Not all of the youngsters flocking to the University of Central Arkansas campus this summer are learning about state politics or sports, instead one group is learning their way around computers.
Dr. Sherry Roberts, an assistant professor in the College of Education, coordinated the first UCA summer camp aimed at teaching children in grades 3-6 basic computer skills including keyboarding, working with digital imaging and downloading. Nearly 30 students enrolled in the first Techno Cub Computer Camp. While this was the first year for the camp at UCA, Roberts first organized a summer camp around computers when she was teaching high school.
?Originally, I thought of doing this type of camp because I was a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) advisor and my students needed to do a fundraiser so they could travel to a conference. I organized the camp and the students helped to earn money for their conference.?
She also established a computer camp at Eastern Kentucky University when she worked there and decided to try it at UCA as well.
Roberts found support for the camp from school district administrators. ?I told them about my idea to have this camp and they were very supportive of the idea,? she said. ?I thought it would be a wonderful way to bring the community to campus and it?s a different option to sports camps.?
Roberts hopes to offer more advanced computer camps in the future. ?I want to grow the program as the students grow, and this has been a great start,? she said.
