Headshot of Amy J. Ko

Amy J. Ko, Ph.D.

Professor
The Information School
University of Washington, Seattle

Education

2002-2008
Carnegie Mellon University
Doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction
Thesis: Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behaviors
Brad Myers (CMU, Chair), Bonnie John (CMU), Jonathan Aldrich (CMU), Gail Murphy (UBC)
1998-2002
Oregon State University
Honors Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Psychology
Thesis: Individual Differences in Programming, Testing, and Debugging in a Statistical End-User Programming Environment
Margaret Burnett (Computer Science) and Bob Uttl (Psychology)

Academic appointments

2020-present
Professor
The Information School + Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering (courtesy)
University of Washington, Seattle
2014-2020
Associate Professor
The Information School + Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering (courtesy)
University of Washington, Seattle
2008-2014
Assistant Professor
The Information School + Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering (courtesy)
University of Washington
2006
Research Intern
Microsoft Research, Redmond
Microsoft
2002-2008
Graduate Research Assistant
Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
1999-2002
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Department of Computer Science
Oregon State University

Industry appointments

2015-2020
Co-founder and Chief Scientist
Executive team
AnswerDash, Inc.
2013-2015
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer
Executive team
AnswerDash, Inc.

Honors and Recognitions

Most Influential Paper Awards

2008
How Designers Design and Program Interactive Behaviors
most influential paper honorable mention
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
2008
Debugging Reinvented: Asking and Answering Why and Why Not Questions about Program Behavior
best paper, most influential paper
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
2004
Six Learning Barriers in End-User Programming Systems
most influential paper
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
2003
Development and Evaluation of a Model of Programming Errors
best paper, most influential paper
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

Best Paper Awards

2024
Culture-centric computational embroidery
best paper
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Experience Report Track
2023
Funds of knowledge used by adolescents of color in scaffolded sensemaking around algorithmic fairness
best paper
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
2023
A qualitative study on the implementation design decisions of developers
best paper
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
2022
“A key to reducing inequities in like, AI, is by reducing inequities everywhere first”: Emerging Critical Consciousness in a Co-Constructed Secondary CS Classroom
best paper
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
2021
Falx: Synthesis-Powered Visualization Authoring
best paper
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
2018
On Use of Theory in Computing Education Research
best paper
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
2015
From User-Centered Design to Adoption-Centered Design: A Case Study of a Research System Becoming a Product
best paper
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
2013
In-Game Assessments Increase Novice Programmers' Engagement and Learning Efficiency
best paper
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
2010
Cleanroom: Edit-Time Error Detection with the Uniqueness Heuristic
best paper
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
2008
Debugging Reinvented: Asking and Answering Why and Why Not Questions about Program Behavior
best paper, most influential paper
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
2005
Examining Task Engagement in Sensor-Based Statistical Models of Human Interruptibility
best paper
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
2005
Eliciting Design Requirements for Maintenance-Oriented IDEs: A Detailed Study of Corrective and Perfective Maintenance Tasks
best paper
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
2003
Development and Evaluation of a Model of Programming Errors
best paper, most influential paper
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

Recognitions

2024 ACM Distinguished Member A recognition given to computing scholars who have made a significant impact on the computing field.
2023 ACM Distinguished Speaker A recognition given to thought leaders in computing, with an expectation of giving public talks to venues globally.
2022 SIGCHI Academy A recognition given to honorary and leading individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of human-computer interaction, shaping the field.
2021 Oregon State University Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers A recogntion given to distinguished Oregon State University alumni who are future leaders in their profession.
2021 Marsha Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, Honorable Mention One of 20 faculty nominated and 2 awarded across all University of Washington campuses in 2021, in recognition of outstanding mentorship in doctoral education.
2020 ACM Senior Member For more than 10 years of technical leadership and professional contributions.
2017 ACM SIGCHI Exceptional Reviewer For one or more outstanding reviews at a SIGCHI conference
2016 ACM SIGCHI Exceptional Reviewer For one or more outstanding reviews at a SIGCHI conference
2014 University of Washington Presidential Entrepreneurial Faculty Fellow For entrepreneurial leadership in translating research to practice.
2010 National Science Foundation CAREER award NSF's most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education.
2004 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship A five year fellowship recognizing outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines.
2004 National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship A three year fellowship in recognition of U.S. citizens with promise to advance science and engineering disciplinesof military importance.
2003 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention Recognition of an outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines.
2001 CRA Outstanding Undergraduate, Honorable Mention Recognition of one of the top undergraduate researchers across all computer science research areas.
2001 Waldo-Cummings Outstanding Student Award Oregon State University's recognition of the top 5 undergraduates in the junior class of more than 5,000 students.
2000 ACM Student Chapter Excellence Award for School Service ACM's recognition of ACM student chapter leadership, earned while President of Oregon State University's ACM student chapter.
1999 Waldo-Cummings Outstanding Student Award (top Oregon State University's recognition of the top 5 undergraduates in the freshman class of more than 5,000 students.

