Outreach

Large Outreach Effort Funded by NSF

[STORY] Submitted by Fran Fabrizio on August 29, 2007 - 10:06am.
UAB was just awarded a $1,080,000 grant to introduce high school students to concepts in computer science and provide them with a mathematics foundation for IT-related education and careers.

Fox6 News Covers Middle School Summer Camp

[STORY] Submitted by Jeffrey Gray on August 2, 2007 - 10:57am.
Fox6 news visited the UAB CIS Department to feature the middle school summer camp as part of the "What's Right with Our Schools" weekly feature. The focus of the report was on the use of Alice as a fun way to teach computer science principles.

Continuing Education

The Continuing Education program's mission is to provide career-enhancing training at conveniently scheduled times as a community service of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

CS Summer Camp

Since 1999, the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has run a weeklong Computer Science Camp for high school students, from sophomores to seniors. Students from many local high schools have participated in the camp. The camp is designed to introduce students to computer science at a deeper level than they may have seen before, develop some fun working software for real problems, and prepare students for potential study at the university level.

High School Summer Robotics Internship

The UAB CIS Department sponsors a seven-week summer internship program for high school students who want to learn about computer science. Students learn to use the Java programming language to complete various robot control projects. The internship is offered in collaboration with the Heritage Center, a human and community development center that has a successful history for matching high school students with UAB mentors. This outreach effort is used as a recruitment opportunity for encouraging high school students from underrepresented groups and economically disadvantaged school districts to pursue an advanced education in computer science at UAB.

High School Programming Contest

The annual UAB High School Programming Contest brings talented students from public and private high schools throughout Alabama to the UAB campus to participate in an organized competition. Students individually compete to demonstrate their programming skills and problem solving abilities by attempting to solve six programming problems within a three hour period.

High School Field Trips

The UAB CIS Department offers outreach opportunities to local high schools through hosted field trips. The 3-hour field trip provides students with a broad range of exposure to computer science concepts, such as:

For more information about scheduling a field trip for your school, please contact Dr. Jeff Gray.

Outreach Programs

Continuing Education

The Continuing Education program's mission is to provide career-enhancing training at conveniently scheduled times as a community service of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

CS Summer Camp

Since 1999, the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has run a weeklong Computer Science Camp for high school students, from sophomores to seniors. Students from many local high schools have participated in the camp. The camp is designed to introduce students to computer science at a deeper level than they may have seen before, develop some fun working software for real problems, and prepare students for potential study at the university level.

High School Summer Robotics Internship

The UAB CIS Department sponsors a seven-week summer internship program for high school students who want to learn about computer science. Students learn to use the Java programming language to complete various robot control projects. The internship is offered in collaboration with the Heritage Center, a human and community development center that has a successful history for matching high school students with UAB mentors. This outreach effort is used as a recruitment opportunity for encouraging high school students from underrepresented groups and economically disadvantaged school districts to pursue an advanced education in computer science at UAB.

High School Programming Contest

The annual UAB High School Programming Contest brings talented students from public and private high schools throughout Alabama to the UAB campus to participate in an organized competition. Students individually compete to demonstrate their programming skills and problem solving abilities by attempting to solve six programming problems within a three hour period.

High School Field Trips

The UAB CIS Department offers outreach opportunities to local high schools through hosted field trips. The 3-hour field trip provides students with a broad range of exposure to computer science concepts, such as:

  • Career Opportunities in Computer Science
  • Computer Chess
  • Introduction to Game Programming with Alice
  • Tour of UAB CIS (including "Fastest Computer in Alabama" and visualization wall)
  • Pizza lunch featuring demonstrations of Lego NXT Robots
For more information about scheduling a field trip for your school, please contact Dr. Jeff Gray.

Field Trips

The UAB CIS Department offers outreach opportunities to local high schools through hosted field trips.The 3-hour field trip provides students with a broad range of exposure to computer science concepts, such as:

For more information about scheduling a field trip for your school, please contact Dr. Jeff Gray.

List of Past and Future Field Trips

Fultondale High School

On September 15, 2006, Suellen Edmondson from Fultondale High School brought 65 of her students (Sophomore through Senior) to the CIS Department for a 3-hour field trip. Students were provided with four different lectures during the visit and treated to a pizza lunch that featured a demonstration of the new Lego NXT robots.

Photos of Workshop Activities

Photos of various workshop participants are available here.

Field Trip Schedule

  • 08:30am-09:10am
    "Computer Science Opportunities at UAB"
    Dr. Barrett Bryant, Professor and Assoc. Chair
    Dr. Jeff Gray, Assistant Professor
    Room 430 - Campbell Hall
    Presentation: available here.

  • 09:15am-09:55am
    CIS Department Tour
    Dr. Purushotham Bangalore, Assistant Professor
    Mr. Fran Fabrizio, Chief Systems Administrator

  • 10:00am-10:40am
    Alice Programming Exercises
    Dr. Jeff Gray, Assistant Professor
    Room 145 - Campbell Hall

  • 10:45am-11:25am
    Introduction to Computer Chess
    Dr. Robert Hyatt, Associate Professor
    Room 430 - Campbell Hall

  • 11:30am-12:00pm
    Pizza (lunch provided by UAB CIS)
    Dr. Anthony Skjellum, Professor and Chair
    Mr. John Faulkner, CIS Undergraduate Advisor
    Hallway between 132/145 - Campbell Hall

    Lunch Feature: Introduction to NXT Robots
    Mr. Amos Smith, UAB Freshman
    Room 132 - Campbell Hall

Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham

On October 14, 2006, 20 students and parents visited the UAB CIS Department for a 3-hour field trip. The field trip was arranged through collaboration with Jennifer Glaze (Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham) and Cameron McKinley (Alabama Teacher of the Year). Students were provided with four different lectures during the visit and treated to a pizza lunch that featured a demonstration of the new Lego NXT robots.

Photos of Workshop Activities

Photos of various workshop participants are available here.

Field Trip Schedule

  • 09:00am-09:40am
    "Computer Science Opportunities at UAB"
    Dr. Barrett Bryant, Professor and Assoc. Chair
    Dr. Jeff Gray, Assistant Professor
    Room 145 - Campbell Hall
    Presentation: available here.

  • 09:40am-10:20am
    Alice Programming Exercises
    Dr. Jeff Gray, Assistant Professor
    Room 145 - Campbell Hall

  • 10:20am-11:00am
    CIS Department Tour
    Dr. Purushotham Bangalore, Assistant Professor
    Mr. Fran Fabrizio, Chief Systems Administrator

  • 11:00am-11:40am
    Introduction to Computer Chess
    Dr. Robert Hyatt, Associate Professor
    Room 430 - Campbell Hall

  • 11:40am-12:00pm
    Pizza (lunch provided by UAB CIS)
    Discussion with Cameron McKinley
    Alabama State Teacher of the Year
    UAB Conference Room
    Room 132 - Campbell Hall

    Lunch Feature: Introduction to NXT Robots
    Mr. Amos Smith, UAB Freshman
    Room 132 - Campbell Hall