More than 50 Birmingham-area elementary students are tasked with creating a virtual world of what they envision life would be like for them at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The UAB Department of Sociology and Integrating Computing Across the Curriculum will host Scratch Day, an annual, worldwide observance of the Scratch computer programming language, 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 19, 2012, at Vulcan Park. This event is part of a grant funded by the National Science Foundation to work with the Birmingham City Schools to provide technology training for teachers and students.
Scratch was developed in the Kindergarten Learning Lab at MIT. The format introduces students to computer programming language without using technical computer terms.
This year’s competition theme is “Me@UAB.” Students are invited to imagine and create a Scratch project about their lives as UAB college students. They can choose topics from “First Day of School,” “Nightmare Before the Exam” or “Graduation Ceremony.”
Local celebrities will serve as judges. They include Sir Walt, a local comedian; DT Morris, a former UAB student and local comedian; and Young Dil, a former Birmingham City School student and 95.7 JAMZ radio personality. First place winner gets an iPod, and other winners receive a plaque.