- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/lisa-academy-west/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Mon, 29 Jul 2019 18:30:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Girls learn tech skills at Windstream Girl: CODE Camp /news-archive/2019/07/29/girls-coding/ Mon, 29 Jul 2019 18:30:58 +0000 /news/?p=74807 ... Girls learn tech skills at Windstream Girl: CODE Camp]]> Sixteen rising eighth- and ninth-grade girls just spent a week at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock learning coding skills that will come in handy for future STEM careers. The girls coding camp, made possible with a $10,000 sponsorship from , is a one-week annual residential camp that aims to motivate academically prepared females to enter the fields of computer science, information science or web design. The program is free to participants. During the camp, which ended July 26, girls stayed in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 on-campus housing so they also got a taste of what it鈥檚 like to be on a college campus. During the day, they worked with Thomas Wallace, senior instructor of information science and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 coordinator of the Web Design and Development program and information technology minor. 鈥淥ur focus has been on the web stack of three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,鈥 Wallace said. 鈥淓ach day we focused on a different layer. The afternoons were for lab, and that鈥檚 where they applied the skills they learned.鈥 The girls also took a field trip to Windstream where they learned how to provision a phone system, participated in binary coding exercises, and toured a network lab. 鈥淲orking directly with these girls, watching them work together to learn how to provision phones on Windstream鈥檚 network is truly an inspirational experience,鈥 said Sara Lary, manager of the Law Enforcement Support Center. 鈥淪eeing their excitement when the equipment works and watching them call their parents to share their experience and enthusiasm is proof that we are doing good work and making a difference. Yesterday one of our campers said 鈥楾his is awesome, I want to do this! What do I need to do so I can do something like this with Windstream?鈥 We need to keep that enthusiasm going for generations and continue to work to provide more opportunities for young girls to succeed at an early age.鈥 Lary’s daughter is a former participant of the camp. 鈥淚 got to witness firsthand how her experience attending this camp sparked a level of confidence, interest and motivation in her education and career path that she didn鈥檛 have previously,鈥 Lary recalled. 鈥淥nce she was given the opportunity to learn cool, relevant things with technology in a healthy environment, she became excited about her future. We can do this for all young girls. By fostering an interest in STEM (now STEAM) topics at a young age and working on the negative connotations and barriers that girls face today, educators, parents, and mentors can work together to help girls maintain confidence and curiosity in STEAM.鈥 This year鈥檚 participants were selected from schools statewide based on essay, grades, test scores, and recommendations. Schools represented include Forest Heights Stem Academy, Lisa Academy West, Pinnacle View Middle School, Pulaski Academy, and Quest Academy, all in Little Rock; Fulbright Junior High School in Centerton; Ruth Doyle Middle School in Conway; and St. Joseph School in Russellville. Photo, top right: Girls gathered at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to participate in a week-long coding camp, sponsored by Windstream. Photos left and above right: Girls participate in technology-based challenge activities at Windstream’s networking lab on July 25, 2019. Photos by Benjamin Krain]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6 /news-archive/2019/04/04/arkansas-science-olympiad-2/ Thu, 04 Apr 2019 15:49:19 +0000 /news/?p=73910 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6]]> This weekend nearly 300 middle and high school students from across Arkansas will convene at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Saturday, April 6, to show off their science skills in the 9th annual Arkansas Science Olympiad.聽 The state competition,聽which is coordinated through 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock’s聽聽STEM Education Center,聽runs from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on campus. Students will compete for prizes and the chance to advance to the to be held May 31-June 1 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where Bill Nye the Science Guy will greet the teams. All of the teams participated in regional tournaments to advance to the state tournament. Regional tournaments were held at Northwest Arkansas Community College and Arkansas State University-Newport. This year鈥檚 state Science Olympiad features 44 events 鈥 22 for middle school students (grades 6-8) and 22 events in the high school division (grades 9-12). Each event presents a challenge that students have to solve within a time limit.聽Medals will be awarded in each event, and trophies awarded to the highest-scoring teams. 鈥淪cience Olympiad is all about problem solving and learning how to balance competing ideas,鈥 said Eric Kaufmann, professor and director of undergraduate studies of mathematics and statistics and state director of the Arkansas Science Olympiad. 鈥淚n Boomilever, students are asked to design a cantilever beam, which is as light as possible but holds as much weight as possible. They need to go beyond what they learn in the classroom.” Participating schools include Annie Camp Junior High, Cabot Junior High School South, Central Arkansas Christian School, County Line High School, County Line Junior High, Forest Heights STEM Academy, Haas Hall Academy in Bentonville, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, LISA Academy Chenal, LISA Academy North, LISA Academy North Middle School, LISA Academy West, LISA Academy West High School, Little Rock Central High, Little Rock Christian Academy, Nettleton High School, Nettleton Junior High School, Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School in Little Rock, Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, and The Academies at Jonesboro. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty assisted with this year鈥檚 events 鈥 from devising the competitions to running them. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students will assist. Here鈥檚 just a few of the creative challenges the students will have waiting for them when they get to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock:
  • Boomilever 鈥 Teams design and build a boomilever supporting a minimum load and to achieve the highest structural efficiency.
