* SOOnC I ATLhSeP OST LcI eG HnTe
GAME DEVELOPMENT CAMP Thanks to volunteers and library staff, students in Lake County are learning computer coding in elementary school, but the goal of these camps might surprise you. STORY: LEIGH NEELY
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he library has always offered adventures and projects for kids. This summer, the Lady Lake Library is bumping things up a notch with a Computer Game Camp. “When John [Pearl] and Marsha [Brinson] first came up with this idea, we took it to the city commission,” says Kristen Kollgaard, Lady Lake town manager. “We told them we’d start small, but it keeps growing.” According to John Pearl, the town’s IT director, he and Library Director Marsha Brinson took computers no longer used in the school system and repurposed them for the library. Then they brought the idea for the camp to Kate Austin, who was teaching a code program in Mount Dora. “Kate ran with the idea,” John says. “She is teaching middle schoolers to do game
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development. We need to encourage more people to do what Kate is doing. Take the skills and knowledge they used throughout their careers and volunteer to help others learn it.” The goal of the camp is to help Lake County youth develop future job skills and learn how they can use those job skills right here in Central Florida. “The library can make up the difference for the schools with teaching computer skills,” John says. “We need more volunteers to sign up to help with coding camp.” Kate Austin, D.C.D., began her career as a high school math teacher and then she taught computer science and was the director of simulation and digital entertainment at the University of Baltimore. “I’m so excited about this camp. There is a whole movement to get kids to begin
