Adelphi University Professors Join Mozilla Foundation Cohort to Redesign Responsible Computing Courses
Adelphi University Professors Suraj Uttamchandani PhD, Matthew Curinga EdD, and John Drew MFA have received funding from the Mozilla Foundation to redesign two courses in responsible computing.
Garden City, NY (04/30/2024) — Three Adelphi University professors have earned a grant from the Mozilla Foundation and its partners to (re)design two interdisciplinary undergraduate courses that will prepare students to practice responsible computing, by addressing computer science's role in contributing to or combating inequality. Adelphi is one of only 15 institutions in the U.S. chosen by the Responsible Computing Challenge (RCC) program to create curricula that reimagine computing education. The Responsible Computing Challenge program is a partnership of Mozilla, the Omidyar Network, Schmidt Futures, Craig Newmark Philanthropies and the Mellon Foundation,
The $150,000 grant awarded to Adelphi's Suraj Uttamchandani, assistant professor of learning sciences, Matthew Curinga, associate professor of education, and John Drew, associate professor of communications, funds their project, "Spatial Justice as a Bridge to Responsible Computing," which focuses on the role of maps as digital artifacts to support spatial justice.
During the Spring 2024 Semester, they re-designed Professor Drew's New Media course to help students learn user experience design through the creation of data-laden digital maps about social issues. Students investigated case studies with strong spatial justice elements, such as housing inequality, gerrymandering, and school segregation on Long Island. Inspired by these cases, they formed teams to design and code their digital maps that shed light on issues of spatial justice while learning key computer science concepts. In the Fall 2024 semester, Dr. Uttamchandani and Dr. Curinga will co-lead a first-year seminar on these topics.
"These courses will use responsible computing as a framework to design new learning experiences around data, maps, and spatial justice, and thus engage students in perspectives from geography, design, computer science, the learning sciences and educational equity," said Uttamchandani. "One of our goals is to help a wide variety of students, including those outside of STEM majors, understand how computer science can help them tell stories about and challenge inequality. This project aims to broaden equitable participation in technology fields through innovative, research-informed, multidisciplinary and equity-forward course designs for computing education."
Mozilla welcomed the professors to their new U.S. cohort at a dedicated RCC summit in October 2023, hosted by Harvard University's Embedded EthiCS team in Cambridge, MA.
"AI and other computing technologies have an outsized impact on our lives, powering everything from banking to public services to law enforcement. As a result, we desperately need trustworthy AI systems - and responsible technologists who build them," said Ziyaad Bhorat, Fellow of the RCC, in an announcement of the cohort.
About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university in the United States with a personalized approach to higher learning
Adelphi University, New York, US, is a highly awarded, internationally ranked and powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students' lives. It is recognized for small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi offers exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training at the undergraduate and graduate level with particular strength in its 'Core Four' academic areas: the Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness.
Recognized as a Best College by U.S. News & World Report, Adelphi is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. It serves more than 7,250 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York-just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities-and at dynamic learning hubs in Brooklyn, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, as well as online.
More than 119,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, engaged citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities, and the world.
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Adelphi University Professors Suraj Uttamchandani PhD, Matthew Curinga EdD, and John Drew MFA (pictured) have received funding from the Mozilla Foundation to redesign two courses in responsible computing.