Dr. Gillian Smith, Computer Science, investigates ways to make computing science meaningful for the broader public by working with African American quilters on a computational craft project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To provide a better public understanding of computer science, Dr. Gillian Smith designed a series of workshops called Code Crafters, funded by NSF, to highlight the relationship between quilting and computer science to quilters. Dr. Smith has found that quilting can be used as a metaphor for computer science topics and ideas. However, it often does not fully convey what is most important to quilters about the craft: story, tradition, improvisation, playfulness, community, and charity. Though these themes are present in computer science projects, they are not necessarily present in how it is taught, nor are they central to the discipline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this project, Dr. Smith will bring together members of Worcester-area quilt guilds, especially a local African American quilting guild, with WPI computer science students to investigate new ways to teach and learn introductory computing. One of their main focuses is to re-center computing toward public interest and help computer science students see how members of the public, who have a depth of technical and mathematical skill via their craft, bring a new perspective to computer science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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