics to teenagers through interactive, hands-on projects that improve human computer interaction for individuals with disabilities. One objective of the program is to stimulate interest in science and engineering…