Funding

2023-2027
An Equitable, Justice-Focused Ecosystem for Pacific Northwest Secondary CS Teaching
$1,400,000
National Science Foundation
#2318257
Amy J. Ko (PI), Caroline Hardin (Co-PI)
Explores pathways into CS teaching and strategies for retention.
2022-2026
STEP CS scholarships
$400,000
Google
Amy J. Ko (PI), Anne Beitlers (Co-PI)
An unrestricted gift to support the STEP CS program.
2021-2024
Equity in Computing Education Policies, Pathways, and Practices
$3,599,041
National Science Foundation
#2137834
Carol Fletcher (PI), Debra Richardson (Co-PI), Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich (Co-PI), Joshua Childs (Co-PI), Sarah Dunton (Co-PI), Amy Ko (Senior Personnel)
Expands pathways for K-12 students to participate in computing education.
2021-2024
AccessComputing Alliance
$2,850,000
National Science Foundation
#2137312
Richard Ladner (PI), Sheryl Burgstahler (Co-PI), Raja Kushalnagar (Co-PI), Stacy Branham (Co-PI), Elain Short (Co-PI), Amy Ko (Senior Personnel)
Expands pathways for students with disabilities to participate in computing education.
2021-2024
Developing Authentic and Fair Computer Science Assessments
$877,449
National Science Foundation
#2100296
Mo Zhang (PI), Amy J. Ko (PI), Min Li (Co-PI)
Explores ways of using problem solving process data to ensure more equitable, reliable, and valid CS assessments of programming skill.
2021-2024
End-User Programming with Synthesis-Guided Interaction Models
$749,739
National Science Foundation
#2122950
Ratislav Bodik (PI), Amy J. Ko (Co-PI)
Invents new applications of program synthesis to supporting learning and end-user programming.
2020-2023
Justice-Focused Secondary CS Teacher Education
$999,723
National Science Foundation
#2031265
Amy J. Ko (PI), Anne Beitlers (Co-PI)
Designing and launching a justice-focused CS education masters program and studying teacher learning about CS from a justice lens.
2022
Supporting CS teacher pathways
$200,000
UW Provost's Office
Amy J. Ko (PI), Anne Beitlers (Co-PI)
Provides two years of tuition subsidy for the new STEP CS secondary CS teacher education program in the College of Education.
2022
Supplement for Grade 6-12 Data Science Education
$200,000
National Science Foundation
#2031265
Amy J. Ko (PI), Anne Beitlers (Co-PI)
Provides tuition subsidy for the new STEP CS secondary CS teacher education program in the College of Education, with a focus on data science education.
2021-2022
Broadening Participation with CS Counternarratives
$70,000
Google
Amy J. Ko (PI), Anne Beitlers (Co-PI)
Explores ways of engaging students in CS counternarratives to develop critical consciousness of computing.
2019-2022
Formal Verification of Accessibility
$738,125
National Science Foundation
#1836813
Michael Ernst (PI), Amy J. Ko (Co-PI), Jennifer Mankoff (Co-PI), Zach Tatlock (Co-PI)
New techniques to formally verify a range of accessibility properties of web applications.
2017-2021
Programming Strategies
$1,199,555
National Science Foundation
#1703304
Thomas LaToza (PI, George Mason University), Amy J. Ko (Co-PI, University of Washington)
Develop of a new science of programming strategies.
2015-2021
BPC-AE: AccessComputing
$3,797,990
National Science Foundation
#1539179
Richard Ladner (PI, University of Washington), Sheryl Burgstahler (Co-PI), Amy J. Ko (Co-PI), Jacob O. Wobbrock (Co-PI)
Increases access to computing for students with disabilities.
2017-2020
Automatically Synthesizing Valid, Personalized, Formative Assessments of CS1 Concepts
$549,857
National Science Foundation
#1735123
Amy J. Ko (PI, University of Washington), Min Li (Co-PI, University of Washington)
New model of CS1 concepts, new approaches to formative assessment and feedback, new techniques problem synthesis, and a new paradigm for intelligent tutoring of programming.
2013-2017
HCC: Large: Variations to Support Exploratory Programming
$2,999,991
National Science Foundation
#1314399
Brad Myers (PI, Carnegie Mellon University), Amy J. Ko (Co-PI), Margaret Burnett (Co-PI, Oregon State University), Martin Erwig (Co-PI, Oregon State University), Anita Sarma (Co-PI, University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Gregg Rothermel (Co-PI, University of Nebraska, Lincoln)
New theory, tools, and techniques for supporting multiple versions and variations of programs.
2012-2015
CER: Computing Education through Collaborative Debugging
$599,999
National Science Foundation
#1240786
Amy J. Ko (PI), Margaret Burnett (Co-PI, Oregon State University), Catherine Law (Co-PI, Oregon State University)
Debugging puzzle games as a new method for engaging, efficient learning of computer programming.
2010-2014
CAREER: Enabling and Exploiting Evidence-Based Bug Triage
$592,456
National Science Foundation
#1153625
Amy J. Ko (PI)
Studies and tools for supporting analyzing and prioritizing bug reports.
2013-2014
W Fund Early Stage Capital Investment
$500,000
W Fund
Jacob O. Wobbrock (CEO), Amy J. Ko (CTO)
Gap fund to support the commercialization of the LemonAid research project.
2013-2014
Mobile/Social Debugging Games for Computing Education
$25,000
Microsoft Research Software Engineering Innovation Foundation Award
Amy J. Ko (PI)
Gift to support the Gidget research project.
2012-2013
Selection-Based Contextual Help in the Wild
$47,359
Google Faculty Research Award
Amy J. Ko (PI)
Gift to support the LemonAid research project.
2012-2013
Automatic, Individualized Instructional Feedback to Improve Learning in an Online Programming Game
$32,122
University of Washington, Royalty Research Fund
Amy J. Ko (PI)
Early stage internal grant to support Gidget.
2012-2013
Chime: Bringing Crowdsourced Contextual Help to the Masses
$50,000
UW Center for Commercialization
Jacob O. Wobbrock (PI) and Amy J. Ko (Co-PI)
Early stage internal grant to support the commercialization of LemonAid.
2010-2011
Software Developer Help Seeking on the Web
$6,200
Microsoft
Amy J. Ko (PI)
Gift to support research on developer help seeking.
2003-2008
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
$75,000
National Science Foundation
Amy J. Ko (PI)
A 3-year competitive fellowship for new doctoral students
2003-2006
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
$75,000
Department of Defense
Amy J. Ko (PI)
A 3-year competitive fellowship for new doctoral students

Publications

Unlike most of academia, premiere conferences in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Software Engineering (SE), and Computing Education are selective venues for archival research. These conferences exceed many journals in their selectivity, visibility, and impact.

Authorship order indicates the scope of my intellectual contribution to the work. However, because I collaborate closely with my Ph.D. students on research, they are first author on many of my key publications.

Refereed Conference + Journal Articles

2024

"There Will Always be a Yes and No Side": Facilitating Ethical Sensemaking Around Technology with Teens Rotem Landesman, Jean Salac, Jared Lim, Amy J. KoISLS 2024
Factors Influencing the Social Help-Seeking Behavior of Introductory Programming Students in a Competitive University Environment Anael Kuperwajs Cohen, Alannah Oleson, Amy J. KoACM Transactions on Computing Education
Culture-centric computational embroidery Jayne Everson, Megumi Kivuva, Camilo Montes de Haro, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Experience Report Track best paper

2023

Developing novice programmers' self-regulation skills with code replays Benjamin Xie, Jared Lim, Paul Pham, Min Li, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
"A field where you will be accepted": Belonging in student and TA interactions in post-secondary CS education Leah Perlmutter, Jean Salac, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Navigating a blackbox: Students' experiences and perceptions of automated hiring Lena Armstrong, Jayne Everson, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Funds of knowledge used by adolescents of color in scaffolded sensemaking around algorithmic fairness Jean Salac, Alannah Oleson, Lena Armstrong, Audrey Le Meur, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER) best paper
Exploring identity through computing integration in a Spanish language and literature class Megumi Kivuva, Keith O'Hara, Amy J. KoIEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Scaffolding children's sensemaking around algorithmic fairness Jean Salac, Rotem Landesman, Stefania Druga, Amy J. KoACM Interaction Design for Children
A qualitative study on the implementation design decisions of developers Jenny Liang, Maryam Arab, Minhyuk Ko, Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaTozaACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) best paper
"Taught to be automata": Examining the departmental role inshaping initial career choices of computing students Mara Kirdani-Ryan, Amy J. Ko, Emilia A. BorisovaComputer Science Education
Proposing, preparing, and teaching an equity- and justice-centered secondary pre-service CS teacher education program Amy J. Ko, Anne Beitlers, Jayne Everson, Brett Wortzman, Dan GallagherACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Experience Report Track

2022

Teaching inclusive design skills with the CIDER assumption elicitation technique Alannah Oleson, Meron Solomon, Christopher Perdriau, Amy J. KoACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
“I would be afraid to be a bad CS teacher”: Factors Influencing Participation in Pre-Service Secondary CS Teacher Education Jayne Everson, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
A decade of demographics in computing education research: A critical review of trends in collection, reporting, and use Alannah Oleson + Benjamin Xie, Jean Salac, Jayne Everson, Megumi Kivuva, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
How families design and program games: a qualitative analysis of a 4-week online in-home study with a cellular-automata programming platform Stefania Druga, Tom Ball, Amy J. KoACM Interaction Design for Children
The Landscape of Teaching Resources for AI Education Stefania Druga, Nancy Otero, Amy J. KoACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education
Surfacing Equity Issues in Large Computing Courses with Peer-Ranked, Demographically-Labeled Student Feedback Benjamin Xie, Alannah Oleson, Jayne Everson, Amy J. KoProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction diversity + inclusion award
An Exploratory Study of Sharing Strategic Programming Knowledge Maryam Arab, Thomas D. LaToza, Jenny Liang, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Family as a Third Space for AI Literacies: How Do Children and Parents Learn about AI Together? Stefania Druga, Fee Christoph, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
“A key to reducing inequities in like, AI, is by reducing inequities everywhere first”: Emerging Critical Consciousness in a Co-Constructed Secondary CS Classroom Jayne Everson, Megumi Kivuva, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track best paper
The House of Computing: Integrating Counternarratives into Computer Systems Education Mara Kirdani-Ryan, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Experience Report Track

