STC: Outreach Educational Programs

K-12
K-12 teachers are increasingly using computers in a wide range of subject areas and frequently are obliged to use them without adequate software or training. In the worst cases, computers can be a distraction from learning and a drain on already scarce resources. In response, Center K-12 outreach programs focus on supporting students and teachers in serious, often interdisciplinary, academic study, using the allure of computer graphics as a motivating challenge.

Utah High School Computing Institute

Co-PI Elaine Cohen created the High School Computing Institute over seven years ago with the goal of bringing students from outlying, mostly rural areas of Utah in contact with computer technologies integral to the future of design and manufacturing. The program is now partially funded by the Center and leverages funding from the University of Utah's College of Engineering and Department of Computer Science, the NSF Young Scholar's Program, and several industrial sponsors.
Forty to fifty students a year spend five intensive summer weeks on campus at the University of Utah completing projects in computer-aided design, artificial intelligence, and scientific visualization. After learning basic principles, students design geometric models and make realistically rendered images, using Utah's Alpha_1 experimental testbed research system. They also create rule-based lunar rovers for a competition. In 1995, the rover challenge sparked great enthusiasm and over a quarter of the participants stayed up the entire night before the competition to perfect their creations. The students also attend interdisciplinary seminars that cover such topics as ethics and technology. Participants create their own Web pages during the summer and return throughout the year for additional activities, including a workshop on morphing.
The Institute makes special efforts during recruiting visits to high schools to encourage women and minorities to apply. Previous programming experience is not required because such a requirement would eliminate many female candidates.

Alpha_1 Image(152K JPEG): After learning basic principles, students design geometric models and make realistically rendered images, using Utah's Alpha_1 experimental testbed research system.

The Summer Workshop in Computer Graphics and 3D Geometric Modeling.

For the past three summers, local Rhode Island and Massachusetts high school teachers have attended the Summer Workshop in Computer Graphics and 3D Geometric Modeling, held at Brown University, to learn about concepts in 3D graphics and ways in which computer graphics can motivate the teaching of math, science, and art. The Center's efforts have been supported by Caligari Corporation and Macromedia, who have generously donated copies of professional level 3D modeling, rendering, and animation packages to the participating schools.
Approximately a quarter of the participants return each year to learn more and become mentors to new arrivals. Mentor teachers have become instrumental in syllabus revision and make presentations during the summer demonstrating effective ways to integrate workshop material into high school courses.

The Center is working to further leverage the teaching effort that goes into this Workshop by making materials available on-line. Course notes, lecture slides and downloadable interactive demonstrations of basic graphics concepts (including simple transformations, animation with keyframing, and splines) are available at:
http://www.cs.brown.edu/stc/outrea/summer.html.
Participants began constructing Web pages last year, such as
http://www.ici.net/cust_pages/lacivita/lacivita.html.
In 1996 all participants will create their own Web sites, which will be interlinked with the Center.

Past participants of the Workshop have started a variety of new courses at their schools, including courses in 3D modeling, creativity and computers, industrial CAD, and, of course, computer science courses with a focus on computer graphics. Materials from the Workshop are used in a range of math and science courses, from discrete algebra to AP physics and chemistry, as well as liberal arts courses such as English, multimedia, and industrial arts. Several teachers have designed their own in-service workshops--a Workshop participant even teaches a two-semester course for credit at a local community college.
Many of the teachers report that adding a 3D modeling component to their math and computer science courses has let them capture the attention of students who were previously disengaged from their academic experiences. Indeed, one student decided not to drop out of school because of his newfound interest in 3D modeling, taught in a new course inspired by the Workshop.
As in previous years, the summer programs have taken advantage of the televideo system to host PI lectures that span multiple sites. In an example of leveraging expertise and outreach potential through technology, students in the Brown and Utah summer programs are treated annually to a virtual tour by PI Henry Fuchs of his cutting edge virtual reality lab at UNC. Videotapes of this remote-and-virtual lecture are now used in several high school courses by teacher participants of the Brown summer workshop.

