Abstract:  

Texera is an open-source system designed to support a cloud-based platform for collaborative data science through GUI-based workflows. Developed over eight years at UCI, it boasts powerful features such as no/low-code requirements, real-time collaboration, shared editing and execution, version control, parallel computing, and debugging. Texera has been effectively used in various educational settings to teach data science and AI/ML skills, particularly to students with little or no programming experience. Notable examples include the Data Science for All summer program (ds4all.ics.uci.edu), which introduces high school students to data science, and UCI’s ICS 80 course (https://canvas.eee.uci.edu/courses/63639/pages/syllabus), aimed at non-STEM undergraduates. In this talk, we will provide an overview of Texera and highlight its unique strengths in teaching data science and AI/ML skills.