Codewit.us - A Platform for Diverse Perspectives in Coding.

ABSTRACTTo broaden participation in computing, learning materials should relate to a diverse spectrum of student perspectives. This paper introduces Codewit.us, an online platform for under-represented minority (URM) students in computing to share examples of how coding fundamentals can be demonstrated in contexts relevant to their own lives. Codewit.us features brief video demonstrations by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and female students, paired with interactive drill-and-practice coding problems on matching programming concepts. This experience report describes the software and pedagogical design for Codewit.us. The report includes preliminary findings from our investigation into the diversity of students' interests, usage of Codewit.us videos and practice problems, as well as students' affect and self-efficacy. A needs assessment found significant differences in certain interests associated with students' gender. Preliminary findings indicated greater improvements in students' affective outcomes in a course offering with the Codewit.us learning materials than in courses without them. The paper also discusses opportunities discovered for broadening participation in CS by relating coding to new perspectives seldom represented in introductory programming courses.