Combating Social Injustice and Misinformation to Engage Minority Youth in Computing Sciences

Abstract

Today students largely turn to social media to express opinions about various topics impacting our society (e.g. world events, government, politics, culture, etc.). The expanse of user-generated information available online can be a powerful influence both on the individual and large collectives of people. In recent years disinformation and misinformation on social media have been used to spread hate and divisiveness and, in extreme cases, incite violence. Now, more than ever, it is important to empower minority youth to be good cybercitizens by converting them from passive consumers of unreliable information to knowledgeable contributors of credible data. In this paper, we demonstrate the value of using social injustice as a means of engaging minority youth in computing and data sciences. We have identified effective methods of teaching high school students applied data analysis techniques that provide insight into issues directly affecting them, their families, and their communities. We believe this approach can be used to not only strengthen the pipeline to continued education and careers in computing fields, but also provide an alternative medium for action in a contentious world.