Technology Camp 101: Stimulating Middle School Students ’ Interests in Computing

As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) project, GK-12 Learning Partnerships: Creating Problem Centered, Interdisciplinary Learning Environments (DGE 0231611), a free five-day camp that addressed the uses of technology was offered to a group of typically underrepresented heterogeneous middle school students during the summer of 2004 by the Mathematical and Computer Science Department at the Colorado School of Mines. Fifteen students, including six females and seven minorities, attended the five hour per day sessions. This paper describes the camp´s design, funding, and assessment efforts. Assessment activities, which included the administration of pre- and post-content assessment, support the assertion that the camp had a positive impact on both students´ understanding of and interests in technology