UCC lecture on teaching computer science to kids

27 Jan 2012

Next Wednesday, University College Cork’s Prof Barry O’Sullivan will give an interactive lecture on teaching the principles of computer science to primary school children. The lecture is free and open to everyone, especially children interested in learning more about the computer science area and its scope.

It’s a timely lecture, given that Dublin officially launched as European City of Science yesterday, with events happening all around the country this year to showcase science and make it more accessible to people.

O’Sullivan, who is director of the Cork Constraint Computation Centre in the Computer Science Department at UCC, as well as a Science Foundation Ireland principal investigator (PI), said that during next week’s lecture at UCC he will be focusing on making the fundamental ideas of computer science accessible to children between the ages of 7 and 12, and their families.

The event itself is also going to be geared towards those interested in the teaching of computer science. And it looks set to be fun and interactive, especially to get children thinking about computer science and its potential.

Professor Barry O'Sullivan University College Cork

Prof Barry O’Sullivan

O’Sullivan said he will present a set of learning activities that teach computer science through games and puzzles that use cards, string and crayons. He said there will also be lots of running around!

O’Sullivan is also president of the Association for Constraint Programming, chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Association of Ireland and the co-ordinator of the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics Working Group on Constraints.

The free computer science event will start at 8pm on 1 February in the Boole IV Lecture Theatre at UCC. The lecture series is organised by Emeritus Prof William Reville, public awareness of science officer, SEFS, and will continue until 14 March.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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