We’re in the first summer session’s final week of the Information Technology Academy summer internship program. For the past two weeks, rising ITA Madison juniors have spent mornings at internships on UW-Madison’s campus and the afternoons doing technology coursework, which included learning Scratch, a free programming language used to create interactive stories, games and animations.
In this final week, students will complete internships with hosts like Steenbock Library, DoIT Network Services, the Wisconsin Historical Society and Software Training for Students. This hands-on experience helps students explore careers, develop workplace skills, put technological knowledge to practice and reflect on the real-world work experience.
During the technology coursework, students researched and presented technology topics as diverse as medical software, Apple vs. Android phones, 3D printing in color and for prosthetics, and social engineering, among others.
Coursework also focused on Scratch, the programing language and community that came out of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. Students’ creativity and hard work in mastering the program led them to create more than a dozen games that related to history, music, dance, stress management, design, politics, space and more.
Have a little summer fun and check out the students’ Scratch Programs at tinyurl.com/itastudio2016.