  • Circuit Lab 鈥 Participants complete tasks and answer questions about electricity and magnetism.
  • Codebusters 鈥 Teams will cryptanalyze (decode) encrypted messages using cryptanalysis techniques and show skill with advanced ciphers by encrypting or decrypting a message.
  • Density Lab 鈥 Participants compete in activities and answer questions about mass, density, number density, area density, concentration, pressure and buoyancy.
  • Designer Genes 鈥 Participants solve problems and analyze data or diagrams using their knowledge of the basic principles of genetics, molecular genetics and biotechnology.
  • Elastic Launched Glider 鈥 Prior to the tournament, teams design, construct, and test elastic launched gliders to achieve the maximum time aloft.
  • Fossils 鈥 Teams demonstrate their knowledge of ancient life by completing tasks related to fossil identification and classification.
  • Protein Modeling 鈥 Students use computer visualization and online resources to construct physical models of the CRISPR Cas9 protein that is being engineered to edit plant and animal cell genomes and answer questions about the chemistry of protein folding and the interaction of structure and function for model proteins.
  • Anatomy & Physiology 鈥 Students demonstrate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body systems: cardiovascular, lymphatic and excretory.
  • Chemistry Lab 鈥 Teams complete tasks and answer questions about the science processes of chemistry focused in the areas of physical properties and acids and bases.
  • Disease Detectives 鈥 Participants will use investigative skills in the scientific study of disease, injury, health and disability in populations or groups of people.
  • Meteorology 鈥 This event emphasizes understanding of basic meteorological principles with emphasis on analysis and interpretation of meteorological data, graphs, charts and images.
  • Mystery Architecture 鈥 Teams will be given a bag of building materials and instructions for designing and building a device that can be tested.
 ]]> Girls Coding camp teaches foundations for STEM careers /news-archive/2018/07/27/girls-coding-camp-2/ Fri, 27 Jul 2018 16:04:29 +0000 /news/?p=71220 ... Girls Coding camp teaches foundations for STEM careers]]> Eighteen rising eighth- and ninth-grade girls in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Girls Coding Camp are learning skills that might come in handy for future STEM careers. The Girls Coding Camp, made possible with a $10,000 sponsorship from , is a one-week annual residential camp now in its third year that aims to motivate academically prepared females to enter the fields of computer science, information science, or web design. The camp concluded Friday, July 27, with an open house at 10 a.m. in the Engineering and Information Technology Student Services Lab on the first floor of the EIT building. This year鈥檚 participants were selected from schools statewide based on essay, grades, test scores, and recommendations. Schools represented include Forest Heights Stem Academy, Lisa Academy West, Lisa Academy Middle School, Episcopal Collegiate and Pulaski Academy, all in Little Rock; Benton Middle School; Haas Hall Rogers in Bentonville; Lincoln Junior High School in Centerton; Cotter Public Schools; Jacksonville Middle School; Perryville High School; Watson Chapel Junior High School in Pine Bluff; Sheridan Junior High School; Warren Middle School; and West Junior High School in West Memphis. For the past week, the girls have spent their mornings in the classroom with Thomas Wallace, 聽senior instructor of information science and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 coordinator of the Web Design and Development program and information technology minor. 鈥淥ur focus has been on the web stack of three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,鈥 Wallace said. 鈥淓ach day we focus on a different layer. The afternoons are for lab, and that鈥檚 where they get to apply the skills they have learned.鈥 The girls each chose a web project to work on this week. Lesleigh Sullivan, an eighth-grade student at Episcopal Collegiate School, has been creating a biography page for her project. She is co-captain of her school鈥檚 robotics team and will be involved with VEX Club this fall. She attend last year鈥檚 coding camp and wanted to return this summer to advance her skills. 鈥淭his year, I learned about HTML, which I鈥檝e never done before,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t was nice learning a new technology.鈥 The girls stay in on-campus housing during the week, so they also get a taste of what it鈥檚 like to be on a college campus. Earlier this week, they took a field trip to Windstream, where they visited labs to see how networking equipment is tested. In addition to hands-on instruction, the girls attend 鈥淕irl Talk鈥 seminars featuring female professionals to learn more about opportunities available for females in computer and information science. 聽聽
Girls in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock's Girls Coding Camp tour Windstream

