In January 2016, ECS team member Jane Margolis was recognized by the White House as a Computer Science Education Champion of Change.   See the article from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls   THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 21, 2016 White House to Recognize Computer Science Education “Champions of Change” “In the coming years, we should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for […]

Changing the Face of Computing – One Stitch at a Time. MIT Press Blog, Oct. 14, 2015. In honor of Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Yasmin Kafai and Jane Margolis, reflect on the legacy of the British mathematician, who is famously regarded as the first female computer programmer. As we celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, we should be […]

By Miles O’Brien, Science Nation Correspondent and Ann Kellan, Science Nation Producer, on the National Science Foundation’s Science Nation magazine, Sept. 2, 2014. “Exploring Computer Science” boosts female student participation in L.A. school district to double the national average. Jane Margolis is an educator and researcher at UCLA, who has dedicated her career to democratizing computer science education and addressing under-representation in the field. Her work inspires students from diverse […]

Is Coding the New Literacy? Why America’s schools need to train a generation of hackers. By Tasneem Raja, published on Mother Jones on Jun. 16, 2014. In the winter of 2011, a handful of software engineers landed in Boston just ahead of a crippling snowstorm. They were there as part of Code for America, a program that places idealistic young coders and designers in city halls across the country for […]

Girls Make the Grade at the White House Science Fair. Published on NBC News May 24, 2014. Girls are coming to the White House on Tuesday and they are bringing their robots with them. Dozens of kids from grade school to high school will be there for the White House Science Fair, launched by President Barack Obama in 2009. This year, the emphasis is on girls who excel in science, […]

Schools need to focus on what makes computers work, not just on how to use them. By Jane Margolis and Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, published January 19, 2014 as an opinion piece in the LA Times Computer science is driving innovation across all fields, so it makes sense that the Los Angeles Board of Education wants to provide its students with access to the latest technology. Students who develop expertise in […]

With shortage of computer science classes, students in Bell code after school. By Annie Gilbertson, published Jan. 7, 2014 on 89.3 KPCC. CyberPatriot is possibly the geekiest high school club in history. Sponsored by the Air Force Association, a dozen teens from the city of Bell meet after school to learn to code. Like most of the club members, senior Erika Aguiluz aspires to become a computer scientist. Aguiluz said […]

By Joanie Harmon, published Dec. 9, 2013 on UCLA Ed & IS Ampersand. UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the nonprofit Code.org collectively launched the Los Angeles segment of National Computer Science Education Week at the UCLA Community School on Dec. 10 at the Paul Schrade Library at UCLA Community School, with local and state lawmakers, and industry leaders from Microsoft, […]

Leading the Way… A conversation with Jane Margolis. By Beth Cady and Ceal Craig, published January 2013 on Women in STEM Knowledge Center. Dr. Jane Margolis’ personal and research interests focus on the ways in which society produces and then reproduces inequality and why some individuals do not receive the same opportunities as others. She arrived at her life’s work through a combination of personal and societal events: “I don’t think […]

Despite the fact that computer science (CS) is the driver of technological innovations across all disciplines and aspects of our lives, including participatory media, high school CS too commonly fails to incorporate the perspectives and concerns of low income students of color. This article by members of the Exploring Computer Science team (Jean Ryoo, Jane Margolis, Clifford Lee, Cueponcaxochitl D.M. Sandoval, and Joanna Goode) provides a counter-narrative to this problem. […]