Duke students teach Durham youth computer science

By teaching basic computer science, a new Duke group wants to prepare Durham public school students for a more technology-oriented job market.

Starting from Scratch enlists Duke students to teach computer science to local middle school students and high school freshmen. After running a few test sessions last semester, the group is launching their first full program this Fall. Students learn basic computer science and programming skills through a computer program called Scratch. The Duke initiative intends to prepare students for a growing number of jobs that require computer science skills.

Greg Greene, unit director and football coordinator at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club—which will host Starting from Scratch classes—stressed the importance of computer science in today’s society and how beneficial it can be to teach kids computer skills early on.

“The world of computers and technology in general is forever changing, and the sooner kids can gain exposure to that world, the more impact that exposure has,” Greene wrote in an email Sunday. “These kids need and demand more than your average ‘these are your home keys’ computer course.”

Sophomore Ethan Gottlieb, and juniors Jay Kennedy and Michael Washington came up with the idea last Spring in their Social Entrepreneurship In Action class. The class encourages students to start public service initiatives either at Duke or in Durham.

The Scratch system is simple enough to be used by people with no computer science background, Kennedy said.

“It’s visual, not coding,” he said. “It’s intuitive and engaging, not scary. It’s so much fun.”

Once students have learned the basics, they will have the opportunity to make their own final projects in the last couple sessions of the program. These programs can take the form of basic video games or animations.

Sessions are held once a week for 75 minutes at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club and Jordan High School. With about seven Duke students at each location, volunteers plan to give a lot of one-on-one attention to the kids and also act as mentors.

Gottlieb, a computer science major, believes students should start learning about computer science early, since most students do not hear much about the field until high school or even college. He initially became interested in computer science by teaching himself how to create video games and seeks to find similar ways to attract kids to the subject.

“I wanted to start something that was a fun way to introduce computer science to middle schoolers,” Gottlieb said. “It’s a good opportunity—there’s lots of jobs in computer science, it’s a good learning experience, and it helps with other subjects like math.”

The volunteers have not yet started their sessions at Jordan High, but the program there will be part of a freshman elective taught by Chad Aharon, a social studies teacher.

Although the program is just getting started, the founders are already busy thinking of ways to expand it in the future. Because the eight week lesson plan can be taught in many different forms, there is potential for it to transition into a summer camp, after school program or part of a school curriculum.

Someday, the student organizers would also like to start branches of the program at other universities.

“The possibilities are endless,” Kennedy said. “We’re moving slowly, but we want this to be big.”

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