I'm recruiting an iSchool or CSE Ph.D. student during the Autumn 2026 admissions cycle, to start Autumn 2027. I'm excited to work with and fund students interested in critical, liberatory CS and AI education. Have questions that aren't answered here? Write me. Do not send CVs, reesearch proposals, or ask for a meeting: just apply and I will read your application.
Amy J. Ko, Ph.D.
I'm recruiting an iSchool or CSE Ph.D. student during the Autumn 2026 admissions cycle, to start Autumn 2027. I'm excited to work with and fund students interested in critical, liberatory CS and AI education. Have questions that aren't answered here? Write me. Do not send CVs, reesearch proposals, or ask for a meeting: just apply and I will read your application.
I actively share my research and expertise with the world.
I try to reach many audiences, including not only academia, but K-12 education across the state, nation, and world, not-for-profit and for-profit industries focused on programming, learning technologies, and learning in general, state and federal government, and the broader public.
Here is a timeline of impacts I've tried to document over my career.
Filter by kind.
2026
press
I was interviewed by Logan Kugler on the end of coding.
The End of the Coder? · Communications of the ACM
policy
Our critique and suggestions of the original CSTA stanrds published in Critically Conscious Computing shaped how the standards revision process engages social impacts of computing and the final standards themselves.
CSTA PK-12 CS Standards
press
I had a conversation with ACM-W about visibility and belonging in computing
A Fireside Chat with Prof Amy J Ko: On visibility, belonging, and reimagining computing for everyone · ACM-W
press
I was interviewed by Nature about the role of generative AI in data science
Got bugs? Here’s how to catch the errors in your scientific software · Nature
press
I was interviewed by Chris Stokel-Walker about the risks of vibe coding.
Everything Feels More Glitchy Right Now and Everyone Is Blaming Vibe Coding. The Real Story Is More Complicated · Inc.
2025
knowledge 2025–2026
I consulted with Natasha Singer on her 2026 book
Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools
press
I contributed to investigative reporting on coding bootcamp outcomes and inequities.
Apple’s App Course Runs $20,000 a Student. Is It Really Worth It? · WIRED
community
I was invited to join a panel with Ben Shapiro on AI and education.
Education to Employment: Building AI-Ready Talent
press
I was interviewed by ACM Inroads about my effort to have impact on education through research.
Conversations with a Prominent Propagator: Amy Ko · ACM Inroads
policy 2025–2026
I was invited by the Washington State Board of Education to lead the subcommittee on technology, media literacy, and computer science, to form recommendations for the next version of the state's graduation requirements
State CS Graduation Requirements · Washiington State Board of Education
community
I was interviewed for the ACM Inroads "Prominent Propagator" column.
Conversations with a Prominent Propagator: Amy Ko · ACM Inroads
press
I appeared on Fox 13 local news live with state Superintendent Chris Reykdal to discuss the impacts of generative AI on schools in K-12 and higher education.
Confronting AI in the classroom · Fox 13 news
press
I was interviewed by the Chronicle about my grant being terminated by DOGE.
The Trump Administration Has Canceled Millions in NSF Grants · The Chronicle of Higher Education
2024
press
I was interviewed by the Seattle Times about the state of CS education in the state.
Washington state is a leader in computer science education, but disparities persist · Seattle Times
press
The University of Washington highlighted our work on computational embroidery.
UW researchers taught kids to code with cultural research and embroidery machines · University of Washington
press
GitHub highlighted Wordplay in a blog post about its security tools
The architecture of SAST tools: An explainer for developers · GitHub
press
I was interviewed by Dave Levine for the KZSU Stanford Radio 90.1FM show Hearsay Culture on the topic of generative AI and education.
Hearsay Culture · KZSU Stanford Radio
2023
press
I wrote a short piece about accessibility and programming.
How my broken elbow made the ableism of computer programming personal · Nature
press
I was interviewed about the strengths and weaknesses of large-language models for scientific computing.
Six tips for better coding with ChatGPT · Nature
2022
press
I was interviewed more extensively about our Google gift for STEP CS tuition subsidy.
How a Big Donation is Making a Difference for One Local Computer Science Program · 425 Business
press
I was interviewed about our Google gift for STEP CS tuition subsidy.
Google Giving $400K to UW Computer Science Teacher Education Program · 425 Business
press
I was interviewed about coding bootcamps.
For-profit coding boot camps prey on BIPOC workers · Prism Reports
2021
press
I was interviewed by Jared O'Leary on their BootUP CS podcast, where I talked about reflection, mentorship, and vulnerability.
Vulnerability, Reflection, and CS Education with Amy Ko · CSK8 Podcast
2020
press
I was interviewed about the impact of online learning on learning to code.