Workshop participants (152K JPEG): Workshop participants, TAs, and Instructors on the last day of the 1995 Summer Workshop. Andy was out of town but the 2D version stood in just fine.

Wooden Grasshopper (112K JPEG): "Wooden Grasshopper", an image created with Caligari trueSpace by David Owens, a student in Jim Hall's and Dick LaCiviti's Multimedia course at Attleboro HS. Jim is an art teacher and Dick is a computer science teacher. They took the workshop together in 1995.

Lego War (192K JPEG)"Lego War," an image created with Caligari trueSpace by Varian Vincent, a student in Jim Hall's and Dick LaCiviti's Multimedia course at Attleboro HS. Jim is an art teacher and Dick is a computer science teacher. They took the workshop together in 1995.

Cornell Summer Session for Design Professions

The Summer Session on Design Professions at the Center's Cornell site has introduced approximately 70 high school students each summer for the last three years to three-dimensional modeling, rendering, animation, digital photography, and remote design collaboration. During the three-week program, students attend lectures during the day and in evening sessions work with undergraduate and graduate student researchers, gaining hands-on experience with advanced workstations, scanners, and color output devices. Particularly popular is a Cyberware 3D scanning device that captures fully detailed 3D models of people's heads in minutes. At the request of students interested in pursuing computer-aided design as a career, PI Donald Greenberg also discusses how participants can continue studying in engineering or computer-aided design.

Donald Greenberg lecturing (136K JPEG): At the request of students interested in pursuing computer-aided design as a career, PI Donald Greenberg also discusses how participants can continue studying in engineering or computer-aided design.

The Access Program

For the last three years, Professor Chris Johnson has directed the University of Utah's Access Program, a scholarship and mentoring program for women who show promise in science and engineering. The Access Program was originally funded by the NSF as a start-up program and after its proven success the University of Utah has taken over complete funding. The Access Program offers scholarships, including full tuition and stipend, to 20-25 young women each year, and includes a 10-week interdisciplinary summer science program. Participants work in Utah research labs throughout the year and engage in a range of mentoring activities.