2021

HowToo: A Platform for Sharing, Finding, and Using Programming Strategies Maryam Arab, Jenny Liang, Yang Kyu Yoo, Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaTozaIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Domain Experts’ Interpretations of Assessment Bias in a Scaled, Online Computer Science Curriculum Benjamin Xie, Matt Davidson, Baker Franke, Emily McLeod, Min Li, Amy J. KoACM Learning at Scale
How Do Children’s Perceptions of Machine Intelligence Change when Training & Coding Smart Programs? Stefania Druga, Amy J. KoACM Interaction Design for Children
Falx: Synthesis-Powered Visualization Authoring Chenglong Wang, Yu Feng, Rastislav Bodik, Isil Dillig, Alvin Cheung, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) best paper
A Theory of Robust API Knowledge Kyle Thayer, Sarah Chasins, Amy J. KoACM Transactions on Computing Education
Towards Understanding the Effective Design of Automated Formative Feedback for Programming Assignments Qiang Hao, David Smith, Lu Ding, Amy J. Ko, Camille Ottaway, Jack Wilson, Kai Hicks, Alistair Turcan, Timothy Poehlman, Tyler GreerComputer Science Education
Investigating Item Bias in a CS1 exam with Differential Item Functioning Matt Davidson, Amy J. Ko, Brett WortzmanACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track

2020

On the Role of Design in K-12 Computing Education Alannah Oleson, Amy J. Ko, Brett WortzmanACM Transactions on Computing Education
Learning Machine Learning with Personal Data Helps Stakeholders Ground Advocacy Arguments in Model Mechanics Yim Register, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
The Effect of Informing Agency in Self-Directed Online Learning Environments Benjamin Xie, Greg Nelson, Harshitha Akkaraju, William Kwok, Amy J. KoACM Learning at Scale (L@S)
Computing Students' Learning Difficulties in HCI Education Alannah Oleson, Meron Solomon, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Scout: Rapid Exploration of Interface Layout Alternatives through High-Level Design Constraints Amanda Swearngin, Chenglong Wang, Alannah Oleson, James Fogarty, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Investigating Novices' In Situ Reflections on Their Programming Process Dastyni Loksa, Benjamin Xie, Harrison Kwik, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
Explicit Programming Strategies Thomas D. LaToza, Maryam Arab, Dastyni Loksa, Amy J. KoEmpirical Software Engineering

2019

What Distinguishes Great Software Engineers? Paul Luo Li, Amy J. Ko, Andrew BegelEmpirical Software Engineering
Towards Validity for a Formative Assessment for Language-Specific Program Tracing Skills Greg Nelson, Anne Drew Hu, Benjamin Xie, Amy J. KoACM Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research
A Systematic Investigation of Replications in Computing Education Research Qiang Hao, David H. Smith IV, Naitra Iriumi, Michaeil Tsikerdekis, Amy J. KoACM Transactions on Computing Education
A Theory of Instruction for Introductory Programming Skills Benjamin Xie, Dastyni Loksa, Greg Nelson, Matt Davidson, Dongsheng Dong, Harrison Kwik, Alex Tan, Leanne Hwa, Min Li, Amy J. KoComputer Science Education
Teaching Explicit Programming Strategies to Adolescents Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaToza, Stephen Hull, Ellen Ko, William Kwok, Jane Quichocho, Harshitha Akkaraju, Rishin PanditACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
Teaching Accessibility: A Design Exploration of Faculty Professional Development at Scale Saba Kawas, Laura Vonessen, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
An Item Response Theory Evaluation of a Language-Independent CS1 Knowledge Assessment Benjamin Xie, Matt Davidson, Min Li, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track

2018

On Use of Theory in Computing Education Research Greg Nelson, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER) best paper
Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Inclusive Design Alannah Oleson, Christopher Mendez, Zoe Steine-Hanson, Claudia Hilderbrand, Christopher Perdriau, Margaret Burnett, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Experiences of Computer Science Transfer Students Harrison Kwik, Benjamin Xie, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Rewire: Interface Design Assistance from Examples Amanda Swearngin, Wil Li, Mira Dontcheva, Morgan Dixon, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Empowering Families Facing English Literacy Challenges to Jointly Engage in Computer Programming Rahul Banerjee, Jason Yip, Amy J. Ko, Caroline Pitt, Kiley R. Sobel, Kung Lee, Leanne Liu, Meng Wang, Zoran PopovicACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) honorable mention
Informal Mentoring of Adolescents about Computing: Relationships, Roles, Qualities, and Impact Amy J. Ko, Leanne Hwa, Katie Davis, Jason YipACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
An Explicit Strategy to Scaffold Novice Program Tracing Benjamin Xie, Greg Nelson, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
Who Teaches Accessibility? A Survey of U.S. Computing Faculty Kristen Shinohara, Saba Kawas, Amy J. Ko, Richard E. Ladner ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track

2017

Predicting Abandonment in Online Coding Tutorials Annie Yan, Michael J. Lee, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Comprehension First: Evaluating a Novel Pedagogy and Tutoring System for Program Tracing in CS1 Greg Nelson, Benjamin Xie, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Barriers Faced by Coding Bootcamp Students Kyle Thayer, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Computing Mentorship in a Software Boomtown: Relationships to Adolescent Interest and Beliefs Amy J. Ko, Katie DavisACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Genie: Input Retargeting on the Web through Command Reverse Engineering Amanda Swearngin, Amy J. Ko, James FogartyACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
A Three-Year Participant Observation of Software Startup Software Evolution Amy J. KoACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), Software Engineering in Practice
General Principles for a Generalized Idea Garden Will Jernigan, Amber Horvath, Michael J. Lee, Margaret M. Burnett, Taylor Cuilty, Sandeep Kuttal, Anicia Peters, Irwin Kwan, Faezeh Bahmani, Amy J. Ko, Christopher J. Mendez, Alannah OlesonJournal of Visual Languages and Computing
A Pedagogical Analysis of Online Coding Tutorials Ada Kim, Amy J. KoACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track

2016

The Role of Self-Regulation in Programming Problem Solving Process and Success Dastyni Loksa, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Programming, Problem Solving, and Self-Awareness: Effects of Explicit Guidance Dastyni Loksa, Amy J. Ko, William Jernigan, Alannah Oleson, Chris Mendez, Margaret M. BurnettACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2015

Explaining Visual Changes in Web Interfaces BJ Burg, Amy J. Ko, Michael D. ErnstACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
A Principled Evaluation for a Principled Idea Garden William Jernigan, Amber Horvath, Michael J. Lee, Margaret M. Burnett, Taylor Cuilty, Sandeep Kuttal, Anicia N. Peters, Irwin Kwan, Faezeh Bahmani, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Comparing the Effectiveness of Online Learning Approaches on CS1 Learning Outcomes Michael J. Lee, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
What Makes a Great Software Engineer? Paul Luo Li, Amy J. Ko, Jiamin ZhuACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
From User-Centered Design to Adoption-Centered Design: A Case Study of a Research System Becoming a Product Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) best paper

