Exploring Computational Thinking Perspectives in Black Communities with Physiological Computing

Physiological computing (PC) technology is becoming increasingly popular as wearable hardware improves. However, little is known regarding potential connections between hands-on experience with physiological computing technology and computation thinking perspectives. This is particularly true for black communities. Applications for physiological computing include systems such as wearable technology (e.g., Apple Watch) capable of mapping students' physiological activity to various outputs. The work discussed in this paper presents our initial steps toward filling these gaps. In particular, we share our observations of computational thinking perspectives that emerged while black high school students constructed simple programs driven by near real-time brain wave information. Our findings suggest interactive physiological data may lead to unique computational perspectives during learning activities.