Faculty Profiles

Dr. Vicki Almstrum

Asst Professor of Instruction — Computer Science

CMAL 211

phone: (512) 245-3409

vla37@txstate.edu

Biography and Education

Vicki Almstrum was born in Nebraska and grew up there and in Arizona. She earned two post-secondary degrees from Arizona State University (B.A. Math Education and M.A. Mathematics), then worked in industry for 8 years (Motorola in the Phoenix area then Philips Electronics in Järfälla, Sweden). After living in Sweden for four years, she moved back to the United States and earned two degrees at the University of Texas at Austin (M.S. in CS and Ph.D. in CS education). Since graduating, she has been on the faculty for two departments at The University of Texas at Austin (Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering), the Department of Computer Systems at Uppsala University in Sweden, the Game Developer degree program for DeVry University in Austin, TX, and Strayer University in Austin, TX. Her professional interests include research into how people learn and teach topics in computing, methods for capturing the history of the computing field, and actions needed to attract and retain underrepresented groups in STEM areas.

Teaching Interests

Software Engineering; Computer Ethics; Research Methods; Computer Science Education Research

Research Interests

Research into learning and teaching computer science topics; methods of historical preservation and presentation

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

Almstrum, V. L., Henderson, P. B., Harvey, V., Heeren, C., Marion, W., Riedesel, C., … Tew, A. E. (2006). Concept Inventories in Computer Science for the Topic Discrete Mathematics Working Group Report. In SIGCSE Bulletin (Vol. 38, pp. 132–145).
Almstrum, V. L. (2006). Men are from toys: women are from tools.
Almstrum, V. L., Barker, L. J., Owens, B. B., Adams, E., Aspray, W., Dale, N. B., … Schwartzman, L. (2005). Building a Sense of History: Narratives and Pathways of Women Computing Educators Working Group Report. In Inroads – SIGCSE Bulletin, 37, 173–189.
Almstrum, V. L. (2005). What attracts women to CS?
Almstrum, V. L. (2005). Challenges to Computer Science Education Research. In SIGCSE Bulletin inroads (Vol. 37, p. 191).

Selected Awards

Award / Honor Recipient: Teaching Excellence Award, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin. 1999
Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Service Learning Faculty Award, The University of Texas Volunteer and Service Learning Center and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. 2006
Award / Honor Recipient: Provost's Professional Development Award. 2006
Award / Honor Nominee: Service Award, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin. 1999
Award / Honor Recipient: , ACM Student Programming Contest. 1980

Selected Grants

Almstrum, Vicki Lynn. ACM SIGCSE Special Project Grant — Computing Educators Oral History Project (CEOHP) Growth: Awardee Interviews and Website Update, $5000. (Funded: May 2017). Grant.
Almstrum, Vicki Lynn. The University of Texas at Austin UTOPIA Project, S2S UTOPIA Project, $10000. (Funded: 2004). Grant.
Almstrum, Vicki Lynn. Tivoli Center of Excellence Grant, $10000. (Funded: 2001). Grant.
Almstrum, Vicki Lynn. Tivoli Center of Excellence Grant, $10000. (Funded: 2000). Grant.
Almstrum, Vicki Lynn. FAST-TEX Grant (UT Austin ACITS Center for Instructional Technologies Multimedia Lab), $1000. (Funded: 2000). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member

ACM History Committee

December 2015-Present

Member

ACM Award Committee for ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Award

January 1, 2024-December 31, 2028

Web Team leader

Electronic media strategist for SWEA (Swedish Women’s Educational Association)

2008-Present

Steering Committee member

Rosedale Neighborhood Association

1996-Present

Electronic Communications Coordinator