Roderic Nicholaus Crooks

Roderic Nicholaus Crooks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), within the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. His research focuses on the intersection of technology, race, and education, particularly examining how edtech systems reproduce racial and economic inequities in urban schools. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA (2016) and has held postdoctoral and teaching roles at UCI, UCLA, and other institutions. His work critiques data-driven educational practices and advocates for community-centered technology use.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Education, UCLA (2016), Dissertation: “The Coded Schoolhouse: One-to-One Tablet Computer Programs and Urban Education”
• M.A. in Library and Information Science, UCLA (2011)
• M.F.A. in Creative Writing, University of Iowa (2005)

Research Interests:

• Edtech and Racial Inequality
• Data Surveillance in Education
• Community Technology Practices
• Critical Infrastructure Studies
• Queer Digital Geographies

Recent Articles: Crooks’ work spans peer-reviewed journals, including Surveillance & Society, Science, Technology, & Human Values, and Computer Science Education. His 2024 book Access Is Capture argues that edtech exacerbates racialized capital extraction.

Awards:

• 2019 Bren School Research Award
• UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016–2018)
• Multiple teaching and community service awards

Grants: Co-PI on an NSF grant (<$800k) exploring public data dashboard uses. Collaborates with organizations like Base 11 on data science curricula.

Labs/Teams: Leads research on grassroots data activism and community technology control, emphasizing participatory design and epistemic justice.