Our mission is to address the shortage of high school computer science students by engaging diverse populations with authentic computer science content and student-centered instruction.
We believe that a student-centered approach will engage students across all demographics, and make computing relevant to their lives, their personal interests, and their future.
Learning Technologies 100%
Computer Science 100%
Problem Based Learning 97%
Educational Research 100%
Dr. Calvin Lin is a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin. Lin has a long-standing interest in CS education. He has been the Director of the Department's Turing Scholars Honors Program since its creation in 2001; he leads the UTeach-CS program, which expands the number of CS students who become certified to teach high school computer science; and he is currently PI of Project Engage! In addition to these interests, Lin has research interests in compilers, computer architecture, and parallel computing.
Dr. George Veletsianos is an Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies at The University of Texas, Austin. His research fouses on the design and study of emerging technologies and pedagogies in online and hybrid education settings, and their relationship to student and instructor experiences and practices. More specifically, he studies Adventure Learning, pedagogical agents, and Networked Participatory Scholarship.
Bradley Beth is the Master Teacher on Project Engage! He has degrees in linguistics and computer science and has worked in both the software development industry and teaching. As a computer science teacher, the College Board named Bradley as having the highest AP Computer Science pass rates in the country among African-American and Hispanic students (2007). He also has won awards for inquiry-based teaching and project-based instructional design in mathematics.
Gregory S. Russell is a Ph.D. student of learning technologies at the University of Texas, Austin, focused on using learning technologies to address issues of inequality and diversity in K-12 public schools. At present he works as an instructional designer for Thriving in our Digital World, and is also involved in research projects that examine 1:1 tablet integration efforts in classroom contexts, the interactions between humans and digital agents, and the use of geocaching in informal learning environments. Prior to joining UT, Greg was an elementary and middle school teacher at an urban charter school. Greg also played professional baseball, and he still enjoys an active lifestyle with sports, cross-training, and cycling.
Tara Craig is a Math Education Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin. Craig's research interests focus on the effectiveness of integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curricula as well as impacts of Project-Based Learning (PBL) on student learning. She is an instructional designer and research assistant on Project Engage! In addition to research, Craig assists with a course focused on PBL that is offered to pre-service STEM teachers through the UTeach program at UT. Craig taught for three years at a public high school that required all courses be taught through PBL. In her years teaching she designed and implemented PBL curriculum for a variety of math and cross-curricular high school courses. She was also a mentor, trainer, and professional developer within her district and across Texas for the duration of her teaching career.