2014

Principles of a Debugging-First Puzzle Game for Computing Education Michael J. Lee, Faezeh Bahmani, Irwin Kwan, Jillian LaFerte, Polina Charters, Amber Horvath, Fanny Luor, Jill Cao, Catherine Law, Michael Beswetherick, Sheridan Long, Margaret M. Burnett, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Challenging Stereotypes and Changing Attitudes: The Effect of a Brief Programming Encounter on Adults' Attitudes toward Programming Polina Charters, Michael J. Lee, Amy J. Ko, Dastyni LoksaACM Symposium on Computer Science Education

2013

A Practical Guide to Controlled Experiments of Software Engineering Tools with Human Participants Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaToza, Margaret M. BurnettEmpirical Software Engineering
Interactive Record/Replay for Web Application Debugging BJ Burg, Richard Bailey, Amy J. Ko, Michael D. ErnstACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) honorable mention
In-Game Assessments Increase Novice Programmers' Engagement and Learning Efficiency Michael J. Lee, Amy J. Ko, Irwin KwanACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER) best paper
A Multi-Site Field Study of Crowdsourced Contextual Help: Usage and Perspectives of End-Users and Software Teams Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2012

LemonAid: Selection-Based Crowdsourced Contextual Help for Web Applications Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Is This What You Meant? Promoting Listening on the Web with Reflect Travis Kriplean, Michael Toomim, Jonathan Morgan, Alan Borning, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Investigating the Role of Purposeful Goals on Novices' Engagement in a Programming Game Michael J. Lee, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

2011

Personifying Programming Tool Feedback Improves Novice Programmers' Learning Michael J. Lee, Amy J. KoACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Feedlack Detects Missing Feedback in Web Applications Amy J. Ko, Xing ZhangACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Characterizing the Differences Between Pre- and Post- release Versions of Software Paul Luo Li, Ryan Kivett, Zhiyuan Zhan, Sung-eok Jeon, Nachiappan Nagappan, Brendan Murphy, Amy J. KoACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), Software Engineering in Practice
Design, Discussion, and Dissent in Open Bug Reports Amy J. Ko, Parmit K. ChilanaiConference
Why-Oriented End-User Debugging of Naive Bayes Text Classification Todd Kulesza, Simone Stumpf, Weng-Keen Wong, Margaret M. Burnett, Stephen Perona, Amy J. Ko, Ian OberstACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems, 1(1), Article 2
The State of the Art in End-User Software Engineering Amy J. Ko, Robin Abraham, Laura Beckwith, Alan Blackwell, Margaret M. Burnett, Martin Erwig, Chris Scaffidi, Joseph Lawrance, Henry Lieberman, Brad A. Myers, Mary Beth Rosson, Gregg Rothermel, Mary Shaw, Susan WiedenbeckACM Computing Surveys, 43(3), Article 21
The Role of Conceptual Knowledge in API Usability Amy J. Ko, Yann RicheIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Post-Deployment Usability: A Survey of Current Practices Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Tovi Grossman, George FitzmauriceACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2010

Gestalt: Integrated Support for Implementation and Analysis in Machine Learning Processes Kayur Patel, Naomi Bancroft, Steven M. Drucker, James Fogarty, Amy J. Ko, James A. LandayACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
Cleanroom: Edit-Time Error Detection with the Uniqueness Heuristic Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC) best paper
How Power Users Help and Hinder Open Bug Reporting Amy J. Ko, Parmit K. ChilanaACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) honorable mention
Understanding Usability Practices in Complex Domains: Implications for Training the Next Generation of Usability Professionals Parmit K. Chilana, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Extracting and Answering Why and Why Not Questions about Java Program Output Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, 22(2)
Understanding Expressions of Unwanted Behaviors in Open Bug Reporting Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

2009

Attitudes and Self-Efficacy in Young Adults' Computing Autobiographies Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Finding Causes of Program Output with the Java Whyline Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Fixing the Program My Computer Learned: Barriers for End Users, Challenges for the Machine Todd Kuleza, Weng-Keen Wong, Simone Stumpf, Stephen Perona, Rachel White, Margaret M. Burnett, Ian Oberst, Amy J. KoInternational Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI)

2008

How Designers Design and Program Interactive Behaviors Brad A. Myers, Sun Young Park, Yoko Nakano, Greg Mueller, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC) most influential paper honorable mention
Debugging Reinvented: Asking and Answering Why and Why Not Questions about Program Behavior Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) best paper + most influential paper

2007

Information Needs in Collocated Software Development Teams Amy J. Ko, Rob DeLine, Gina VenoliaACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
Let's Go to the Whiteboard: How and Why Software Developers Draw Code Mauro Cherubini, Gina Venolia, Rob DeLine, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2006

A Linguistic Analysis of How People Describe Software Problems in Bug Reports Amy J. Ko, Brad A. Myers, Duen Horng ChauVisual Languages and Human-Centric Computing
Answering Why and Why Not Questions in User Interfaces Brad A. Myers, David Weitzman, Amy J. Ko, Duen Horng ChauACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Barista: An Implementation Framework for Enabling New Tools, Interaction Techniques and Views for Code Editors Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
An Exploratory Study of How Developers Seek, Relate, and Collect Relevant Information during Software Maintenance Tasks Amy J. Ko, Brad A. Myers, Michael J. Coblenz, Htet Htet AungIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
Dimensions Characterizing Programming Feature Usage by Information Workers Chris Scaffidi, Amy J. Ko, Brad A. Myers, Mary ShawIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

2005

Citrus: A Language and Toolkit for Simplifying the Creation of Structured Editors for Code and Data Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
Examining Task Engagement in Sensor-Based Statistical Models of Human Interruptibility James Fogarty, Amy J. Ko, Htet Htet Aung, Elspeth Golden, Karen P. Tang, Scott E. HudsonACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) best paper
Eliciting Design Requirements for Maintenance-Oriented IDEs: A Detailed Study of Corrective and Perfective Maintenance Tasks Amy J. Ko, Htet Htet Aung, Brad A. MyersACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) best paper
A Framework and Methodology for Studying the Causes of Software Errors in Programming Systems Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersJournal of Visual Languages and Computing
Using Objects of Measurement to Detect Spreadsheet Errors Michael J. Coblenz, Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Design Requirements for More Flexible Structured Editors from a Study of Programmers' Text Editing Amy J. Ko, Htet Htet Aung, Brad A. MyersACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2004

Six Learning Barriers in End-User Programming Systems Amy J. Ko, Brad A. Myers, Htet Htet AungIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC) most influential paper
Designing the Whyline: A Debugging Interface for Asking Questions About Program Failures Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

2003

Development and Evaluation of a Model of Programming Errors Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC) best paper + most influential paper
Individual Differences in Program Comprehension Strategies in Unfamiliar Environments Amy J. Ko, Bob UttlIEEE International Workshop on Program Comprehension (IWPC)

2002

Improving the Design of Visual Programming Language Experiments Using Cognitive Walkthroughs Amy J. Ko, Margaret M. Burnett, Thomas R.G. Green, Karen J. Rothermel, Curtis R. CookJournal of Visual Languages and Computing, 13(5)

2001

Visually Testing Recursive Programs in Spreadsheet Languages Margaret M. Burnett, Bing Ren, Amy J. Ko, Curtis Cook, Gregg RothermelIEEE Symposia on Human-Centric Computing Languages and Environments

