Dr. Yolanda A. Rankin is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Information at Florida State University. Her research interests include developing best practices for broadening participation in K-16 computing education, designing video games to promote Second Language Acquisition (SLA), and utilizing critical social theories as frameworks for designing technology with underserved populations. Yolanda is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, having published more than 30 peer-reviewed publications (journal articles, conference papers, and books). Prior to entering academia, she accumulated more than twelve years of industry experience, developing software applications and providing customer support while employed at IBM Research Lab – Almaden and Lucent Technologies Bell Labs. Yolanda completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Northwestern University, her M.A. in Computer Science at Kent State University and her B.S. in Mathematics at Tougaloo College, a historically Black college in Mississippi.
Research interests
- Game design as the context for Computer Science (CS) education
- Game-based Second Language Acquisition
- Intersectionality Computing
- Black women in Computing
- Information-based services for underserved populations
Teaching interests
- Intro to Computer Science Programming for both CS & Non-CS majors
- Human Computer Interaction/User Experience
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence
- Perspectives in Information Technology
- Software Engineering
