Month: April 2017

Creating Opportunities for Women in Computing

For Linda Ott, debugging a program is like solving a mystery. “We don’t tell girls about computing when they’re young, so they don’t see how fun computing can be,” Ott explains. “They hear about biology and chemistry, but computing seems abstract.” And very few middle and high schools have computing courses or instructors. “Girls don’t . . .

The Making of a Citizen Science App

Astronomy is a citizen’s science. Its foundation is ordinary people who help answer serious scientific questions by providing vital data to the astronomical community. Nebulas, supernovas, and gamma ray sightings. The availability of smartphones make collecting and sharing scientific data easier, faster, and more accurate. These days former astronomy teacher Robert Pastel isn’t as interested . . .

Advancements in Eyes-free Text Entry

For Keith Vertanen, the satisfaction of helping people with visual impairments is a byproduct of the challenge he seeks. Vertanen’s research will offer more texting options not only to the blind community, but to the situationally impaired, too. “My interest stemmed from sighted text entry research. The decoder (a touchscreen keyboard recognizer) is so accurate—we . . .