2000

Using the Cognitive Walkthrough to Improve the Design of a Visual Programming Experiment Thomas R.G. Green, Margaret M. Burnett, Amy J. KoIEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)

Refereed Workshop Papers

Toward the Development of HCI Pedagogical Content Knowledge2020 ⋅ Alannah Oleson, Amy J. KoACM SIGCHI Symposium on HCI Education (EduCHI 2020)
Modeling Programming Problem Solving Through Interactive Worked Examples2017 ⋅ Dastyni Loksa, Amy J. KoWorkshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU)
Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Collaborations with Software Engineers2017 ⋅ Paul Luo Li, Amy J. Ko, Andrew BegelInternational Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE)
What is a Programming Language, Really?2016 ⋅ Amy J. KoACM Workshop on Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU)
Thirty Years of Software Problems in the News2014 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Bryan Dosono, Neeraja DurisetiInternational Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE)
Representations of User Feedback in an Agile, Collocated Software Team2012 ⋅ Michael J. Lee, Amy J. KoInternational Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE)
A Case Study of Post-Deployment User Feedback Triage2011 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Michael J. Lee, Valentina Ferrari, Stephen Ip, Charlie TranInternational Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE)
Comparing Bioinformatics Software Development by Computer Scientists and Biologists: An Exploratory Study2009 ⋅ Parmit K. Chilana, Carole Palmer, Amy J. KoWorkshop on Software Engineering for Computational Science and Engineering
JASPER: An Eclipse Plug-In to Facilitate Software Maintenance Tasks2006 ⋅ Michael J. Coblenz, Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersProceedings of the 2006 OOPSLA Workshop on Eclipse Technology eXchange

Books

Teaching Accessible Computing2024 ⋅ Alannah Oleson, Amy J. Ko, Richard LadnerOnline
Critically Conscious Computing: Methods for Secondary Education2021 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Anne Beitlers, Brett Wortzman, Matt Davidson, Alannah Oleson, Mara Kirdani-Ryan, Stefania Druga, Jayne EversonOnline
Foundations of Information2020 ⋅ Amy J. KoOnline
Informatics Teaching Guide2019 ⋅ Amy J. KoOnline
User Interface Software and Technology2017 ⋅ Amy J. KoOnline
Cooperative Software Development2016 ⋅ Amy J. KoOnline
Design Methods2015 ⋅ Amy J. KoOnline

Book Chapters

A Study Design Design Process2019 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Sally FincherCambridge Handbook on Computing Education Research (Sally Fincher, Anthony Robin, Eds.)
Learning Outside the Classroom2019 ⋅ Andrew Begel, Amy J. KoCambridge Handbook on Computing Education Research (Sally Fincher, Anthony Robin, Eds.)
Tools and Environments2019 ⋅ Lauri Malmi, Ian Utting, Amy J. KoCambridge Handbook on Computing Education Research (Sally Fincher, Anthony Robin, Eds.)
Human-Centered Methods to Boost Productivity2019 ⋅ Brad A Myers, Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaToza, YoungSeok YoonSadowski C., Zimmermann T. (eds) Rethinking Productivity in Software Engineering. Apress, Berkeley, CA
Individual, Team, Organization, and Market: Four Lenses of Productivity2019 ⋅ Amy J. KoSadowski C., Zimmermann T. (Eds) Rethinking Productivity in Software Engineering. Apress, Berkeley, CA
Why Not to Measure Productivity2019 ⋅ Amy J. KoSadowski C., Zimmermann T. (eds) Rethinking Productivity in Software Engineering. Apress, Berkeley, CA
The World is Your Test Suite2016 ⋅ Amy J. KoPerspectives on Data Science for Software Engineering, 1st Edition
Software Engineering Through Qualitative Methods2010 ⋅ Amy J. KoMaking Software: What Really Works, and Why We Believe It

Refereed Magazine Articles

It’s Time for More Critical CS Education2020 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Alannah Oleson, Mara Kirdani-Ryan, Yim Register, Benjamin Xie, Mina Tari, Matt Davidson, Stefania Druga, Dastyni Loksa, Greg NelsonCommunications of the ACM (CACM)
AccessComputing Promotes Teaching Accessibility2016 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Richard LadnerACM Inroads
Programmers are Users Too: Human Centered Methods for Improving Tools for Programming2016 ⋅ Brad A. Myers, Amy J. Ko, Thomas D. LaToza, YoungSeok YoonIEEE Computer
New to the Movement: Reflections on the Future of Information Schools from Inspired Junior Faculty2009 ⋅ Jacob O. Wobbrock, Amy J. Ko, Julie A. KientzInteractions
Natural Programming Languages and Environments2004 ⋅ Brad A. Myers, John F. Pane, Amy J. KoCommunications of the ACM (CACM)

Juried Conference Papers

What do you really mean by rigor? Deconstructing the definition in CS Teaching2023 ⋅ Jayne Everson, Anne Beitlers, Amy J. KoAmerican Education Research Association
Scout: Mixed-Initiative Exploration of Design Variations through High-Level Design Constraints2018 ⋅ Amanda Swearngin, Amy J. Ko, James FogartyACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
Mining Whining in Support Forums with Frictionary2012 ⋅ Amy J. KoACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), alt.chi
Designing for a Billion Users: A Case Study of Facebook2012 ⋅ Parmit K. Chilana, Christina Holsberry, Flavio Oliveira, Amy J. KoACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Case Studies (CHI)
Supporting Active Listening and Grounding on the Web through Restatement2011 ⋅ Travis Kriplean, Michael M. Toomim, Jonathan T. Morgan, Alan Borning, Amy J. KoACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Horizons Workshop

Juried workshop papers

Crowdsourced Q&A-based Contextual Help for Web Applications: Challenges and Opportunities2013 ⋅ Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockCSCW Workshop on Social Media Question Asking
Designing Crowdsourced, Context-Sensitive Help for Web Applications2011 ⋅ Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockWorkshop on Crowdsourcing and Human Computation
How Do Open Source Developers Talk about Users?2010 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Parmit K. ChilanaCHI 2010 Workshop on The Future of FLOSS in CHI Research and Practice
The Past, Present and Future of Programming in HCI2009 ⋅ Brad A. Myers, Amy J. KoHuman-Computer Interaction Consortium (HCIC)
Designing Software for Unfamiliar Domains2009 ⋅ Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, Jacob O. WobbrockWorkshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE)
Source-Level Debugging with the Whyline2008 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Brad A. MyersWorkshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering
The Role of Science in Supporting Software Development2006 ⋅ Amy J. KoWorkshop on Supporting the Social Side of Large-Scale Software Development, at the 2006 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work
More Natural and Open User Interface Tools2005 ⋅ Brad A. Myers, Amy J. KoWorkshop on the Future of User Interface Design Tools

Technical Reports

The Importance of Computing Education Research2016 ⋅ Steve Cooper, Jeff Forbes, Armando Fox, Susan Hambrusch, Amy J. Ko, Beth SimonCRA Computing Community Consortium
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior2008 ⋅ Amy J. KoCarnegie Mellon University Dissertation
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behaivors2006 ⋅ Amy J. KoCarnegie Mellon University, Thesis Proposal
Identifying Types of End Users: Hints from an Informal Survey2005 ⋅ Amy J. Ko, Brad A. Myers, Mary ShawCarnegie Mellon University ISRI Technical Report, no. CMU-HCII-05-101 and Human Computer Interaction Institute Technical Report, no CMU-ISRI-05-110
Individual Differences in Programming, Testing, and Debugging Strategies in a Statistical End-User Programming Environment2002 ⋅ Amy J. KoOregon State University, Honors Thesis

