The lack of diversity in computing is a well-known issue. This poster is a work-in-progress report on Curated Pathways to Innovation (CPI), a web-based tool which gathers existing online resources for computer science (CS) engagement and learning to allow students to learn more about CS careers and content, with a particular focus on improving participation of K-12 girls and under-represented minorities in CS. This project is a collaboration of people from academia in CS and social science, K-12 education, non-profit, and industry. We are about halfway through a 3-year pilot deployment of CPI with all students in a low-income, primarily Latino/a middle school with nearly 500 students, and smaller deployments have been undertaken and are planned for 2018-19. In addition to online content, we have created in-person experiences, including reverse science fairs, summer camps, and a hackathon, which are tracked in the CPI tool. To measure impact, we conduct regular surveys with the students measuring their interest in CS, self-efficacy, and other metrics. Our evaluation of the system based on survey data has helped inform the development of the system and curriculum, but remains preliminary. This poster also discusses the tool itself. It uses gamification in the form of badges to measure student progress. From the beginning, the vision was to use machine learning to customize recommendations based on students' demographics, background, and past performance. This integration is coming to fruition at the same time we are including more interesting visuals in the UI, such as an avatar and animations.

We have transformed our first programming course from an introduction to programming, to an introduction to Computer Science. We have done this in part by broadening the topics discussed. We now incorporate discussion of social topics like privacy and humanitarian technology, and "big ideas in CS" like how the Internet and databases work. We have also embedding many of our programming examples in applications from fields like biology and psychology. The other major feature of this course is that we have separated teaching problem-solving from teaching a programming language. In lecture, we discuss problem-solving with high-level programming constructs like conditionals and loops, using only pseudocode. In our new lab section, students are taught how to translate those ideas into C++ code. This allows us to free the initial learning of problem-solving from the complications of a language like C++. A unique feature of these changes is that it is possible to offer multiple different labs, in different languages, in conjunction with the same lecture section. It is our intention to start offering labs in different languages starting in Fall 2016. Our primary goal in making these changes was to improve recruitment and retention, especially among women. We also hoped to improve the course's utility as an elective for non-majors. Our evaluation of a pilot offering suggests that the re-designed course is likely to improve retention, without negatively impacting programming knowledge. We have now completely adopted the re-designed course, and are continuing to gather data to evaluate the new design.

Cellular phones are bringing computing to underserved communities. As people in these communities across the globe lack access to information, but do own cellular phones, apps are filling the gap by delivering meaningful information to improve lives. In this paper, we present StreetConnect, a tool created by students from Santa Clara University to serve the homeless population in our area. This tool provides a way for organizations serving the homeless to send announcements to registered users via text message, and for registered users to filter the messages they receive based on their interests, such as employment, food, or shelter. The tool has been deployed at a local organization and has the potential to be generalized and used in other scenarios as well.

This paper describes the design and initial evaluation of a mobile application for training Community Emergency Response Teams. Our goal is to model the kind of remediation and performance support provided in high-end eLearning systems, and provide it during hands-on learning in the real world, using mobile phones and sensors embedded in the environment. Thus far we have designed the learning system and tested it with real users, simulating sensor-based activity recognition using an Android-based Wizard of Oz system that we have developed. Our initial user tests found that users were able to use the system to complete tasks, including some that they had never done before. They had little difficulty understanding the interaction mechanism, and overall reacted positively to the system. Though learner reaction was generally positive, these user tests yielded important feedback about ways we can better manage the division between the real world and the digital world.

Although mobile-based prototyping platforms are numerous, there are currently no tools that support Wizard of Oz interactions on Android. This paper describes a Wizard of Oz prototyping system for Android, via which a designer can enhance digitally generated mock-ups or scanned-in paper sketches with interactive widgets and automated screen transitions. Screen transitions can be based on user action such as a button presses, triggered manually by an experimenter observing from a laptop or triggered based on the user's location or the time. We have integrated scenario-based user testing, a context in which Wizard of Oz testing is often used, by providing support for location- and time-based display of videos and screens in the prototype. It is our hope that this system will find wider use in the design community.

This research addresses the use of mobile devices with both embedded and external sensors to provide contextualized help, advice, and remediation to learners engaged in real-world learn-by-doing tasks.This work is situated within the context of learning a complex procedure, in particular emergency responders learning to conduct urban search and rescue operations.Research issues include the design and delivery of contextualized performance support and the inferring of learner actions and intentions from sensor data to ensure that the right support is delivered just in time, as it is relevant to what the learner is doing.

