2008 Press Releases

Whizzkids Summercamps promotes IT at UCC
09.09.2008

UCC's Computer Science Department recently hosted Whizzkids Summercamps. The summercamps are for boys and girls aged 9+ and are designed to maximise exposure to the world of multimedia technology.

Very different to the traditional Gaelscoil or sports camp, Whizzkids Summercamps celebrated its fifth anniversary at UCC this summer. Over the course of a week, boys and girls cover web design, movie making and a host of mobile technologies through high-tech challenges in the Whizzkids Spy Academy.

The children's websites are about their interests. For the movie, they put together a storyboard and then go and shoot the scenes. The movie is then edited and at the end of the week the videos are premiered.  Each Whizzkid receives a copy of their video on CD along with their website as a memento of the week.

Over the years the "Whizzkids spy academy" has evolved to facilitate the use of mobile technologies. With activities such as code breaking, navigation, computerised identikits, reaction tests, observation tests and the use of devices such as digital cameras, PDA's and Blackberry's, it showcases the summercamps' approach of blending education with fun.

Camp Director, Garry Lowe says that "the facilities that a University can provide for a camp such as Whizzkids are tremendous. Not only do they have a large number of computer labs for our web design classes, they also have campuses that provide an excellent backdrop and safe environment for the videos that we shoot and other outdoor activities that we undertake over the course of the week. There are other advantages too. Whizzkids encourages being creative with technology and the striking architecture and the wealth of statues and fountains that exist on campus provide a rich environment to run digital camera tasks. Simply being in a University environment inspires those attending."

Anne Hawes, Manager of the Computer Science Department, says, "even for the X-box generation a University campus still has a wow factor. At all times a University is a vibrant place. Even in the summer months, the academic body is still at work as well as some of the undergraduates and the students from Europe learning English who bring a cosmopolitan feel to the campus, however, with the bulk of the student body away for the summer the pace is more relaxed.  Hopefully, being switched on to the subject at an early age will encourage them to return as an IT undergraduate in the future". For more information, check out http://www.whizzkids.ie

Picture: Participants at the Whizzkids Summer Camp 2008 hosted by the Computer Science Department, UCC

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