Who We Are: Mark Guzdial

Professor in the School of Interactive Computing,
Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Mark Guzdial completed a joint Ph.D. in Education and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, studying with Dr. Elliot Soloway. He explores the use of technology for improving education, especially through computing-supported collaboration and expressive media. He was the original creator of “Swiki,” the first Wiki tool designed for use in education. He invented the “Media Computation” approach to introductory computing, where students learn computing through manipulation of digital pictures, sounds, and movies. Through published reports at several universities, the approach has been shown to improve retention and student engagement, without differentiation between genders or between ethnic group. He has written three textbooks supporting the approach.

Dr. Guzdial leads the NSF Broadening Participation in Computing alliance “Georgia Computes!” whose goal is to influence the entire computing education pipeline. The “Georgia Computes!” project provides Girl Scout and YWCA programs in computing, trains high school teachers, trains undergraduate faculty in innovative curricula, and supports the creation of summer camp programs around the state. Dr. Guzdial is also part of the Institute for Personal Robotics in Education, which develops a robotics-centered approach to introductory computing. He is vice-chair of the ACM Education Board.

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