Can Online Education Fix the Gender Diversity Problem in Coding? · OnlineEducation.com
product 2020–present
Our work on PL Tutor influenced the JustJavaScript course by Dan Abramov
twitter.com
consulting
I consulted with Microsoft's VS Code, VS Online, and GitHub Education teams about how to support CS educators
product 2020–present
Codeitz, our Python tutorial which incoporates our theory of programming instruction, is publicly available, and used to support Python instruction
codeitz.com
curriculum 2020–present
We influenced the teaching of HCI education in higher education
knowledge 2020–present
Our work has opened discourse on the responsibility of CS educators to address the role of CS in injustice
resource 2020–present
I've heleped shape the peer review process for ACM International Computing Education Research Conference
icer.acm.org
policy
I've coordinated with House representatives on policies that will expand the numbers of CS teachers nationwide
2019
consulting
I consulted with APM's Marketplace Tech on the effects and limits of automation
2018
knowledge 2018–present
Greg Nelson's arguments about the role of theory in computing education research have spurred significant debate in CS education. This debate was continued in a 60 minute panel session at ICER 2018 in Finland, and then another 90 minute panel session at SIGCSE in Minneapolis
resource 2018–present
I've helped shape the peer review processes for the ACM Transactions on Computing Education journal
toce.acm.org
resource 2018–present
I've helped shape the reviewing criteria for the ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium's research track
sigcse.org
knowledge 2018–present
Our work on assessment has imported more rigorous methods from educational measurement into CS education
policy 2018–present
Our research on transfer students has influenced admissions policy at the University of Washington
curriculum 2018–2019
I have served on the Seattle Public Schools CS Advisory board, shaping strategic goals
2017
resource 2017–2019
I consulted with Google, NSF, CRA, and Code.org on strategies for strengthening the pipeline of computing education research, researchers, and research funding
policy 2017–present
The CS for All WA advocacy group I direct has used our research to affect statewide CS education policy
csforallwa.org
community 2017–present
I've run a quarterly meetup, Sound CS Ed, to bring together hundreds of CS education teachers, researchers, policy makers, and product designers in Puget Sound
soundcsed.org
2016
press
I co-authored an article with Susanne Hambrusch for the Huffington Post titled "Why the Software Industry Needs Computing Education Research
Why the Software Industry Needs Computing Education Research · Huffington Post
press
Tia Ghose interviewed me for LiveScience about the efficacy of coding toys
Do Computer Coding Toys for Kids Really Work? · LiveScience
press
I was interviewed by Jeff Meyerson for the Software Engineering Daily podcast on February 24 about research, reaching tens of thousands of engineers
Applying Software Research to Industry with Amy Ko · Software Engineering Daily
knowledge
Our ACM Learning Webinar on software engineering expertise was viewed by hundreds of thousands of developers
youtube.com
consulting
I consulted with Microsoft on their project, sharing evidence from computing education research to inform the design of their learning technologies
makecode.com
knowledge 2016–present
Our surveys are widely-cited and used by doctoral students to quickly learn about the state of the art and knowledge
resource 2016–present
Since 2016 I've maintained a popular FAQ for newcomers to the community
faculty.washington.edu
resource 2016–present
I write blog posts on about computing education research topics are read widely amongst researchers and CS teachers
medium.com
community 2016–present
As part of our research, we have taught in the University of Washington's Upward Bound program each summer, reaching dozens of students underrepresented in computing from Seattle's low-income immigrant and refugee communities
washington.edu
2014
knowledge 2014–2016
Our research on bug reporting has been read widely in industry, including by product teams at Microsoft, Adobe, Google, and ABB
product 2014–present
Gidget has been played by tens of thousans of youth adults online, in summer camps, and in high schools
helpgidget.org
product 2014–present
Gidget influenced the design of Apple's Swift Playgrounds
apple.com
curriculum 2014–present
Gidget has been played by tens of thousands of youth adults online, in summer camps, and in high schools
helpgidget.org
2013
product 2013–2020
Our research on Lemonaid, our crowdsourced help tool, was the basis for AnswerDash, a company that I co-founded with Jacob Wobbrock and Parmit Chilana that offers an instant self-service answers product for web applications and e-commerce sites. The company has impacted other company's product offerings, including Zendesk's self-service technologies. AnswerDash was acquired in 2020 by CloudEngage, a platform for customer personalization
geekwire.com
curriculum 2013–present
Our research on programming problem solving, programming language learning, programming strategies, and debugging has shaped Code.org's teacher professional development and it's secondary school curricula, impacting hundreds of thousands of U.S. youth
code.org
curriculum 2013–present
Our research on software engineering expertise informed the curriculum at New York's Academy for Software Engineering
afsenyc.org
product 2013–present
Gidget influenced the design of Code.org's Code Studio
studio.code.org
2012
press
NewScientist featured my work on Frictionary
Frictionary 'mines your whines' to pinpoint software bugs · NewScientist
press
PC World featured our work on Facebook's design culture
Study: Facebook relies on good design to retain users · IDG News
2011
product 2011–present
Portions of Timelapse and Scry were upstreamed to WebKit and may eventually appear in the Safari Web Inspector developer tools. These projects inspired similar features at the venture-backed startup replay.io.
replay.io
2010
press
Seattle's King5 news interviewed me about software failures
Violence against technology has psychological roots · King5 News
product 2010–present
Our work on interface mining has been replicated in several industry projects focused on supporting interface development
product 2010–present
My work on Barista influenced the Greenfoot editor
greenfoot.org
2005
press
PC Magazine featured my research on the Whyline debugging tool
The Ten Biggest Problems in Computing and How We'll Solve Them · PC Magazine
knowledge 2005–present
Our work on research methods is widely read by new Ph.D. students across computer science to inform how they evaluate new developer tools and how they use theory
2004
press
The Associated Press interviewed me on my dissertation work on the Whyline
Researchers Aim to Make Debugging Simpler · Associated Press
product 2004–2008
Our work on end-user software engineering has inspired hundreds of commercial tools for supporting end-user programming and impacted research efforts in professional software engineering
eusesconsortium.org
product 2004–2008
Our work on understanding machine learning has indirectly shaped several of the tools used in industry to develop and debug machine learned programs
product 2004–2008
Our studies on program understanding and ideas for program understanding tools was partially the basis of the Debugger Canvas plugin for Visual Studio
research.microsoft.com
product 2004–2008
Frictionary was used in one of the features in AnswerDash, the company I co-founded based on my CAREER grant
answerdash.com
Last updated 10/28/2026. To the extent
possible under law, Amy J. Ko has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to the design
and implementation of Amy's faculty site. This work is
published from the United States. See this site's GitHub repository to view source and provide feedback.