ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Middle schoolers from districts across the region have been chosen to spend the week at RIT developing their own video games.
Each student started from scratch, learning to design and code their own games.
Kids were chosen who showed an early interest in technology and the hope is to keep building on that interest. “What we have seen is that some of our best students were turned on to technology at this early stage essentially,” says Naveen Sharma, Associate Dean of Computing and Information Sciences at RIT.
The excitement certainly peaked during a special meeting in the auditorium when each of the campers was handed a backpack. AT&T sponsors the camp and helped to provide each student with a new Chromebook, headphones and some school supplies.
“It is a computer! My brother is going to be so jealous! Oh my god!” exclaimed 5th grader Giovanna Williams.
The students plan to use the new gear to try out some of the skills they’ve learned at camp. “I learned how to animate and about code,” said 5th grader Cameron Lugo. “We’ve been designing our own games and if you need help, you can just ask the teacher,” added 5th grader Antonio Alyala.
The hope is to keep the kids, many of whom come from communities that are under-represented in the tech world, inspired.
The AT&T ROC Jr Game Dev Camp Powered by RIT is free and offered to underrepresented students in 5th through 7th grades from across the Rochester region.
