The Using Media Computation to Attract and Retain Students in Computing project is using research on why women have avoided computing to develop an alternative path to introductory computing.
Intellectual Merit: This project is developing a course which is presenting the same concepts as found in typical introductory computing courses, but it is using new examples based on media computation, e.g., instead of replacing values in a range of an array, students are working on removing red eye from photos, and instead of creating a linked list using repetition and weaving, they are filling nodes with MIDI notes and traversing them to produce music.
Broader Impacts: The media computation approach is proving to be particularly successful at attracting and retaining women, and at motivating non-CS majors to succeed in computing. It is creating a path to computing that appeals to a broader group of students. Initial results are indicating that students on this path are achieving the same learning and performance levels as those on traditional paths. Ultimately, greater diversity in computing will result in a more technologically literate and globally competitive citizenry.