Impact

Press

2024
UW researchers taught kids to code with cultural research and embroidery machines
Stefane Milne
University of Washington
2024
The architecture of SAST tools: An explainer for developers
Nicole Choi
GitHub
2024
Hearsay Culture
Dave Levine
2023
How my broken elbow made the ableism of computer programming personal
Amy J. Ko
Nature
2023
Six tips for better coding with ChatGPT
Jeffrey M. Perkel
Nature
2022
How a Big Donation is Making a Difference for One Local Computer Science Program
Blake Peterson
425 Business
2022
Google Giving $400K to UW Computer Science Teacher Education Program
John Stearns
425 Business
2022
For-profit coding boot camps prey on BIPOC workers
Sravya Tadepalli
Prism Reports
2021
Vulnerability, Reflection, and CS Education with Amy Ko
Jared O'Leary
2020
Can Online Education Fix the Gender Diversity Problem in Coding?
Chelsea Toczauer
OnlineEducation.com
2016
Why the Software Industry Needs Computing Education Research
Amy J. Ko and Susanne Hambrusch
Huffington Post
2016
Do Computer Coding Toys for Kids Really Work?
Tia Ghose
LiveScience
2016
Academia to Industry in Computer Science
Jeff Meyerson
2012
Frictionary 'mines your whines' to pinpoint software bugs
Paul Marks
NewScientist
2012
Study: Facebook relies on good design to retain users
Joab Jackson
IDG News
2010
Violence against technology has psychological roots
Owen Lei
King5 News
2005
The Ten Biggest Problems in Computing and How We'll Solve Them
Alan Cohen
PC Magazine
2004
Researchers Aim to Make Debugging Simpler
Mike Crissey
Associated Press

Invited Keynotes

2021
Code, Calculators, Creativity, and the Many Paths to CS Education
2021 Washington State Why CS Summit
2021
Requirements of Oppression
2021 IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference
2021
The Roots of Inequity in K-12 CS Education
2021 CSTA Conference
2021
Deconstructing CS Culture
2021 IEEE RESPECT Conference
2020
Computing Education: A Critical Time for a Critical Literacy
IT University of Copenhagen
2019
21st Century Grand Challenges in Computing Education
2019 Koli Calling Computing Education Research Conference
2018
Mining the Mind, Minding the Mine: Grand Challenges in Comprehension and Mining
2018 International Conference on Mining Software Repositories and International Conference on Program Comprehension
2016
A Human View of Programming Languages
SPLASH 2016
2009
Where HCI and Software Engineering Meet
CHOOSE Forum, Bern Switzerland
2009
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
India Software Engineering Conference, Pune, India

Invited Talks

2024
Searching for Justice in Programming Language Design
Cal State Sonoma
2024
Building a Community of Equity-Focused CS Educators
SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2024
2024
Searching for Justice in Programming Language Design
L'Université du Québec à Montréal
2023
Searching for Justice in Programming Language Design
University of Michigan
2023
Searching for Justice in Programming Language Design
HCI Institute, Carnegie Mellon
2022
The Promise and Problems of CS for All
CSAIL, MIT
2022
The Promise and Problems of CS for All
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
2021
Programming as Cognition, Programming as Politics
University of Colorado Boulder, Institute for Cognitive Science
2021
Critical Computing Education
Digital Learning Lab, University of California, Irvine
2021
Critical Computing Education
California Institute of Technology, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Keller Colloquium
2021
Critical Computing Education
University of California, Davis, Computer Science, Computing Education Research at Davis Seminar
2020
Critical Computing Education
University of Pennsylvania, Computer and Information Science, Seminar Series
2020
Critical Computing Education
Carnegie Mellon University, HCI Institute, Seminar Series
2020
Critical Computing Education
University of Virginia, Computer Science Distinguished Speaker Series
2020
Critical Computing Education
University of Colorado joint Colloqium of the Department of Information Science and College of Media, Communication and Information
2020
Studying Programming through Making
2020 PL+HCI Swimmer School
2020
CS Education in Higher Education
Microsoft
2019
Programming: What it is and How to Teach it
ETH Zurich Computer Science
2018
Big Ideas Behind the Whyline
2018 International Conference on Software Engineering
2018
Learning to Code: Why We Fail, How We Flourish
Stanford University, HCI Seminar
2017
Learning to Code: Why We Fail, How We Flourish
University of Michigan, MISC Seminar
2018
Learning to Code: Why We Fail, How We Flourish
Northwestern University, CS+X Colloquium
2017
Three Years in the Startup Trenches: Reflections on People, Product, and Software Evolution
ACM Learning Center Webinar
2017
Three Years in the Startup Trenches
Amazon Stackhouse Talks
2015
What makes a great software engineer?
ACM Learning Center Webinar
2011
Defect Detection for the Wayward Web
Coverity, San Francisco, CA
2012
Defect Detection for the Wayward Web
Microsoft, Redmond, WA
2011
Defect Detection for the Wayward Web
MIT, Cambridge, MA
2011
Defect Detection for the Wayward Web
UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
2010
Where is the User in Software Evolution?
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, NY
2009
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
IIT Mumbai, India
2009
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
Intel Research Seattle, Seattle, WA
2008
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
Accenture, Chicago, Illinois
2008
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2008
Asking and Answering Questions about the Causes of Software Behavior
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
2006
Human-Centered Approaches to Software Engineering Research
University of British Columbia, CS Department, Vancouver, B.C.

Invited Panels

2022
Equity, Justice, and Engineering Education
Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
2022
MIT EECS Rising Stars careers panel
Massachusets Institute of Technology
2021
Capacity, Access, Participation, and Experience in K-12 CS Education
IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
2021
Women in Science
North Central ESD K-12 STEM Education Summit
2020
LGBTQ+ in Science
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
2021
Teaching Accesibility
AccessComputing Seminar Series
2016
Why CS Departments Should Embrace CS Education Research
CRA Snowbird Conference

Patents

2017
Context- and Activity-Aware Content Selection
U.S. Patent No. 9,727,561
Amy J. Ko and Victor Medina
2012
Systems and Methods for Selection-Based Contextual Help Retrieval
U.S. Patent No. 9,811,583
Parmit K. Chilana, Amy J. Ko, and Wobbrock, J.O.
2010
A Debugging Interface
U.S. Patent No. 7,735,066
Amy J. Ko and Brad A. Myers

Teaching

Courses

2018-2023
INFO 200 Intellectual Foundations of Informatics
undergraduate
This survey course covers big ideas in information, information technology, and information systems. Students learn the history of information, foundational concepts in information, the relationship between information and computing, skills in analyzing and designing information systems, and the role of information systems in society.
Taught 4 times
2008-2018
INFO 360 Design Methods
undergraduate
This undergraduate class teaches students design thinking skills in the domain of information and computing. It leverages multiple forms of active learning, involves a significant amount of studio-based learning, and helps students develop creative confidence.
Taught 14 times
2010-2020
INFO 442 Cooperative Software Development
undergraduate
This undergraduate software engineering class teaches foundations of team-based software development, leveraging the latest research on coordination, cooperation, and human cognition in software development. Students leave ready to become meaningful contributors to teams big and small, but also to understand the processes that teams use and how they can improve them.
Taught 6 times
2011-2013
INFO 490/491 Capstone
undergraduate
This undergraduate capstone sequence engages students in a 6-month project, usually culminating in a functional, deployable prototype, and often in collaboration with a client from local industry.
Taught 4 times
2018-2024
HCID 520 User Interface Software and Technology
graduate
This core course in our Masters of HCI+Design teaches students they history, theory, and foundations of user interfaces. Students acquire a literacy for communicating and reasoning about interfaces.
Taught 6 times
2010-2011
INSC 541 HCI Design Foundations for Interactive Systems
graduate
This doctoral course teaches theoretical foundations of HCI, preparing students as designers, design researchers, and HCI researchers.
Taught 2 times
2022-2024
EDTEP 577 Computer Science Equity & Justice
graduate
This graduate course educates teacher candidates about equity and justice issues in computer science and computer science education, while also teaching content knowledge foundations of CS. I teach it in partnership with the UW College of Education's Secondary Teacher Education Program, which I'm helping design and launch.
Taught 2 times

