EBP: The Digital NEST: Building Pathways to Computing Education and Careers for Latino/a Youth

这项工作考察了以社区为基础的技术中心在多大程度上能够提供所需的教育结构，以激励和准备服务不足的高中生，特别是农村社区的拉丁裔/a学生，从事计算机科学(CS)职业。社区中心在提供相关技术和指导、CS学习的脚手架和支持网络方面具有独特的地位，但关于如何优化社区中心对当地学校系统服务不佳的青年的影响的研究很少。该项目将为其他社区技术中心建立一个模式，通过利用在线资源，将它们与国家CS标准和当地行业需求联系起来，并通过有效的指导来支持学习，从而建立教育和职业道路。它将产生一套建议的战略，非正规教育中心可以用来有效地提供和补充正规的校本CS教育。这是一个研究组织ETR Associates和数字Nest之间的合作伙伴关系，Digital Nest是一家服务于拉丁裔/a高中生的社区技术中心。这项工作考察了一套专门为非正式环境中的CS教育量身定做的教育技术的有效性。教学部分的重点是通过开发数字证书，有效地使用徽章作为激励学习的手段。学生将参与符合Csta K-12 CS标准的混合在线CS课程。在这个过程中，这项工作评估了社会和动机因素，影响社区为基础的非正式环境中的CS教育的参与度和留存。鉴于美国不到四分之一的高中提供正规的计算机教育，这项研究旨在解决非正式环境中对CS教育日益增长的需求，特别是农村环境中的学生。

This work examines the extent to which community-based technology centers that incorporate open educational resources can provide the educational structure needed to motivate and prepare underserved high school students, particularly Latino/a students in rural communities, for careers in computer science (CS). Community centers are uniquely positioned to provide access to relevant technology and instruction, scaffolding for CS learning, and a network of support, but there is little research on how to optimize their impact for youth that are poorly served by their local school systems. This project will lead to a model for other community technology centers to build educational and career pathways by leveraging online resources, linking them to national CS standards as well as local industry needs and supporting that learning with effective mentorship. It will result in a set of recommended strategies that informal education centers can use to effectively deliver and complement formal school-based CS education.This is a partnership between a research organization, ETR Associates and the Digital NEST, a community technology center that serves Latino/a high school students. The work examines the efficacy of a suite of educational techniques tailored specifically for CS education in informal settings. The pedagogical component focuses on the effective use of badges as motivational learning devices through the development of digital credentials. Students will engage in hybrid online CS courses aligned with CSTA K-12 CS standards. In the process, this work assesses the social and motivational factors that affect engagement and retention in CS education in community-based informal settings. Given that less than a quarter of all high schools in the United States offer formal computing education, this research is positioned to address the growing need for CS education in informal settings and particularly students in rural settings.