The girls tour Windstream.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know there are so many women in STEM fields who are setting the path for us so we can do something better,鈥 said Emily Ye, an incoming eighth-grader at Forest Heights STEM Academy. One of the featured speakers was 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumna Christina Copley, who is head of information technology systems transformation for Windstream鈥檚 Consumer and Small Business Division. Copley attended the University of Central Arkansas where she began a major in kinesiology, thinking she wanted to be a coach. Then, she took an elective course in the Information Technology program and loved it. 鈥淚 thought there would be more opportunities for me there, so I switched majors,鈥 Copley said. She started working at Alltel as a data warehousing intern and continued working for the company while she took night classes at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to earn her MBA in 2014. The girls asked Copley all sorts of questions:聽How many coding languages do you know?聽When you were our age, did you think you would be a stay-at-home mom?聽Do you think your job is different because you鈥檙e a woman? Then, finally, they stumped her: 鈥淲ho is your favorite Chris?鈥 (Chris Pine, Chris Evans, or Chris Hemsworth?) 鈥淭hey were not shy and I like that,鈥 Copley said. 鈥淲hen I was in eighth grade, I didn鈥檛 know any women in IT. It wasn鈥檛 clear to me that was even a path. These STEM programs are important for girls to know there are options. Now is the age when you plant the seed.鈥  ]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock announces Donaghey Scholars for 2018-19 /news-archive/2018/06/21/donaghey-scholars/ Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:46:13 +0000 /news/?p=70844 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock announces Donaghey Scholars for 2018-19]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock welcomes 25 new Donaghey Scholars for the 2018-2019 academic year. The Donaghey Scholars Program admissions process is highly competitive. The most promising applicants are invited to campus for an interview. Admission decisions are based on academic record, test scores, leadership ability, community service, interest in other cultures, recommendation letters, admissions essays, and the interview. This year’s incoming class of Donaghey Scholars has an average ACT score of 31. Donaghey Scholars receive a financial package that includes full tuition and fees (up to 18 hours per semester), a stipend, financial assistance to study abroad, a housing subsidy, and a new laptop. The program features an interdisciplinary core curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, writing, discussion, and project-based learning that engages with the city of Little Rock. The students, hometown, high school and intended major are:
  • Emma Chambers, of Little Rock, Pulaski Academy, Studio Art
  • Alondra Cruz, of Little Rock, Mills University Studies High School, Business
  • Olivia Fitzgibbon, of Little Rock, eStem, Public Relations
  • Lucca Garcia, of Sheridan, Catholic High School, Nursing
  • Sadie Goss, of El Dorado, Parkers Chapel High School, Criminal Justice and Biology
  • Mohib Hafeez, of Little Rock, Lisa Academy West, Biology and Chemistry/ Pre-Med
  • LaTambria Hampton, of Jonesboro, Academies at Jonesboro High School, Biology and Chemistry/ Pre-Med
  • Jordan Hancock, of Benton, Benton High School, Art History
  • Meagan Herbold, of Mabelvale, Bryant High School, Physics and Mathematics
  • Khristina Huff, of Cleveland, Clinton High School, Biology and Chemistry/ Pre-Med
  • Sabah Ismail, of Fort Smith, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Political Science
  • Nicholas Jaeger, of Leslie, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Computer Science
  • Savannah James, of North Little Rock, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Political Science
  • Amelia Jilek, of Alexander, Bryant High School, Philosophy/ Pre-Law
  • Greyson Kauffman, of Cabot, 聽Cabot High School, Criminal Justice and Psychology
  • Sam Koon, of Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School, English/ Pre-Law
  • Sydney Kornelsen, of Fallbrook, CA, Escondido Charter High School, Chemistry
  • Hannah Krehbiel, of Fort Smith, Northside High School, Anthropology and Chemistry
  • Cecily Mobley, of Fouke, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Systems Engineering
  • Karson Oakes, of Paragould, Paragould Senior High School, Computer Science
  • Gage Pipkin, of Jonesboro, Westside High School, Theatre
  • Philip Plouch, of Little Rock, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Computer Science
  • Gabrielle Roberts, of Jonesboro, Academies at Jonesboro High School, Biology/ Pre-Vet
  • Aleigha Smith, of Ward, Cabot High School, Accounting
  • Ruby Trotter, of Houston, TX, Jersey Village High School, Biology and Chemistry/ Pre-Med
