Engaging Youth with Disabilities 2012 Mini-Grantees

The following projects Engaging Youth with Disabilities in computer science have been selected for mini-grant funding.

The Engaging Youth with Disabilities with Microsoft KODU, Basic Computer Game Development project is led by the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster. Project activities will take place in Massachusetts where for two hours a day, twice a week for ten weeks, middle school students will learn to create their own worlds while learning the basics of game development. In addition, faculty from Fitchburg State University will speak with students about career exploration in the fields of education, computers and other media. Partnering organizations include FLLAC Educational Collaborative at Caldwell Alternative Middle School and Fitchburg State University.

Project E.S.T.E.E.M (Experience Science, Technology, Engineering, Electronics, and Math) is led by Trinidad State Junior College.Project activities will take place in Colorado during this one day event. High school students will assemble robots and interact with college students with disabilities enrolled in Computer Science, Graphic Design and Precision Machining programs at Trinidad State Junior College. Parents will join in during the dinner activity to learn about the project. Partners include San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and San Luis Valley Transitioning Interagency Group Envisioning the Realization of Self (T.I.G.E.R.S.).

The Computer Science Fun Day events will be led by the Alabama Computer Science Camps at Auburn University. During this one day event middle school and high school students with physical disabilities along with their parents will have the opportunity to learn about computer science, Scratch programming and Lego robotics. Partnering organizations include the Computer Literacy Academy for Children at Auburn University and United Cerebral Palsy of Birmingham.

The Teaching Science through Robotics project is led by the Florida Crown Workforce Board. Project activities will take place in Florida and will teach seven teams of high school students how to design, construct and program robots. These teams will compete in a regional competition with the winner going on to the state competition. Partnering organizations include the Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Union County School Districts, Trinity United Methodist Church, Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP), Able Trust, Institute for Educational Leadership, and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

SMARTer Board: Girls Resolve Accessibility Issues is led by The New Look project at the Center for Specialized Professional Support at Illinois State University. Middle school students will be working alongside college/university technology students and teachers to address the accessibility issues that prevent visually impaired students from interacting effectively with the SMART Boards in their classrooms. They will develop materials and guidelines for teachers. Partnering organizations include the Women in Technology Program at Heartland Community College and SMARTer Board at Metcalf School.

North Central Florida High School/High Tech Computer Science Exploration is a project led by the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida at Florida High School/High Tech. Project activities will begin in February and extend through July 2012 providing one activity a month for exploration and exposure to computer science through hands on programming opportunities and field trips to universities, labs and corporations. Partnering organizations include the Alachua, Bradford, Levy, and Putnam School Districts, Dignity Project 2nd Generation, Santa Fe College, University of Florida, Florida State University, University of North Florida, Progress Corporate Park, Sally Corporation, and the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST).

High School/High Tech Internships will be led by Florida High School/High Tech where students will receive paid internships during summer 2012 to gain seventy-five hours of hands-on computer science related experience, training and development with technical and computer based enterprises. Partnering organizations include Charlotte County Clerk of Courts Information Technology Department and the South West Florida (SWFL) Works Information Technology Department.

Project S.T.E.A.D.Y. (Science, Technology, Engineering Academy for Disabled Youth) is led by WizKidz Science and Technology Centers, Inc. Activities will take place in Georgia where students with visual impairments will learn game design, robotics and aviation during this six month after school and Saturday program. Partnering organizations include the Center for the Visually Impaired STARS Program and the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia.

Tech Vision Quest is led by C++ Game Programming. Project activities will take place in Illinois where middle school students will be exposed to the newest tools used in video game programming including but not exclusive to Adobe 5 Suite, Pivot, Microsoft Visual Studio, and college level curriculum from DigiPen Insitute of Technology. At the conclusion of the program, the students leave with a working model on CD of the game they have started to create. The Lake County Area Vocational System is partnering on this project.