Whizzkids Summercamps and Computer Science Department promote IT at UCC

With increased availability of jobs in the IT sector highlighted in the wake of CAO applications, Whizzkids Summercamps is one way of opening your child’s mind to the possibility of this area as a career.

Very different to the traditional Gaelscoil or sports camp, Whizzkids Summercamps celebrated it’s fifth anniversary at UCC this summer. The brainchild of a University of Limerick graduate, it was launched there in 2003, but the Computer Science Department immediately saw the potential of this unique camp and was the next venue to open. It’s focus on technology was immediately popular and the three weeks at UCC book out as early as April with many children returning year after year.

Over the course of a week, boys and girls aged from 9-15 cover web design, movie making and a host of mobile technologies through high-tech challenges in the Whizzkids Spy Academy. They will learn a lot, but the focus is on having fun.

The children’s websites are about their interests and when their video is screened it’s a real thrill to see themselves up on screen. For the movie, they will put together a storyboard and then go shoot the scenes. The movie is then edited and at the end of the week the videos are premiered and each Whizzkid will receive a copy of their video on CD along with their website as a keepsake of the week.

Over the years the “Whizzkids spy academy” has evolved to facilitate the use of mobile technologies. With activities like 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 back drop 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 bring a cosmopolitan feel to the campus, but 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 www.whizzkids.ie. or call 061-339178.