Under-represented high school students showcase technology projects

Sixty Madison high school students will present information technology projects to their families and the UW–Madison community tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 13) as part of a fifth annual summer recognition program.

The event will be held on from 1-3 p.m. in 240 Union South, 227 N. Randall Ave.

The projects fulfill part of the students’ requirements for participating in the Information Technology Academy (ITA), a program of UW–Madison’s Division of Information Technology.

ITA is a four-year pre-college program that provides training and access to technology for talented students of color and economically disadvantaged students attending Madison public schools. During their four-year ITA experience, the students meet biweekly during the academic year to learn Web design, animation, graphic design and other technology skills. They also participate in a two-week Technology Training Camp in the summer and hone their tech skills in short-term internships.

At the summer closing event, ninth and 10th grade students will showcase the IT projects (Web site and digital videos) they’ve been working on over the course of the summer camp, and 11th and 12th graders will make presentations on their internship experiences.

“ITA changed everything,” says Michael Ntambi, a West High School junior going into his third year in the program. “I think about technology differently. It changed my perspective about a lot of things, about how things work. Before I didn’t even know what the inside of a computer looked like.”

To date, 13 students have graduated from ITA and all of them are now enrolled at UW–Madison or other post-secondary educational institutions.

ITA is made possible by the UW–Madison Division of Information Technology, the UW–Madison PEOPLE program, Dell Computers and many other sponsors. The 2004 video camp is sponsored the Technology Education Foundation endowed by the Berbee Derby, the Thanksgiving Day 10K run and 5K run/walk on Nov. 25.

For more information about the event or the ITA program, contact Erica Laughlin at (608) 265-2408 or visit ita.wisc.edu/.