{"613035":{"#nid":"613035","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Shana White: A Jock Who Proves that Computer Science is Cool","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJocks can\u0026rsquo;t be nerds. That\u0026rsquo;s just not how it works, usually. But \u003Cstrong\u003EShana White\u003C\/strong\u003E is proof that you cannot only be a jock and a nerd, but that you can excel at both.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhite, an Atlanta native and former physical education and health teacher, has worked with grades K-12 and served as an adjunct professor at Georgia Gwinnet College. At every level, White has helped to bridge the gap between what is considered \u0026ldquo;nerdy\u0026rdquo; and what is considered \u0026ldquo;athletic\u0026rdquo;.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe is continuing these efforts with the \u003Cstrong\u003EConstellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech \u003C\/strong\u003Ewhere she is a Constellations Fellow. Her primary role is to develop computer science education programs and bring them to high school classrooms in the Atlanta Public School system.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhite\u0026rsquo;s plan wasn\u0026rsquo;t always to become a computer science teacher, or even a teacher. While playing basketball and earning her bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest University, White thought that she wanted to become a physical therapist. After a knee injury ended her basketball career, White began coaching and soon earned her master\u0026rsquo;s degree in physical education from Winthrop University to become a third-generation teacher.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs she gained teaching experience, she saw dozens of opportunities to bring technology to her students to help them better understand concepts that they were learning in other classes. For example, if kids were learning to play baseball, students would explain to her the different types of pitches, how many revolutions of the ball it would take to get to home plate and how variables like the distance of the mound from home plate would affect the force and speed needed to throw a great curveball. White was able to use various iPad apps to demonstrate these concepts. Soon, the math and science teachers became big fans of her gym class.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhite also simplified parents\u0026rsquo; and colleagues\u0026rsquo; lives by having students track how many days they dressed out for gym class via an app. If there was a problem the teachers could more easily address the issue with parents.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhite\u0026rsquo;s principal took notice and White soon found herself in a new position as the school\u0026rsquo;s instructional technology coordinator. During this time, White also earned an educational specialist degree in instructional technology from Kennesaw State University.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As I was becoming more and more involved with the computer science world, I realized that learning these skills might be an easier way to level that \u0026lsquo;equity playing field.\u0026rsquo; Computer science is a way for kids to express themselves and have some type of autonomy over their education. It can open up pathways that they might not even know exist and empowers them to change their world,\u0026rdquo; said White.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause she had a new perspective with her non-traditional background, White quickly became an emerging voice in computer science education. In 2016, White was recognized as the PBS LearningMedia Lead Digital Innovator for Georgia and in 2017 as an Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Emerging Leader.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I went from being a P.E. teacher to being honored with awards by all of these people who have been working in computer science for a long time, while I had only been in this space for a couple of years. It was crazy. That opened up a lot of opportunities for me,\u0026rdquo; said White.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of these opportunities occurred earlier this year when White was speaking at a convention for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.raspberrypi.org\/\u0022\u003ERaspberry Pi\u003C\/a\u003E enthusiasts in Atlanta. She caught the attention of Cedric Stallworth, assistant dean of Outreach, Enrollment and Community at the Georgia Tech College of Computing, which is home to the Constellations Center. Stallworth was so impressed with her that he encouraged her to apply for her current role as a center fellow.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStallworth saw a unique opportunity in White to advance one of Constellations\u0026rsquo; chief mandates in providing more CS education to minorities and women.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;From the moment Shana started speaking at Raspberry Pi I knew she would be an incredible asset to Constellations. She is brilliant, compassionate and her goals line up seamlessly with Constellations\u0026rsquo; mission. Shana is an amazing role model to her students of what you can achieve,\u0026rdquo; said Stallworth.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I think that empowerment is an important piece of the puzzle that Constellations is bringing to the table. Helping kids understand that they can create an app that they like to play and giving them some sort of control over their world - especially when a lot of their home or school life is unstable - is a huge gift from computer science that people underestimate,\u0026rdquo; said White.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are not here to save kids, but to show them different opportunities for how they can improve their lives and create a better future for themselves, for their families and for their community.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Shana White is a Constellations Fellow and proof that just because you\u0027re good at sports doesn\u0027t mean you can\u0027t pursue a career in computer science."}],"uid":"34773","created_gmt":"2018-10-19 19:20:22","changed_gmt":"2018-10-22 14:23:01","author":"ablinder6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-10-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-10-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"613030":{"id":"613030","type":"image","title":"Shana White","body":null,"created":"1539976672","gmt_created":"2018-10-19 19:17:52","changed":"1539976672","gmt_changed":"2018-10-19 19:17:52","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233389","name":"ShanaHeadshot1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ShanaHeadshot1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ShanaHeadshot1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":430165,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ShanaHeadshot1.jpg?itok=FE8383Kf"}},"613029":{"id":"613029","type":"image","title":"White encourages her students to be creative and show off their interests with their projects in her class.","body":null,"created":"1539976621","gmt_created":"2018-10-19 19:17:01","changed":"1539976621","gmt_changed":"2018-10-19 19:17:01","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233388","name":"10792984448_IMG_1132.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792984448_IMG_1132.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792984448_IMG_1132.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":972915,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10792984448_IMG_1132.JPG?itok=9ysNDUR4"}},"613028":{"id":"613028","type":"image","title":"White assists a student in her AP Computer Science course at Mays High School in Atlanta, Ga.","body":null,"created":"1539976539","gmt_created":"2018-10-19 19:15:39","changed":"1539976539","gmt_changed":"2018-10-19 19:15:39","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233387","name":"10792513728_IMG_1080.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792513728_IMG_1080.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792513728_IMG_1080.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":972204,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10792513728_IMG_1080.JPG?itok=HLoB0fKR"}},"613027":{"id":"613027","type":"image","title":"Shana White, Constellations Fellow, collaborates with Ms. Smith, the teacher of record at Mays High School when assisting a student in their AP Computer Science course.","body":null,"created":"1539976478","gmt_created":"2018-10-19 19:14:38","changed":"1539976478","gmt_changed":"2018-10-19 19:14:38","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233386","name":"10792925872_IMG_1028.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792925872_IMG_1028.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10792925872_IMG_1028.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":889344,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10792925872_IMG_1028.JPG?itok=rx_la5ox"}}},"media_ids":["613030","613029","613028","613027"],"groups":[{"id":"606703","name":"Constellations Center"},{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAllie McFadden\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Eallie.mcfadden@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}