Personal information

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Biography

I have been a dancer for most of my life, and I continue to dance when I can. As a high schooler, I assisted and taught numerous dance classes, which is where I found my love for teaching. After completing my BS in Computer Science, I started teaching computer science to grades 7 through 12 at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA). I spent three incredible years at ASFA where I had the privilege of teaching fantastic individuals who taught me as much, if not more, than I taught them. I then applied my computer science degree as a project manager and software developer for Kennesaw State University as an Assistant Director of IT while completing a MS in Information Systems. I missed the classroom though and decided to return to school. I earned my PhD in Computer Science from the University of Alabama under the advisement of Dr. Jeff Gray in 2015.

Recently, I built the Applied Computer Science program, at Birmingham-Southern College along with an online Master’s in Data Science. The undergraduate program is one of the largest majors on campus. On the Hilltop, I utilized my experience teaching at ASFA as well as working in industry to build something unique! Cynthia Mwenja, PhD, wrote an article about my work at BSC for the January 2021 issue of Private University Products and News Magazine.

Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where I am teaching a variety of classes and attempting to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups within Computer Science.

Most of my research is in the realm of accessible computing and human-computer interaction. My hope is to increase the ease with which users can access the computer and computer programming applications, in particular. I believe that the more people involved in designing and developing software, the more inclusive all technology will be.

Activities

Funding (3)

igniteCS - Empowering girls to code

2015 to 2016 | Award
Google Research (CA, CA, US)
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Hoppers' Fables: Strengthening math through computing

Award
Computing Research Association (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, US)
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

NCWIT Learning Circle

Award
National Center for Women and Information Technology (CO, CO, US)
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Works (14)

Strategies for Recruitment and Retention in Computer Science

Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
2024-11 | Journal article | Conceptualization, Writing - original draft
Contributors: Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Modeling Particle Randomness: A Pseudorandom Number Generator

Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Southeast Conference
2023-04-12 | Conference paper | Author
Contributors: Chloe Dunmire; Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Early childhood resource review: Kindercoding Unplugged: Screen-Free Activities for Beginners

National Science Teaching Association, Science and Children
2021-05 | Magazine article
Contributors: Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Applied Computer Science at Birmingham-Southern College

Curricular Innovations for Computing Education in the Liberal Arts Panel, SIGCSE Pre-Symposium Event
2021-03 | Conference abstract
Contributors: Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Evaluating a Tactile Approach to Programming Scratch

Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Southeast Conference
2019-04-18 | Conference paper
Contributors: Zirui Wang; Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

CodeBox64

Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2017-03-08 | Conference poster
Contributors: Max Paulk; Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Hopper's Fables

Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2017-03-08 | Conference poster
Contributors: Deja Jackson; Cindi Simmons; Kate Zelaya; Erica Pantoja; Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

An Empirical Evaluation of a Vocal User Interface for Programming by Voice

International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach
2015-07-01 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1935-570X
Part of ISSN: 1935-5718
Contributors: Amber Wagner; Jeff Gray
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Myna: Empowering motorically challenged students to program by voice

ACM SIGCSE Conference on Computer Science Education, Student Research Competition
2014-03 | Conference abstract
Contributors: Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

A first-year experience report on a model for statewide deployment of CS principles courses (abstract only)

Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
2014-03-05 | Conference poster
Contributors: Jeff Gray; Mokter Hossain; Jonathan Corley; Amber Wagner; Cassidy Lamm; Mary Boehm; Carol Crawford; Kathleen Haynie; Sheryl Packman; Deepa Muralidhar et al.
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Observations of first learners with different capabilities (abstract only)

Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
2014-03-05 | Conference poster
Contributors: Amber Wagner; Jeff Gray
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Automation of VUIto GUI mapping

CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2013-04-27 | Conference abstract
Contributors: Amber Wagner
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Using app inventor in a K-12 summer camp

Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
2013-03-06 | Conference paper
Contributors: Amber Wagner; Jeff Gray; Jonathan Corley; David Wolber
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner

Simplifying the development and deployment of MapReduce algorithms

Journal of Next-Generation Computing
2011 | Journal article
Contributors: Jacob, Ferosh; Wagner, Amber; Bahri, Prateek; Vrbsky, Susan; Gray, Jeff
Source: Self-asserted source
Amber Wagner