Our work explores how handheld technology can help mediators perform at a higher level when facilitating video material, using two novel interaction mechanisms. We describe work with Digital Green, an NGO using facilitated video for agricultural extension in rural India. During an investigation into the information needs of Digital Green facilitators we found that novice facilitators benefited from targeted information presented during the video shows. Based upon this finding, we built and field-tested two different solutions for delivering this information to the facilitator in real time during the video shows. The primary difference between the two was the mechanism used to synchronize the video with the device, allowing the user to interact with the device as an extension of the presentation system (e.g. TV/DVD player). One approach involves audio codes embedded in the video that were decoded on an Android smart phone using digital signal processing. The other approach was a custom-hardware "smart" remote control. We field tested both devices for four weeks with Digital Green facilitators in northern Karnataka, and users stopped for and discussed most of the prompts. This field test established both approaches as viable for field use and identified a number of improvements for revised devices.

Worldwide, demand for education of all kinds is increasing beyond the capacity to provide it. One approach that shows potential for addressing this demand is facilitated video. In facilitated video, an educator is recorded teaching, and that video is sent to a remote site where it is shown to students by a facilitator who creates interaction around the video materials. This interaction is vital to the success of facilitated video, however very little work has explored how to support the facilitator in creating this interaction. This is the focus of the work presented in this dissertation, done in the context of a facilitated video deployment between UW and China, and Digital Green, an NGO using facilitated video for agricultural education in rural India. In this dissertation we will discuss work that we have done to understand the factors that affect the success of a deployment, and what kinds of support can be useful to the facilitator. Based upon our findings, we have developed and field tested two different technical solutions for delivering support to the facilitator in real time during the video shows. The primary difference between the two was the mechanism used to synchronize the video with a handheld device, allowing the user to interact with the device as an extension of the presentation system (e.g. TV/DVD player). One approach involves audio codes embedded in the video that were decoded on an Android smart phone using digital signal processing. The other approach was a custom-hardware "smart" remote control. We field tested both devices for four weeks with Digital Green facilitators. In this dissertation, we present our work in supporting the facilitator, including investigatory field work, software development, and pilot deployment.

The educational system, especially in developing regions, remains one of the most challenging systems for intervention and implementation of change. The objectives of this paper are to present findings of the first year of an evaluation study of Digital StudyHall (DSH), a Facilitated Video Instruction system being used in rural primary schools in India. Our analysis shows that the DSH system supports classrooms by providing teachers with instructional resources, access to expertise, and in-practice professional development. In the paper, we will a) describe the DSH system b) detail the evaluation design and c) present an analysis to demonstrate how some of the teachers using the DSH system change their teaching based on their experiences.

The Center for Collaborative Technologies at the University of Washington is dedicated to creating software tools that encourage interaction in the classroom. These include Classroom Presenter, a Tablet PC-based presentation and interaction system, and ConferenceXP, a video conferencing application for distributed courses, co-developed with Microsoft Research. In this article, we describe the use of Classroom Presenter in a pair of international distance learning courses. The two classes used different technologies: one was a synchronous class that used internet-based video conferencing and the other was an asynchronous class that used Tutored Video

We present a case study of an international distance education course involving two sites in the US and one site in Pakistan. We use the case study to examine the elements of the distance learning environment, and specifically how those elements can be best used to promote classroom interaction. In particular we discuss the effectiveness of two software tools for distance learning that we have developed: ConferenceXP for video conferencing and Classroom Presenter to facilitate interaction across sites. We bring special attention to the use of student artifacts including digital ink and text, and their use in the presentation of design proposals, the facilitation of critiques, and in the promotion of general interaction.

In this paper we discuss cultural issues encountered while offering an Algorithms course from a US university at a Chinese university using Tutored Video Instruction (TVI). TVI is a distance learning methodology where lectures are recorded at one site and then shown to a group of students at a remote site by Teaching Assistants (TAs) who stop the video periodically for questions and discussion. In conducting this cross-cultural class, we were interested in determining if we could overcome the issues of using English language materials for Chinese students, achieve a sense of local ownership of the course, and create an interactive classroom environment. We were generally successful in achieving these goals by providing supporting materials and working closely with the Teaching Assistants who served as facilitators.