Postdoc Supervision

2015-2016
Roshanak Zilouichian
Information School
2018-2023
Alannah Oleson
Information School
- Husky 100, recognizing top UW students (2022)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2018)
2022-present
Jean Salac
The Information School
- Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Carlton College, 2024
2024-present
Max Skorodinsky
The Information School

Doctoral Student Supervision

Committee Chair

2008-2013
Parmit K. Chilana
Information School
Co-advisor: Jacob Wobbrock
- Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University, Computer Science (2016-present)
- Assistant Professor, University of Waterloo, Management Sciences, (2013-2016)
- Facebook PhD Fellowship (2010)
- Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Award (2009)
2009-2016
Paul Luo Li
Information School
- Senior Data Scientist, Microsoft (2016-present)
2009-2015
Michael J. Lee
Information School
- Associate Professor, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Information Systems (2015-present)
- ACM ICER John Henry Best Paper Award (2013)
2009-2010
Casey Hickerson
Information School
2011-2015
BJ Burg
Computer Science
Co-advisor: Michael Ernst
- Senior Software Engineer, Apple (2015-present)
- ACM UIST Best Paper Nominee (2015)
2013-2020
Dastyni Loksa
Information School
- Assistant Professor, Towson University, Computer Science (2020-present)
2014-2018
Zakariya Dehlawi
Information School
2015-2020
Kyle Thayer
Computer Science
Co-advisor: Katharina Reinecke
- Assistant Teaching Professor, The Information School, University of Washington (2019-present)
2015-2019
Amanda Swearngin
Computer Science
Co-advisor: James Fogarty
- Apple Research (2020-present)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2016)
2016-2022
Benjamin Xie
Information School
- Husky 100, recognizing top UW students (2021)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2017)
- Postdoc, Stanford University (2022-2024)
2016-2021
Greg Nelson
Computer Science
- Assistant Professor, University of Maine, Department of Computer Science (2022-present)
- ACM ICER John Henry Best Paper Award (2018)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2015)
2018-present
Mara Kirdani-Ryan
Computer Science
2018-2019
Yim Register
Information School
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2019)
2019-2023
Stefania Druga
Information School
2020-present
Jayne Everson
Computer Science
- ACM SIGCSE Best Paper Award (2022)
2021-present
Rotem Landesman
The Information School
Co-advisor: Katie Davis
2022-present
Eman Sherif
Computer Science
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2024)
2022-2023
Leah Perlmutter
Computer Science & Engineering
2022-present
Megumi Kivuva
iSchool
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2023)

Committee Member

2024 — present Anne Drew Hu Michigan State University Education
2024 — present Aashaka Desai University of Washington Computer Science
2023 — present Sara Nurollahian University of Utah Computer Science
2022 — present Camille Gobert Paris-Saclay University Computer Science
2022 — present Venkatesh Potluri University of Washington Computer Science
2018 — present Maryam Arab George Mason University Computer Science
2018 - 2022 Mina Tari University of Washington The Information School
2022 Bas Jansen Leiden University Institute of Advanced Computer Science
2022 Sangho Su University of Waterloo Computer Science
2021 — present Leah Perlmutter University of Washington Computer Science & Enngineering
2021 - 2022 Alex Okeson University of Washington Computer Science & Enngineering
2021 — present Burren Peil University of Washington Human-Centered Design and Engineering
2021 — present Anne Drew Hu Michigan State University College of Education
2020 - 2021 Jean Salac University of Chicago Computer Science
2020 - 2021 Lily Durwood University of Washington Psychology
2020 - 2022 Matthew Davidson University of Washington College of Education
2019 - 2021 Chenglong Wang University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2018 - 2021 Meen Chul Kim Drexel University Information Science
2018 - 2020 Srinivasan Iyer George Mason University Computer Science
2018 - 2024 David Samudio George Mason University Computer Science
2018 - 2019 Justin Smith North Carolina State University Computer Science
2017 - 2021 Alex Kale University of Washington The Information School
2017 - 2019 Aaron Bauer University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2017 - 2020 Elena Agapie University of Washington Human-Centered Design and Engineering
2017 - 2018 James Bornholt University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2017 - 2018 Abdullah Ali University of Washington The Information School
2017 - 2020 Yea-Seul Kim University of Washington The Information School
2016 - 2018 Lauren Milne University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2016 - 2018 Eric Butler University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2016 - 2018 Justin Huang University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2016 - 2020 Elena Agapie University of Washington Human-Centered Design & Engineering
2016 - 2018 Jonathan Bragg University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2016 - 2019 Nan-Chen Chen University of Washington Human-Centered Design and Engineering
2014 - 2016 Matthew Kay University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2012 - 2017 Catherine Baker University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2012 - 2014 Roshanak Zilouchian University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Computer Science
2012 - 2015 Sean Fullerton University of Washington Information School
2011 - 2016 Jared Bauer University of Washington Information School
2011 - 2014 Paul Gross Washington University in St. Louis Computer Science
2011 - 2014 Marilyn Ostergren University of Washington Information School
2011 - 2012 Jing Xie University of North Carolina, Charlotte Computer Science, UNC Charlotte
2008 - 2012 Kayur Patel University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2010 - 2013 Michael Toomim University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2010 - 2012 Travis Kriplean University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
2009 - 2011 Elisabeth Jones University of Washington Information School

Service

Journal Editorial Boards

2021-2024
ACM Transactions on Computing Education
Editor in Chief
2016-2019
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
Associate Editor
2015-2021
ACM Transactions on Computing Education
Associate Editor
2009
IEEE Software Special Issue on End-User Software Engineering
Co-Editor

Conference Program Chair

2020-2021
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Program Co-Chair
2020
International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), Software Engineering Education and Training Track
Program Co-Chair
2019-2020
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Program Co-Chair
2012-2013
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Program Sub-Committee Co-Chair
2011-2012
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Program Sub-Committee Co-Chair
2011
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Program Co-Chair

Conference Program Committee Member

2018-2019
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
Program Board Member
2014-2019
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER)
Senior Program Committee Member
2016-2019
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Research Track
Senior Program Committee Member
2013-2018
International Workshop on Live Programming
Program Committee Member
2017
Programming Experience Workshop (PX)
Program Committee Member
2017
Summit on Advances in Programming Languages (SNAPL)
Program Committee Member
2014-2016
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
Program Committee Member
2016
Workshop on Evaluation and Usability of Programming Languages and Tools (PLATEAU)
Program Committee Member
2014
Future Programming Workshop
Program Committee Member
2010-2013
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Associate Chair
2012-2013
Workshop on User Evaluation for Software Engineering Researchers
Program Committee Member
2011
ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
Associate Chair
2011
ACM Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering
Program Committee Member
2011
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
Program Committee Member
2009-2010
International Workshop on Search-Driven Development
Program Committee Member

