Resources


  •    Blown to Bits


    Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion, an e-book on the digital revolution made available for free via Creative Commons, is used in part as a motivating textbook and resource for students throughout our modules.


  •    NCWIT


    The National Center for Women and Information Technology works to correct the imbalance of gender diversity in technology and computing. NCWIT has influenced our design team's curricular approach and has provided several activities that have been re-purposed for course.


  •    Google Public Data Explorer


    The Google Public Data Explorer makes large, public-interest datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate for novice data analyzers. Our students use this tool in the Big Data module to conduct big data analysis first-hand.


  •    Scratch


    Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art—and share these creations on the web. Scratch is the primary programming language utilized by students in our course.


  •    Processing


    Processing is a free downloadable development environment with its own programing language, similar to Java. Processing includes 2-D and 3-D graphics routines easily implementable by novice programmers. The language was created to promote software literacy.


  •    OnRamps


    OnRamps is a UT organization charged with the mission to increase the number and diversity of high school and community college students who are well prepared to excel in entry-level courses at 4-year universities.


  •    Canvas


    Canvas acts as our Learning Management System (LMS), housing all content and pedagogical supports. Canvas was developed by Instructure for teachers, students, administrators, and parents in order to maximize time spent teaching and learning.


  •    CS: Principles


    Computer Science: Principles is a new course under development that seeks to broaden participation in computing and computer science. Development is being led by a team of computer science educators organized by the College Board and the National Science Foundation.


  •    National Science Foundation


    The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency charged "to promote the progress of science". Funding for Thriving in our Digital World was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (award #CNS-1138506).


  •    UTeach


    Starting in Summer 2016, the UTeach Institute will begin offering interested teachers a complete solution for teaching this exciting course. Participating teachers will receive professional development, teacher resources, stipends, and access to an online community and ongoing support.