Computer Science Faculty Assist Student in Creating Award Winning App
Shaker High School student Gili Rusak is gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Switzerland thanks to help from students and professors in Siena College’s computer science department.
Last summer, as part of Siena’s Summer Scholars program, Rusak, computer science major Kathleen Rotondo ’15 and Associate Professor of Computer Science Darren Lim, Ph.D. began working on a way to engage elementary school students in the booming field of computer science. Despite the recent growth of software-based technologies, less than 10 percent of elementary school students are exposed to the discipline.
“We spent several months creating Codester (codesterapp.com), an android app that teaches elementary school student the fundamentals of computer science,” Rusak said.
Last fall Mary Anne Egan, Ph.D., professor of computer science, helped Rusak pitch her project to conferences.
Rusak has continued to make progress with the app and has received several monetary awards. Last week, she was granted an all-expenses paid trip to see the CERN facilities in Switzerland, one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research and home to the Large Hadron Collider.
“To go from Shaker to Siena to Switzerland is something I never would have imagined,” Rusak said, who has spent the last two years taking math and computer science courses at Siena.
Rusak’s system, which can be used on a smartphone or tablet, is one of the first android apps to encourage learning computer programming basics. It allows students to develop code prompts using the special visual programming language of Codester. The app is made up of arrows and symbols to appeal to the young target audience. It is also designed to teach users sequencing, code reuse, iteration, decision-making, efficiency and problem solving.
“This app empowers young students and advances their computer science knowledge, preparing them to tackle future, global technological challenges,” Lim said.
