Ranken Technical College's "Boot-Up Camp" at its Adventure Academy

“This was a great experience for me and my teammates,” enthused one student.

Most middle schoolers’ idea of hands-on technology is grabbing the remote or game console.  Not so for the 87 lucky ones who attended Ranken Technical College’s Adventure Academy.  This diverse group of students designed, built and proudly carried home their very own technical creations, and in the process, they learned about cutting-edge technologies and dreamed of new possibilities for their future. 

The Proposal

St. Louis’s own Ranken Technical College is one of the premier hands-on technical colleges in the country.  The school offers education and training to prepare students for employment and advancement in a variety of technical fields.  Ranken approached the ITEF to fund the “Boot Up” Camp, one of many interesting workshops at the Adventure Academy. 

“Middle-schoolers are at an impressionable age,” said Kent Hornberger, Director of Grants at Ranken.  “We wanted to give them an ‘I can do this!’ experience with technology.  Not only do we want to encourage these pre-teens to stay in school, but we also want to spark girls’ interest in the technology field.”  According to Hornberger, women represent only 5% of the current employees in technological fields.  At Adventure Academy, over half the participants were female.  With an experience like Adventure Academy—which included hands-on activities, projects, presentations and field trips to local industries—both female and male students were engaged in a dynamic learning environment with real life applications. 

The Program

Charles Corrigan, Ranken’s IT Division Head and the entire IT faculty did an excellent job designing and teaching the week long curriculum.  Held August 2-6, 2010, there were seven academy workshops to choose from, one of which was the Boot-up Camp. 

Boot-up Camp  ITEF funded this camp, where students got an in-depth look into the latest computers and operating systems, how they work and how to apply that knowledge into a real world networking environment. They built water-cooled computers that are currently used by the IT students at Ranken in their classes, and also learned to install upgraded hardware and software.  Students also learned to use Skype from the notebook computers that they can use at home in support of their classroom studies.     

The Successful Outcomes

Students and parents alike loved Adventure Academy!  Students showed a marked increase in their level of interest in technology; thought their teachers were effective and enthusiastic; and, the students made real world applications of what they learned.  “This was a great experience for me and my teammates,” enthused one student.  Said another: “Thanks for teaching us new stuff!”

Parents who responded to the end-of-camp survey were 100% pleased with the organization of the camp, and would recommend it to other parents.  “This was the best summer camp I have sent my children to in over 20 years,” said one father.  Another parent said, “Our son was very enthusiastic about the camp.  We were very impressed with the facilities and staff.”