Ossining Students Learn Coding and Photography at Summer Academy

About 90 Ossining students are excited to learn the basics of digital imaging, 3D printing, computer-aided design and coding this month as part of the district’s annual Summer Innovation Academy.

The goals of the program, which is open to children entering grades 3-8, are to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and to encourage creativity and innovation.

“We're really excited to be able to offer a unique enrichment experience for students this summer,” said Academy Director Bradley Morrison, the district’s director of cultural arts. “Our students have been excited to try new things and experiment with technology to create some really interesting projects.”

Ossining High School and Anne M. Dorner Middle School teachers were recruited to teach at the Academy. In OHS art teacher Ron Whitehead’s class during the first week, students used Adobe Photoshop to add creative touches to photos they took outside the school. Kamil Balsara, 11, and Frank Murphy, 10, each superimposed an American flag over one of their photos.

“It was something cool that the teacher showed us how to do,” Kamil said.

Frank said he was happy to be acquiring new skills at the Innovation Academy. “We’re learning it at a young age so we can be more advanced in the future,” he said.

Olivia Wallace, 9, added color to a black-and-white photo of herself and two classmates. “I like many things about the class, really,” she said. “I like how you can change things on the computer and make the photo brighter or make it darker.”

In one of AMD technology teacher Paul Sherman’s classes, younger children learned how to animate their names using Scratch, a free programming language. By using pre-written coding language, the students made characters and objects move and speak on the screen.

Their older peers designed their own games on Scratch and used Makey-Makey devices to create controllers in Mr. Sherman’s class. Makey-Makey devices have circuits that allow users to create their own keyboards from everyday items like Play-Doh and aluminum foil.

In one of OHS math teacher Zachary Yonkler’s 3D printing classes, students learned the principles of design and the basics of computer-aided design through TinkerCAD software. He challenged them to make a house with a roof, door, at least one window on each side and at least one other item outside, such as a pool or mailbox.

Soenh Mckenzie, 11, said his favorite part of the Innovation Academy was the 3D printing. The teacher printed something for each child, including an elephant, a dog and a castle to take home as a souvenir.

“You get to choose anything that you want to print,” said Soenh, who opted for something from Fortnite, his favorite video game.

(Photos include some that students in the Summer Innovation Academy shot and edited.)