Hi! I'm Carlos.
I'm curious about learners' beliefs and practices around knowledge in computing education.
I study computer science education as a 1st-year Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Past work includes:
For future work, I hope to study how computing education can
cultivate students' epistemic cognition and agency in and outside the classroom — especially among non‑CS major student groups.
I'm interested in better understanding:
- What obstacles do non-CS major students face when learning computing;
- How we can design technology and pedagogy to address those obstacles;
- And how knowing about and practicing computing can empower students in everyday life.
When thinking about these questions, I draw from prior work in computing
education, science
education, and the learning
sciences.
If you are interested in any of my prior work or current interests, please see my list of projects or email me!
Projects
Do Your Own Research: The 2021 Capitol Riots Spring 2025
A content proposal for an interactive timeline of the 2021 U.S. Capitol riots supporting conservative or Republican ways of knowing, informed by survey and focus group research. Includes a prototype for the timeline.
Meal Manual Fall 2023
A cookbook application to view, organize, and write recipes and related ingredients. Written in Java for Android platforms using Android Studio, SQLite, and the Spoonacular web API.
CSCI 4250 Project 4 Fall 2023
A 3D dungeon scene with textures, lighting, and animation. Written in JavaScript, GLSL, and HTML for modern web browsers using WebGL.
Chat Spring 2023
A terminal-based chat application with client and server implmentations leveraging thread-based concurrency and SQLite. Written in the Zig programming langauge.
Toy Huffman Encoder Spring 2023
A commandline file compression application using tries and canonical Huffman codes. Written in the Zig programming language.
Relatively Simple Computer Fall 2022
A 32-bit computer simulated in Logisim capable of running programs written in a 16-instruction assembly. Includes a program printing the Gray code representations of numbers.
Camus ECS Spring 2022
An entity component system for organizing game logic in the LÖVE2D graphics framework. Written in Lua for the LuaJIT runtime.
Sokoclone Fall 2021
A prototype for a sokoban videogame featuring an integrated, in-game level editor. Made in the LÖVE2D graphics framework with a prototype of Camus ECS.
Litargie Spring 2021
A 2D, story-based platformer videogame. Made in Godot for the "Games for Change 2021 Student Challenge Competition" game jam.
Grapple Hike Fall 2020
A 2D puzzle-platformer videogame. Made in Godot for the "Secret Santa Jam" game jam.
Air's End Summer 2020
A top-down, turn-based rougelike videogame. Made in Godot for the "Summer Slow James June 20202: Turn-Based Games" game jam.
Down Down Dungeon Summer 2020
A 2D platformer videogame. Made in Godot for the "GMTK Game Jam 2020" game jam.