| The J.D. Edwards Honors Program Summer Enterprise Camp hosted 45
gifted high school students on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
campus for an intensive four week study of computer and financial
skills. After completing the June 13 through July 10 session, those
students meeting the necessary requirements received six hours of
college credit. The students also completed computer projects for
local nonprofit organizations. Dr. Steven Dunbar, director of the
camp and head of UNL’s J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer
Science and Management, stated, "The camp echoes the kind of
work our college level students will be doing. We prepare graduates
to use computing foundations, information technology and business
principles to meet the challenges of industry in the 21st century."
To earn the six credit hours, the students completed two courses.
In Computing Foundations and Fundamentals, students learned how
to apply a variety of computing techniques useful in the business
world. Students designed web pages and created Excel spreadsheets.
They also composed Word documents requiring knowledge of the program’s
advanced capabilities and learned computer science concepts by applying
javascript for web page effects. The finance class, equivalent to
UNL’s Finance 260, covered topics in financial history, the
time value of money, stocks and securities, and the banking sector.
Dr. Dunbar stated that the combination of a business and a computer
class presented the students with useful insights because "it
shows them more about the combination of information systems and
technology than they have usually seen."
For completion of the service learning project, students worked
in teams on projects of a varied nature. Several groups created
interactive web pages for nonprofit and community service agencies.
Other groups completed database programs which collated information
about services needed and available volunteers and donors. According
to Laurie Logsdon, a Lincoln High School teacher who assisted with
the camp, the service project gave the students insights into the
difficulties encountered in "real life" situations. Many
of the students found it challenging to communicate with those unfamiliar
with computers. For those students working on web sites, continual
effort was needed to design a site which met the client organization’s
specific wants and needs. The students also toured the Federal Reserve
Bank, Nebraska State Patrol, Information Technology Inc., STRATCOM
at Offutt Air Force Base, and Inacom. Students noticed the different
working environments present at the businesses.
Gail Hackwith of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln J.D. Edwards
Honors Program was the camp’s coordinator. Ms. Hackwith organized
the camp in coordination with the UN-L College of Business Administration,
and the course instructors, Dr. David Fowler, Dr. Kathy Farrell,
Dr. Donna Dudney, and Carl Doney. Also assisting were Katie Graf,
service learning project liaison, and camp mentors, Kendall Hartley,
Dan Hohensee, Peg Trumble, and Laurie Logsdon.
For the 2000 camp (June 12-July 30), more students will be recruited
from surrounding states and efforts will be made to achieve a more
balanced gender ratio. Academically, the computing class is being
revised to emphasize javascript and the service learning projects.
To ask questions or apply for the 2000 camp, contact the J.D. Edwards
Honors Program at (402)472-6097 or visit the web site at http://jdedwards.unl.edu.
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