Betsy DiSalvo
Professor

bdisalvo@cc.gatech.edu

http://betsydisalvo.com

Research Areas:
Learning Sciences; Human Centered Computing; Culture and Computing; Educational Technology; Data Annotation; Computing Workforce Development; Educational Games

Biography

Dr. Betsy DiSalvo is an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing. DiSalvo’s work is focused on computer science (CS) education and informal learning. She is PI for several NSF-funded CS education projects, including exploring maker-oriented learning approaches to increase transfer and reflection in CS courses and the DataWorks project, an authentic working environment for minority young adults that provides CS education through entry-level jobs.

DiSalvo collaborates with game developers and others to develop educational games such as the Beats Empire game, which assesses CS learning outcomes and the Hemonauts game, which helps chronically ill children learn science concepts related to their bodies. In the past decade, DiSalvo has led research efforts to understand the use of information technology by minority parents in their children’s education, working with African American and Latin American parents in Atlanta. DiSalvo's work has included the development of the Glitch Game Testers program, a CS education effort with African American males, and projects for the Carnegie Science Museum, the Children's Museum of Atlanta, Eyedrum Art Center, and the Walker Art Center.