One Voice in CS Podcast

34 [Topic] One Voice in CS- Flash PD- Live from CAL-MSCS Models of Practice Summit

Recorded live at the CAL-MSCS Models of Practice Summit in beautiful Monterey, CA, this episode features candid interviews with educators and leaders across California who are helping to reimagine and expand access to computer science. Hear from classroom teachers Garrett Lloyd, Aimee Lee, and Justin Jimenez as they share their growth as CS beginners and what they’re eager to bring back to their students. Principal Kip Glazer offers powerful insight on resilience, purpose, and leading with heart. Steering committee members and statewide CS champions Rudy Escobar, Lilibeth Mora, Doug Henderson, and Shaina Glass discuss identity, access, and collaboration across diverse communities. From entry points to equity, from resources to real talk—this episode captures the collective momentum toward ensuring CS is for all.

33 [Interview] One Voice in CS - Evan Shieh

Host Shawn Patrick Higgins edits the interview between Justine Chavez-Crespin and Evan Shieh, Executive Director of the Young Data Scientist League, whose work centers on data justice and critical AI literacy. Evan shares how his organization's Data Is Power program puts students from underrepresented communities in the driver's seat on AI ethics — analyzing bias in language models, studying unequal tech access, and presenting findings at international conferences. He reflects on his own path into CS, from feeling like an outsider in college to building machine learning models during ACL rehab, and makes the case that the most important skills in the AI era aren't advanced math or coding — they're curiosity, interdisciplinary thinking, and the ability to connect technical work to real human communities.

32 [Interview] One Voice in CS - Dr Cynthia Breazeal

Inspired by R2-D2 at age 10, Dr. Cynthia Breazeal went on to create Kismet—the world's first social robot—and pioneer the field of social robotics at MIT. Now, she's on a mission to democratize AI literacy for every student and teacher, not just computer science majors. Through MIT's RAISE initiative, Dr. Breazeal has developed hundreds of hours of free, open-source curriculum reaching over 170 countries. Her philosophy? AI isn't about replacing humans—it's about empowering them. From kindergarteners to high schoolers, students need to understand how AI works, think critically about its impact, and use it as a tool for "computational action"—making things that make a difference in their communities. As the U.S. prepares for its 250th anniversary, Dr. Breazeal is launching Day of AI USA, aiming to train 20,000 teachers and reach one million students. Her message is clear: in the age of AI, human creativity, empathy, wisdom, and collaboration matter more than ever. Students still need to learn to code, think critically, and work together—because AI is a powerful tool, but it's humans who shape the future.

31 [Interview] One Voice in CS - Dr Beth Simon & Dr Kate Lockwood

What if generative AI isn't the enemy of learning to code — but one of the best tools we can hand our students? In this episode, host Julie York sits down with Dr. Beth Simon and Dr. Kate Lockwood, two CS educators bridging the high school-to-college divide, to talk about a new CSTA professional development course that charts a practical middle path between banning AI and going full vibe-code. They share how focused, free tools and simple sentence frames can help students build stronger debugging, testing, and critical thinking skills — and why the conversation matters now more than ever.

30 [Interview] One Voice in CS - Mahmoud Harding

What started with tinkering on an Omega computer with a cousin in rural North Carolina led to a career bridging industry and education. This CS educator spent years in programming, systems administration, and disaster recovery at IBM before realizing their true calling: explaining difficult concepts in ways that make them accessible. Now working at Data Science for Everyone, they're developing K-12 learning progressions for data literacy—because in today's world, working with data and computational tools shouldn't be reserved for CS electives. The vision is bold: integrate data science across all subjects so every teacher can recognize data literacy opportunities in their content area, with CS educators as frontline support. Their teaching philosophy is refreshingly human: normalize problem-solving, celebrate without surprise ("I knew you could do it"), and create spaces like the "Hidden Figures room" where students work together at their own pace. They emphasize academic risk-taking—school is the safe place to take big swings—and learning to internalize feedback as growth, not criticism. On AI, their stance is clear: students need to understand the math, statistics, and algorithms behind the "magic." AI is a tool that elevates existing expertise—like giving a chef better pans—not a replacement for human development, lived experience, or the connections that spark true creativity. In an age where attention is monetized, students need computational literacy paired with self-reflection, relationship-building, and perseverance.