Critical computational empowerment: Engaging youth as shapers of the digital future

While there is growing recognition of the need to support young learners as they develop computational thinking (CT) skills, this paper advocates for an increased focus on computational identity (CI) and digital empowerment (DE) in particular, as we posit that these CT skills will help young learners become self-motivated, innovative creators. When nurturing identity and empowerment, it is a persistent challenge to provide youth with real-world experiences and suitable development tools. This paper advances two key approaches to address these issues: 1) A critical computational literacy approach to engage youth in developing personally meaningful applications that have impact in the real world; 2) the use of a tool, like MIT App Inventor, that lowers barriers to creating useful, impactful technology. Using two case-based studies, we show how these two approaches have supported youth in developing applications that respond to meaningful challenges in their communities and helped them to establish their computational identities and digital empowerment.