Youth Experiences with Authentically Embedded Computer Science in Sport
Herminio Bodon, Marcelo Bonilla Worsley, Vishesh Kumar · Interaction Design and Children · 2022
Research on bridging sports and computer science education tends to center computing as primary, and sports as secondary. In contrast, this project aims to center sports as primary while introducing technology and computing as avenues to engage with sports more deeply. We collaborated with basketball coaches to design and implement campamento:bit, a summer program with a basketball team of Latinx students in Puerto Rico. This program integrated computing artifacts in a traditional basketball camp. We present insights from our experience testing this program with 11 participants over 5 days. We present select case studies of participant experiences and developing understandings using a qualitative-methods approach. These analyses present different shifts in athletes’ perceptions of computing and instantiated students’ interests in future possibilities involving computing. Furthermore, the analyses suggest strategies for organizing such technology-integrated experiences for youth in sports contexts.