Conference Reviewer

2005-2021
ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
2020
Princeton University Press
Book reviewer
2018-2020
Empirical Software Engineering
2015-2020
ACM Transactions on Computing Education
2018
Workshop on Designing Technologies to Support Human Problem Solving
2017-2018
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
2005-2015
ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
2010-2011
ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
2004-2010
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centered Computing (VL/HCC)
2010
ACM Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems (EICS)
2009
ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM)
2009
International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI)
2009
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
2006-2008
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS)
2008
Advances in Human-Computer Interaction (AHCI)
2006
Graphics Interface (GI)
2004-2005
Journal of Visual Languages and Computing (JVLC)

Proposal Reviewer

2011-2023
National Science Foundation (CISE, EHR)
NSF Panelist

International Service

2023-present
Co-director
Reciprocal Reviews
I lead a community of volunteers to create infrastructure for sustainable peer review labor markets.
2024-2026
Committee Member
CHI Academy Selection Committee
I help evaluate nominations for CHI Academy members.
2024
Mentor
SIGCSE Doctoral Consortium
I served as a mentor for twenty doctoral students from around the globe.
2020-2023
Committee Member
CRA-E
I work on projects that help create equitable pathways to participating in CS research.
2021-2022
Advisory Board Member
ITU Center for Computing Education
I advice on the research centers scope and priorities.
2017-2020
Member
ACM Education Advisory Council
I helped create resources, curriculum standards, and education guidelines for the global CS community.
2017-2019
Co-Chair
SIGCSE Doctoral Consortium
I co-organized and co-ran the doctoral consortium, co-located with the ACM ICER conference annually.
2018-2019
Committee member
Computing Research Association (CRA) Undergraduate Research Award Committee
I helped select finalists and winners for the CRA award.
2011-2015
Steering Committee Member
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing
I helped select future conference locations and device conference publication policy.
2014-2015
Co-organizer
Dagstuhl on Human-Centered Software Development Tools
I helped propose, plan, and run the weeklong workshop
2015
Co-author
CRA Whitepaper on Computing Education Research
I co-authored this whitepaper to help spread the word about the importance of CS education research in CS departments.
2009-2010
Graduate Consortium Chair
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing
I co-organized and ran the doctoral consortium, reaching 40 doctoral students.

National Service

2021-2023
Executive Board Member
Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance (ECEP)
I help define strategic actions that lead to a more inclusive project, better positioning the ECEP community to advocate for, promote, and embrace equity in computer science education.
2021-2022
Committee Member
Code.org AP CS A advisory committee
I'm advising Code.org on the design and implementation of a new curriculuar effort.
2021
Committee Member
College Board AP CS Principles Standards Committee
I helped define assessments for the AP CS Principles exam.
2021
External Evaluator
University of North Texas, Information Science, Academic Program Review
I participated in a formal evaluation of the department's programs.
2013-2015
Director
EUSES Consortium
I led annual meetings and maintained the website for the international research collective, and then officially ended the group.

Regional Service

2022-present
Volunteer
Lambert House
I facilitate and mentor LGBTQ+ and especially trans youth around Puget Sound
2021NaN
Panel Member
Kaiser Permanente Gender Health Advisory Panel
Along with a group of a dozen other trans and non-binary community members, I provide guidance, ideas, feedback, and advocacy to Kaiser on their gender health services.
2018-present
Director
CS for All Washington
I organize the group, which meets monthly to inform policy, organize community, and centralize information about about Washington state's K-12 CS for All efforts on the web (https://cseforallwa.org). Supported by the NSF-funded Exploring Computing Education Pathways project (https://ecepalliance.org).
2018-2020
Secretary
Seattle Public Schools CS Advisory Board.
I advise the city on its CS curriculum and teacher pathways.
2017-2018
Member
Washington State Computer Science Leadership Team
I provided expertise on CS learning to help shape state policy.

University Service

2016-2017
Program Chair
Masters in HCI+Design
I led the fourth year of the masters degree, renewing the campus-wide contract supporting its resources, hiring a new director to lead the program for the next three years, and securing a dedicated studio space in the former UW Alumni house.
2015
Curriculum design committee member
Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), University of Washington
I helped design and structure the The UW Master of Science in Technology Innovation Program.
2013-2015
Member
MHCI+D Executive Committee
I helped set policy and procedures for the masters degree.
2013-2014
Co-founder
Masters in Human-Computer Interaction and Design, University of Washington
I helped design, plan, and launch the inaugural year of the masters degree.
2013
Co-organizer
DUB Retreat, University of Washington
I co-organized the annual retreat for the HCI community at UW.
2012-2013
Member
MHCI+D Faculty Search
I evaluated and recruited applicants to join the MHCI+D instructional faculty.

Departmental Service

2024-2027
Associate Dean for Academics
Associate Dean for Academics
I serve as the iSchool's Associate Dean for Academics.
2023-2024
Incoming Associate Dean for Academics
Associate Dean for Academics
I shadowed our Associate Dean for Academics to prepare to take over his role.
2024
Interim Program Chair
Informatics
I served as interim program chair while our program chair was on leave.
2023
Member
iSchool Ph.D. Admissions Committee
I helped plan admissions policy, review Ph.D. applicaitons, and make final admissions recommendations.
2017-2022
Program Chair
Informatics
I oversee the iSchool's undergraduate degree, which has nearly 500 students and graduates more than 200 per year. I identify curricular, community, and policy priorities, organize discussions of proposed changes, and implement the changes with the support of staff.I reframed the curriculum around the study, design, and development of information technology for the good of people, organizations, and society; I reduced reliance on guest faculty; I increased the inclusiveness and scalability of admissions; I grew the program by over 50%; and I increased the percept of women in the program to 40% and increased the representation of Black and Latinx by 100%.
2016-2022
Member
iSchool Academics Council
I deliberate with the other program chairs and the Associate Dean for Academics on school-wide policy issues, as well as approve program-level changes.
2016-2022
Member
iSchool Leadership Council
I deliberate with the Dean and numerous leaders across the iSchool to make strategic choices about the school's initiatives and finances.
2020-2021
Member
iSchool Faculty Search
I helped search for and recruit data science teaching professors.
2016-2020
Chair
iSchool Informatics Admissions Committee
I designed, planned, and executed an admissions process with the support of staff, reviewing over 800 applications a year. I implemented many anti-racist efforts, including implicit bias training and removal of structurally racist evaluation criteria
2012-2014
Member
iSchool Faculty Search
I evaluated and recruited applicants to join the iSchool as tenure-track faculty.
2012-2013
Member
iSchool Elected Faculty Council
I helped advance the interests of faculty in the school through policy change and advocacy to the dean, hepling to secure an annual dispursement of flexible funding.
2010-2012
Member
iSchool Informatics Program Committee
I helped make decisions on program curriculum, policy, and procedures.
2009-2010
Member
iSchool Ph.D. Admissions Committee
I helped plan admissions policy, review Ph.D. applicaitons, and make final admissions recommendations.
2008-2009
Member
iSchool Recognitions Committee
I helped identify, nominate, and recognize faculty, staff, and students with school-level awards.
2000-2002
President
Oregon State University ACM Student Chapter
I served as ACM Student Chapter president for three years, hosting the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, launching two years of student-taught 1 credit pass/fail courses to address curricular gaps, and bi-weekly pizza gatherings.