UMass Lowell Program Builds Computer, Music Literacy in Young People
12/05/2016
Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Tuesday, Dec. 6 and Thursday, Dec. 8, 2:30 to 4:45 p.m.
What: Local middle-school students are teaching computers to “sing” as part of a UMass Lowell program that introduces them to the world of computer programming during after-school sessions led by university faculty and students.
The sessions Tuesday and Thursday coincide with Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 5 through Dec. 8, during which K-12 students around the world learn about the field. The week honors U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Grace Murray Hopper, a pioneer in programming who paved the way for the development of COBOL, a core computer language.
The UMass Lowell program “Teach a Computer to Sing” builds the computer skills of fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders through music during weekly sessions over the school year. The middle-schoolers learn to sing songs such as “Frere Jacques” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Using these or their own compositions, the pupils are taught by UMass Lowell faculty and students how to write code that instructs computers to create audio files that “sing” these songs, too. Each participant receives a free CD of their vocal renditions of the songs, along with the computer’s.
“Teach a Computer to Sing” also gives UMass Lowell music and computer science majors real-world experience instructing younger students in this hybrid curriculum that points to the future of teaching these skills. UMass Lowell students teaching this semester are from Everett, Fitchburg, Newton and Wayland, along with Hialeah, Fla.
Launched by UMass Lowell Computer Science Prof. Jesse Heines, Music Prof. Daniel Walzer and Bartlett Community Partnership School Principal Peter Holtz, the program is intended to engage middle-school students in computer science who might not otherwise express interest in the field. The program is free for the middle-schoolers thanks to a National Science Foundation grant secured by the UMass Lowell professors.
Where: Bartlett Community Partnership School, 79 Wannalancit St., Lowell