Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
U Washington Offers Computer Academy for Hearing Impaired
7/23/2007
The University of Washington is hosting its first Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Computing, a nine-week program during which students will learn how to program software, write computer code, model 3D objects, and make cartoon figures move.Program administrators said they want to encourage students to consider careers in the field, as educators do not often recognize the talent such students have and instead suggest less technical jobs.
"Horizons are not being broadened," the program's coordinator, Robert Roth, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Many are interested in computers, but teachers are steering them towards fixing computers."
The UW program is believed to be one of the few of its kind for deaf and hard of hearing students, though the university offers other programs for students with disabilities.
The students, all of whom are male, will receive college credit for attending the academy. Tuition, room and board and transportation to Seattle are paid for through grants the university received for the program. The organizers said they hope to recruit some female students next year.
The students will take courses in math, science, computer programming, and animation, then use their new skills to develop a short animated clip as the summer's final project. The story line will involve an animated mousetrap.
Read More:
Paul McCloskey is a contributing editor for the Campus Technology group of publications.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Sentrigo Offers Help for Database Patching Woes
Sentrigo Inc. released its new Hedgehog vPatch database security software product Tuesday. The product addresses patching inconsistencies that seem to affect busy Oracle database administrators (DBAs), who don't always have time to test and patch. However, users of Microsoft SQL Server database in the enterprise can take a lesson here too.
- Starfish Launches Higher Ed Retention Solution
Software provider Starfish Retention Solutions has announced the upcoming launch of its first product, Starfish Office Hours. The company said this will be the first in a series of products intended to help higher education institutions improve retention and graduation rates by aiding in the delivery of programs designed to help at-risk student populations.
- Unisys Offers Free Unified Communications Trial
Unisys announced Monday that it is offering companies a free 30-day unified communications trial using Microsoft solutions. The offer is currently available through Microsoft's sales personnel.
- New Mexico Launches Statewide eLearning Initiative
As part of its Innovative Digital Education and Learning initiative (IDEAL-NM), New Mexico is launching a statewide program to standardize on a single electronic learning platform--Blackboard--spanning K-12, higher education, adult education, and government. The initiative will also support a new statewide virtual high school.
- North Carolina Adopts Blackboard for Higher Ed
The University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System have signed on with Blackboard to deploy that company's electronic learning platform across 68 individual campuses.
- Semantic Search: Could the Web Think?
Semantics is a sub-field of linguistics that focuses on meaning making in language. Therefore, the Semantic Web we're still reaching for will be based on a set of definitions, languages, and standards that can base a search on the detection of meaning and not just on a simple character string. The Semantic Web will at least be smarter than the current Web.
