A must-read for every educator working to make the pressing issues of technology and harm legible to kids.”
Safiya Noble
Associate Professor, UCLA; author of Algorithms of Oppression
Named one of “Favorite New Books of 2022 for Young Adults”
by Social Justice Books
Power On!
By: Jean J. Ryoo & Jane Margolis / Illustrated by: Charis JB
The decisions made by computer scientists today—in the algorithms they design and programs they create—are profoundly changing how we communicate, work, think, learn, and determine fact from fiction. And yet, those seated at CS design tables do not reflect the voices and perspectives of our diverse population, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ communities, and the disabled. This is particularly troubling during a time when White supremacists are promoting hate and fake news on social media sites and as police departments employ faulty facial recognition systems that cannot accurately read Black faces, leading to false arrests.
All students need to learn about Computer Science!
Power On! follows the lives of four friends as they learn how computer science is shaping our world, and how they seek to change the face of computing through their own high school experiences and communities. Building on our research describing student engagement, agency, and identity from high school students’ perspectives, as well as prior research findings published in Stuck in the Shallow End, this graphic novel describes how four teenagers take a stand about the education they need, while learning how technology can be used for social good instead of harm. And, they have fun doing it!