Recently, Whitewater Middle School students were treated to after-school computer technology classes thanks to the Whitewater Makerspace group and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The local, non-profit group of community volunteers gave students “a hands-on opportunity to each build their own usable computer with old donated computers and parts,” Joanne Kyle, who heads the middle school’s gifted and talented program, said.
“Not only did participating students learn valuable hands-on skills but when they completed refurbishing their donated computer it was theirs to take home free of charge, if they so desired,” Kyle added.
Brienne Brown, executive director of Whitewater Makerspace, and president David Buggs, also a consultant for the UW-W Innovation Center’s Blackthorne Project, were the lead organizers of this collaborative opportunity along with Kyle. Participants included sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from Whitewater Middle School.
“Special thanks also go to the UW-W students Eric Schiferl, Kevin Clark, Joshua Pohlman, Ryan Stewart, and Luke Pagel for teaching the classes,” Kyle said.
