Algorithmic Learning while Creating and Sharing Content on Social Media

Computer science continues to face inequitable access for all youth. Identifying youth practices that can be leveraged for computational learning can contribute to a transformed participation in computer science by leading to designs that a wider range of people can associate with. To address this, we investigated social media as youth-driven contexts for computational learning. We thematically analyzed semi-structured social media walkthroughs with girls (ages 13-18) in Latin America and Europe. We analyzed how everyday and repeating youth practices on social media related to learning about algorithms. We found three youth-driven ways that social media practices related to algorithmic ideas: (a) content sharing as flow control structures, (b) content curation as a loop, and (c) playing with algorithms. We highlight the practices with data excerpts to illustrate the possibilities of social media as a context for computational learning. We present implications for the design of computational learning opportunities that are promising for broadening computing cultures.