杏吧原创

09/05/2017
By Edwin L. Aguirre

Nearly 60 schoolchildren in Everett and Medford learned programming skills this summer at a camp conducted by computer science Prof. Fred Martin and graduate student Chike Abuah. The initiative, which is part of the 鈥淧athways in Computer Science鈥� project funded by the (NSF), teaches kids how to create apps for mobile devices that would help their respective communities.

鈥淭he collaboration is based on a three-year, $1.2 million NSF grant, which launched in 2014,鈥� notes Martin. 鈥淎lthough this year is the third and final grant-funded summer camp, we鈥檝e managed to reach a total of more than 1,200 kids during our partnership with the two school districts.鈥澛�

Among the apps that the young programmers in Medford developed is a tool for finding the Medford Arts Resource Vehicle, or MARV, a school bus that has been painted bright blue and drives around the city to encourage participation in the arts.聽

鈥淭he kids were excited to learn about MARV from community partner Celia Lee of the Medford Arts Center,鈥� says Martin, who is the director of student success at the Kennedy College of Sciences.

鈥淭he bus has been refurbished by Medford high school students. Several teams made apps to let you book MARV for your event, use GPS to track the bus鈥檚 location and show its calendar of activities,鈥� he says.聽

In Everett, Sergio Cornelio, a community partner from the Everett Historical Commission, introduced students to important events in the city鈥檚 history. The students then created apps to educate others about what they learned. The apps use location tracking and sensors to give users photos and descriptions of what happened at various historical sites around the city.

Another Everett team was inspired by Rachel Kelly, a community partner from Everett鈥檚 Conservation Commission. The fledgling programmers made an app to help residents and visitors find the location of trash bins throughout Glendale Park.

All the students鈥� apps are available for download, free of charge, from the 蝉迟辞谤别.听

A Valuable Partnership聽

鈥淭he Pathways in Computer Science is inspiring because of the effort that the community puts into it 鈥� from the schools that host the summer camps to the camp teachers and the students and faculty from UMass Lowell. Everyone does their part to make sure each kid has a motivating experience building their own mobile apps,鈥� says Abuah.

Abuah, who hails from Abuja, Nigeria, is pursuing a doctorate degree in computer science, researching ways to build tools and technology to help people learn more effectively.

鈥淭hese kids are incredibly lucky to be exposed to sophisticated programming at such an early age,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he camps help build confidence and impart real-life programming and computational thinking skills to the students. By the time they get to high school or college, they鈥檒l be much better prepared for the challenges of the computer science curricula.鈥�

鈥淭he project was a great way to introduce coding to my students,鈥� says Lori Blank, a computer teacher at Lafayette School in Everett. 鈥淎s the demand for coding skills grows, we can see that programming is playing a great role in almost every career path. It鈥檚 important to give students the opportunity to start acquiring the technical skills they need.鈥�

Blank noted that the Pathways program is important because it is offered to less-privileged communities where students may not otherwise have access to such training. The program 鈥渟howed my students how to think critically and become problem-solvers. It also helped them develop skills that allow them to build websites, apps and games on their own,鈥� she says.

Jessica Hamerly, a math and computer science teacher at Medford High School, says a key benefit of the experience is that students learn to become creators of technology, not just users.

鈥淭hese days, most kids are technology consumers when they play games or watch videos. Very few youth realize that there are tools available, such as App Inventor, that enable them to come up with real-world solutions to social problems in their own neighborhood,鈥� Hamerly says.

鈥淭he summer camps teach students computational thinking concepts in a fun, accessible way. They also learn about the different types of jobs in computer science. The students who attend the camps will be several steps ahead of their peers,鈥� she says.

A Strong Advocate for Computer Science Education

Martin has been active in robotics and computer science education since joining the UMass Lowell faculty in 2002. In 2007, he was recognized for his regional work with STEM teachers with the UMass President鈥檚 Public Service Award.

In 2015, he was selected to serve on a panel established by the Massachusetts Department of Education to create state standards for K-12 digital literacy and computer science. The panel鈥檚 work was approved in 2016. The resulting standards are guiding the adoption of K-12 computer science curriculum in the Commonwealth and serves as a model for other states as well.

Image by Eddie Arrossi Photography

In July, Martin was elected to a two-year term as chair of the board of directors of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), which promotes and supports K-12 computer science education nationally and internationally.

With Martin鈥檚 help, Everett and Medford have adopted computer science curriculum that reaches all of their middle school students. He says it鈥檚 a model that could be adopted elsewhere to bring computer science education to even more school districts.

鈥淔or the CSTA, supporting policies that lead to computer science being introduced to all students is crucial. It鈥檚 a matter of equity of access and providing everyone with economic opportunities. Computer science skills will increasingly become part of all careers, and all learners, including girls and under-represented minorities, should have access to this knowledge,鈥� Martin says.