Photo by Benjamin Krain]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6-7 /news-archive/2018/04/04/arkansas-science-olympiad/ Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:37:42 +0000 /news/?p=70031 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host Arkansas Science Olympiad April 6-7]]> The opening ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 6, in Dickinson Hall lobby, and competitions run Saturday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. around campus. Students will compete for prizes and the chance to advance to the National Science Olympiad to be held May 18-19 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. This year鈥檚 Science Olympiad features 42 events – 21 for middle school students (grades 6-8) and 21 events in the high school division (grades 9-12). Each event presents a challenge that students have to solve within a time limit. Medals will be awarded in each event, and trophies awarded to highest-scoring teams. New this year is the Raye Montague Trophy, which will be awarded to the highest-ranking majority female team. The award is named in honor of Arkansas native Raye Montague, an engineer for the U.S. Navy who in 1970 created the first computer-generated rough draft of a naval ship. She was given a month to complete the assignment and finished the task in 19 hours. (Raye Montague is also the mother of David Montague, director of eLearning and professor of criminal justice at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.) 鈥淥ne of the goals of Science Olympiad is to encourage more women to participate in the sciences, and we encourage them through competition,鈥 said Eric Kaufmann, professor and director of undergraduate studies of mathematics and statistics, and state director of the Arkansas Science Olympiad. The competition started with just seven teams in 2011; this year 29 teams are competing. This is also the first year for multiple regional tournaments with earlier competitions held at Northwest Arkansas Community College and ASU-Newport. Participating schools include Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock, Benton High, Sylvan Hills High in Sherwood, Parkview Science and Arts Magnet in Little Rock, Lisa Academy West, Lisa Academy North High, Lisa Academy聽North Middle, Lisa Academy Chenal, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville and Bentonville, Little Rock Central High School, County Line High in Branch, Nettleton Junior High and High schools, The Academies at Jonesboro, Little Rock Christian Academy, Cabot Junior High and Annie Camp Junior High聽in Jonesboro. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely growing,鈥 Kaufmann said. 鈥淥ur entire goal was to get students excited about science, and there鈥檚 an enthusiasm in these students. Science Olympiad just brings it out.鈥 About three dozen 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty have a hand in this year鈥檚 events – from devising the competitions to running them. Scientists from 糖心Vlog传媒MS, the Arkansas Geologic Survey, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Museum of Discovery, Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, and the Little Rock Zoo also are helping run the events. In addition, about two dozen undergraduate and graduate students will be assisting as community service. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a tremendous outreach program,鈥 said Thomas Clifton, interim dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淥ur community partners really help us make this event a success, and our own students get very involved. It鈥檚 our hope that every middle school or high school student who participates in Science Olympiad feels the excitement that comes from solving a problem and reaching a goal.鈥 Here鈥檚 just a few of the creative challenges the students will have waiting for them when they get to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock: Battery Buggy – Students bring their pre-built buggy to the event and are given a set distance their buggy must travel. They must design a cart to travel that exact distance in the quickest time and stop at the target point. Mystery Architecture – Student have 30 minutes to design, build, and test a structure (bridge, tower, or cantilever beam) using unknown materials. Wright Stuff – 聽Students design, build, and launch rubber-band powered balsa wood airplanes. The plane that stays in air the longest is the winner. Game-On: 聽Students are given a theme and have 50 minutes to design and develop a computer game using the program SCRATCH. Hovercraft – Students take a written test that covers mechanics, and then they build a craft, which must travel from Point A to Point B in a certain time. Missions Possible (Rube Goldberg Machine.) The challenge: Build a simple machine in the most complicated way possible. Towers – The team that designs the lightest tower that supports the most weight will be declared the winner. Potions and Poisons – Chemistry challenge based on household poisons and venoms found in nature.      ]]>