Segment

Materials

Introduction (5 Minutes)

• Computer science is a field studying computers and computational systems.

• Social computing intersects that with social and interactive behaviors.
• With our evolving world, it is becoming increasingly important.

• One common topic of social computing teenagers may hear is social media.

• There is much more to social computing than just social media; examples include interfaces, solving real-world issues, and more!

• Both are constantly evolving fields which depend on young, innovative minds!

Presenters

• Lesson Slides

Activity – Design Challenge (10 Minutes)

1. Each student gets a handout asking about tools they want to change.
2. They will then brainstorm methods which could improve those tools.

1. Students will share their design with people in the room as they work to receive additional feedback as they improve their prototypes.

3. Once they reach a final prototype, they can share with the class as desired.

Participants

• Activity Handout

Reflection (5 Minutes)

• We just utilized innovation to improve society: social computing!

• Did you enjoy the design process? Why or why not?
• Can you see yourself doing something similar in the future? How so?

• Even if you did not enjoy it, there are many other social computing topics too!

N/A

Connector (15 Minutes)

• Social computing and computer science are both in the STEAM field, which is experiencing much more rapid rates of growth than most other career fields.

• As it grows, there is uneven growth among marginalized communities; we need more people from diverse backgrounds to enter social computing so that we can address the issues more equitably.

• Here are some of the careers in social computing – there are many more too!

• UX: Designing interfaces to maximize positive user experiences.

• Recent shift to “rounder” boxes improves UX.

• HCI: Studying how humans interact with computers.

• Virtual/augmented reality’s rise in popularity.

• Consequences of Design: Identify possible consequences in designs.

• Possible spying through surveillance cameras.

• Machine Learning/Biases: Identify biases which may form through AI.

• Using Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, etc.

• Youth Opportunities: UbiComp Lab, Nonprofits, Personal Projects, etc.

• Working with UW is a great way to get a feel of schools/careers!

Participants

• UW Opportunities Handout

Closing Activity – Career Exploration (15 Minutes)

• Each group of 4-5 gets a poster and selects a computer science career.

• They will research the career and explore how it relates to social computing, decorating the poster to their liking. They will include all relevant information asked by the handout.

• Groups will share their posters with the class and share opinions on the topic.
• Distribute closing survey.

Participants

• Posters