To broaden participation in computing we need to look beyond traditional domains of inquiry and expertise. We present results from a demonstration project in which interactive journalism was used to infuse computational thinking into the standard curriculum and regular classroom experience at a middle school with a diverse population. Outcomes indicate that we were able to develop positive attitudes about computational thinking and programming among students and teachers who did not necessarily view themselves as "math types." By partnering with language arts, technology and math teachers at Fisher Middle School, Ewing New Jersey, we introduced the isomorphism between the journalistic process and computational thinking to 7th and 8th graders. An intense summer institute, first with the teachers and then with students recruited from the school, immersed them in the "newsroom of the future" where they researched and wrote news stories, shot and edited video, and developed procedural animations in Scratch to support their storylines. An afterschool club sustained the experience. The teachers adapted interactive journalism and Scratch programming to enrich standard language arts curriculum and are infusing computational thinking in classroom experiences throughout the school.

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This article analyzes some determinants of gain in computer literacy by 206 male and 207 female high school students enrolled in a required introductory computer science course. Gender, grade, mathematics course type and mathematics section type were all found to be related to gain: males, younger students, students in sophomore and junior college preparatory mathematics, and students in advanced sections of mathematics courses gained relatively more than females, older students, and students enrolled in other mathematics courses or section levels. Access to and experience with computers were generally unrelated to gain in computer literacy.Research on computers in education has focused on how computers are used in schools [ 11 , on the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction [2,3], and on the effectiveness of computer related courses on computer literacy [4]. No research to date has examined the relationship between the availability of computers in schools and home, student use of computers and student gains in computer literacy. The purpose of the present study is to identify the effects of these variables on student gains in computer literacy.