Home Research Outreach Televideo Admin Education

K-12 K-12 teachers are increasingly using computers in a wide range of subject areas and frequently are obliged to use them without adequate software or training. In the worst cases, computers can be a distraction from learning and a drain on already scarce resources. In response, Center K-12 outreach programs focus on supporting students and teachers in serious, often interdisciplinary, academic study, using the allure of computer graphics as a motivating challenge.
Utah High School Computing Institute
Co-PI Elaine Cohen created the High School Computing Institute over seven years ago with the goal of bringing students from outlying, mostly rural areas of Utah in contact with computer technologies integral to the future of design and manufacturing. The program is now partially funded by the Center and leverages funding from the University of Utah's College of Engineering and Department of Computer Science, the NSF Young Scholar's Program, and several industrial sponsors. Forty to fifty students a year spend five intensive summer weeks on campus at the University of Utah completing projects in computer-aided design, artificial intelligence, and scientific visualization. After learning basic principles, students design geometric models and make realistically rendered images, using Utah's Alpha_1 experimental testbed research system. They also create rule-based lunar rovers for a competition. In 1995, the rover challenge sparked great enthusiasm and over a quarter of the participants stayed up the entire night before the competition to perfect their creations. The students also attend interdisciplinary seminars that cover such topics as ethics and technology. Participants create their own Web pages during the summer and return throughout the year for additional activities, including a workshop on morphing. The Institute makes special efforts during recruiting visits to high schools to encourage women and minorities to apply. Previous programming experience is not required because such a requirement would eliminate many female candidates.	Alpha_1 Image(152K JPEG): After learning basic principles, students design geometric models and make realistically rendered images, using Utah's Alpha_1 experimental testbed research system.
The Summer Workshop in Computer Graphics and 3D Geometric Modeling.
For the past three summers, local Rhode Island and Massachusetts high school teachers have attended the Summer Workshop in Computer Graphics and 3D Geometric Modeling, held at Brown University, to learn about concepts in 3D graphics and ways in which computer graphics can motivate the teaching of math, science, and art. The Center's efforts have been supported by Caligari Corporation and Macromedia, who have generously donated copies of professional level 3D modeling, rendering, and animation packages to the participating schools. Approximately a quarter of the participants return each year to learn more and become mentors to new arrivals. Mentor teachers have become instrumental in syllabus revision and make presentations during the summer demonstrating effective ways to integrate workshop material into high school courses. The Center is working to further leverage the teaching effort that goes into this Workshop by making materials available on-line. Course notes, lecture slides and downloadable interactive demonstrations of basic graphics concepts (including simple transformations, animation with keyframing, and splines) are available at: http://www.cs.brown.edu/stc/outrea/summer.html. Participants began constructing Web pages last year, such as http://www.ici.net/cust_pages/lacivita/lacivita.html. In 1996 all participants will create their own Web sites, which will be interlinked with the Center. Past participants of the Workshop have started a variety of new courses at their schools, including courses in 3D modeling, creativity and computers, industrial CAD, and, of course, computer science courses with a focus on computer graphics. Materials from the Workshop are used in a range of math and science courses, from discrete algebra to AP physics and chemistry, as well as liberal arts courses such as English, multimedia, and industrial arts. Several teachers have designed their own in-service workshops--a Workshop participant even teaches a two-semester course for credit at a local community college. Many of the teachers report that adding a 3D modeling component to their math and computer science courses has let them capture the attention of students who were previously disengaged from their academic experiences. Indeed, one student decided not to drop out of school because of his newfound interest in 3D modeling, taught in a new course inspired by the Workshop. As in previous years, the summer programs have taken advantage of the televideo system to host PI lectures that span multiple sites. In an example of leveraging expertise and outreach potential through technology, students in the Brown and Utah summer programs are treated annually to a virtual tour by PI Henry Fuchs of his cutting edge virtual reality lab at UNC. Videotapes of this remote-and-virtual lecture are now used in several high school courses by teacher participants of the Brown summer workshop.	Workshop participants (152K JPEG): Workshop participants, TAs, and Instructors on the last day of the 1995 Summer Workshop. Andy was out of town but the 2D version stood in just fine. Wooden Grasshopper (112K JPEG): "Wooden Grasshopper", an image created with Caligari trueSpace by David Owens, a student in Jim Hall's and Dick LaCiviti's Multimedia course at Attleboro HS. Jim is an art teacher and Dick is a computer science teacher. They took the workshop together in 1995. Lego War (192K JPEG)"Lego War," an image created with Caligari trueSpace by Varian Vincent, a student in Jim Hall's and Dick LaCiviti's Multimedia course at Attleboro HS. Jim is an art teacher and Dick is a computer science teacher. They took the workshop together in 1995.
Cornell Summer Session for Design Professions
The Summer Session on Design Professions at the Center's Cornell site has introduced approximately 70 high school students each summer for the last three years to three-dimensional modeling, rendering, animation, digital photography, and remote design collaboration. During the three-week program, students attend lectures during the day and in evening sessions work with undergraduate and graduate student researchers, gaining hands-on experience with advanced workstations, scanners, and color output devices. Particularly popular is a Cyberware 3D scanning device that captures fully detailed 3D models of people's heads in minutes. At the request of students interested in pursuing computer-aided design as a career, PI Donald Greenberg also discusses how participants can continue studying in engineering or computer-aided design.	Donald Greenberg lecturing (136K JPEG): At the request of students interested in pursuing computer-aided design as a career, PI Donald Greenberg also discusses how participants can continue studying in engineering or computer-aided design.
The Access Program
For the last three years, Professor Chris Johnson has directed the University of Utah's Access Program, a scholarship and mentoring program for women who show promise in science and engineering. The Access Program was originally funded by the NSF as a start-up program and after its proven success the University of Utah has taken over complete funding. The Access Program offers scholarships, including full tuition and stipend, to 20-25 young women each year, and includes a 10-week interdisciplinary summer science program. Participants work in Utah research labs throughout the year and engage in a range of mentoring activities.


Home	Research	Outreach	Televideo	Admin	Education