This paper describes a novel offering of a US- based course in Computer Science at a Chinese university. A senior-level Algorithms course from the University of Washington was offered at Beihang University in Beijing, China through Tutored Video Instruction, whereby lectures recorded in class at the University of Washington were subsequently shown at Beihang and facilitated by local teaching assistants. In this mode of instruction, the Chinese teaching assistants conducted interactive classes using both the video materials and a classroom interaction system (Classroom Presenter) for electronically supported student activities. These activities were done using a system of networked Tablet PCs, which allowed the students to electronically submit their work to the instructor, and enabled the instructor to display student submissions as well as ink on the lecture slides. This work has two main contributions: it demonstrates that Tutored Video Instruction coupled with classroom interaction technology is a viable strategy for offering asynchronous distance versions of courses while maintaining the interactivity of classroom environments. It also shows how language and cultural barriers can be overcome by combining recorded materials with facilitated delivery.

Classroom Presenter is a Tablet PC-based interaction system that supports the sharing of digital ink on slides between instructors and students. Initial deployments show that using the technology can achieve a wide range of educational goals and foster a more participatory classroom environment.

This paper describes an application of classroom technology in support of teaching through the use of examples and active learning techniques. Here we report on using Classroom Presenter, a Tablet PC based classroom interaction syst, in a senior level course in Algorithms -- a domain for which the instructor believes working on sample probls is critical to student learning in the classroom. The role of the technology was to integrate activities into the lecture so that students have the opportunity to work with concrete examples in class, while the instructor can collect and review student work in real time, incorporating selected student answers into the discussion. In this paper, we describe the pedagogical goals of the instructor, the types of activities used to achieve those goals, and the role that technology played in supporting those goals and activities. The contributions of the paper are in showing how classroom technology can be used to support pedagogical choices, as well as in phasizing the value of having clear pedagogical goals when incorporating a new technology in the classroom. We believe the application of technology as illustrated in this work could bring similar benefits to the instruction in other disciplines.

This paper describes the fruits of a partnership between two academic departments: offerings of environmental science and resource management courses technologically enhanced with a classroom interaction system developed in the computer science department. The system allowed the instructors to adopt a style of teaching - by engaging the vast majority of students during lecture - that would have been difficult without the electronic support. The main contributions of this work lie in the novel techniques and teaching philosophy used in creating materials, especially in-class student activities, to take advantage of the system's capabilities, and in the new usage model employed in these courses. Specifically, emphasis was placed upon using the system to encourage all students to directly participate in classroom discussions; in previous deployments it was used to support other pedagogical goals. Feedback data confirms that we were successful in devising classroom activities to engage students, create an atmosphere of participation, and accomplish some additional pedagogical goals of the instructors. In this paper, we describe the technology and pedagogy used in the courses, and evaluate the courses based upon the body of collected data, including in-class observation notes, digital ink artifacts created by students and instructors, instructor analyses, and student surveys.

Active Learning in the classroom domain presents an interesting case for integrating physical and digital affordances. Traditional physical handouts and transparencies are giving way to new digital slides and PCs, but the fully digital systems still lag behind the physical artifacts in many aspects such as readability and tangibility. To better understand the interplay between physical and digital affordances in this domain, we developed PaperCP, a paper-based interface for a Tablet PC-based classroom interaction system (Classroom Presenter), and deployed it in an actual university course. This paper reports on an exploratory experiment studying the use of the system in a real-world scenario. The experiment confirms the feasibility of the paper interface in supporting student-instructor communication for Active Learning. We also discuss the challenges associated with creating a physical interface such as print layout, the use of pen gestures, and logistical issues.

We are interested in understanding how mobile devices can enhance lecture based pedagogy by allowing the instructor and students to interact electronically and in real time by exchanging lecture materials and in-class student work. We have deployed a Tablet PC based classroom interaction system in undergraduate courses, and developed a pedagogy which incorporates mediated student contributions into the classroom discussion. We found that the classroom interaction system helped instructors to engage the students and maintain high participation. The public display appears to be a critical aspect of the system by motivating students to be involved.

Higher-order pattern unification problems arise often in computations within systems such as Twelf, λ Prolog and Isabelle. An important characteristic of such problems is that they are given by equations appearing under a prefix of alternating universal and existential quantifiers. Most existing algorithms for solving these problems assume that such prefixes are simplified to a ∀∃∀ form by an a priori application of a transformation known as raising. There are drawbacks to this approach. Mixed quantifier prefixes typically manifest themselves in the course of computation, thereby requiring a dynamic form of preprocessing that is difficult to support in low-level implementations. Moreover, raising may be redundant in many cases and its effect may have to be undone by a subsequent pruning transformation. We propose a method to overcome these difficulties. In particular, a unification algorithm is described that proceeds by recursively descending through the structures of terms, performing raising and other transformations on-the-fly and only as needed.