Classes and Programs
Register now! Classes start the week of May 20th!
Uplift's classes and programs are geared towards K-12 students (ages 4-19) and adults. This spring our classes will focus on programming concepts, game design, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, web development, and physically building PCs.
Our summer and fall classes will build upon these classes and introduce more as students progress. These classes will provide an intense trajectory to help students master each skill and provide them with a safe and consistent environment to keep learning throughout the year.
No prior experience necessary. Our classes (below) are designed to introduce and guide your child(ren) in acquiring the basic skills needed to advance. Again, we encourage you to enroll in this pre-requisite series so you are prepared to enjoy additional classes designed to help you master skills in classes offered later in the year.
All classes are held at 'The Lab' - our 1500 D Street, SE, WDC location.
Questions before you enroll? Please sign-up to receive more information now!
Spring Classes (May & June):
Ages 4-7:
- Young Builders (STEM Exploration for 4-7 year olds)
- Intro to Computers & Technology @ Uplift
This class is required to enroll in all following classes.
- Scratch 2.0 New
- Intro to Computer Illustration and Animation New
- Game Design with Flash
- Program a Baseball Simulator
- Artificial Intelligence for Two-Player Games
- Introduction to Web Development
- Introduction to Java ...and a Little Android App Development
- Computer Graphics
- Build-A-PC
- Introduction to Android App Development for Adults
- HackerSpace
If you are interested in receiving more information about any of these classes/offerings, please sign-up to receive more information now!
Young Builders
Young Builders is a Saturday course for children who are 4 (if parent stays for duration of class) 4 -7 years old. Parents enjoy the class so much that many elect to stay and build with them. Youngsters will explore age-appropriate concepts of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). These include robotics, programming, magnets, rocket launchers, water, building, origami, problem-solving, and more. Classes occur twice a month on Saturday at 2pm for one hour. Every class is unique, so feel free to sign-up for multiple classes.
Seats Available: 10
Length: 1.5 hour classes
Time:
Saturday 2-3pm
June 15th
June 29th
Cost: $25.00 each class
Instructor: Leshell Hatley
Intro to Computers & Technology (Prequisite for All Uplift Classes)
This class gives students a thorough introduction to all computing devices - inside and out - along with how they are used in many aspects of society! Students will learn the parts of a computer, how these parts respond to computer programs, and how they work together, thus enabling them to build their own machine. Students will gain a strong foundation for doing well in all subsequent STEM classes offered by Uplift (robotics, programming, app development, animation, game design, and more). Therefore it is recommended that this class be taken by all students who want to take additional classes.
Computer programming is all around us. It's at the core of those useful and entertaining parts of our daily lives. Imagine yourself creating and controlling even more useful and entertaining programs - games, animations, even mobile apps. This class is the first step in doing this just. It provides each student with a solid foundation of computer programming and what it takes to make the imagined become real. This class is a pre-requisite for progressing on to all other programming sessions (e.g. game design, app development, etc.).
This class is required for all other classes offered this Spring.
Length:
2 Class Sessions
Seats Available:
Students between the ages of 8-13 = 20
Time: 5-6pm, Mon & Tues (May 20-21)
Student between the ages of 14+ = 20
Time: 6:30-7:30pm, Mon & Tues (May 20-21)
Cost: $30.00
Instructor: Leshell Hatley and Ali Hawkins
Introduction to Scratch 2.0
The Scratch Team at MIT has been working extremely hard on Scratch 2.0 for the past several years and just announced its release last week! Come get introduced to all the amazing elements of Scratch 2.0 and tell your story, create a game, or anything else that comes to mind in this 5-session classes. This class will conclude with an Advanced Concepts in Scratch 2.0 class in July. You don't want to miss this!
All ages welcome!
Prerequisite(s): Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length: 5-class sessions
Time:
Thursdays: 6-7:30pm
May 30th - June 27th
Seats Available: 20
Cost: $50.00
Instructor: Leshell Hatley
Intro to Computer Illustration & Animation
Learn how to express your creativity and drawing skills using the computer. In this 5-session class you will learn how to draw and animate your own creation. Digital storytelling is linked to gains in reading and an improved ability to communicate. This class will help create assets for our advanced game design classes this summer. A small screening of your animated-shorts will occur to show off your work! Are you ready?!? Enroll now.
All ages welcome!
Prerequisite(s): Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length: 5 class sessions
Time:
Mondays: 6-7:30pm
June 3rd - July 1st
Seats Available: 10
Cost: $50.00
Game Design with Flash
Have you ever wanted to make a game such as the legendary Angry Birds? If so, then this is the class to be in!! This introductory Flash Game Design course is an introductory level course that teaches the fundamental concepts of game designing using an easy to learn game design platform called StencylWorks. StencylWorks is a free flash-based game design tool that allows users to create flash games for the web. Flash is a great tool for creating web-based games, and can also be sold to sponsors for a profit. If you want to learn more about how everything works, come join us. We hope to see you!
Prerequisite(s): Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length: 12 class sessions
Time:
Mondays & Tuesdays: 4-6pm, Fridays: 5-7pm
May 28th - June 28th
Seats Available: 20
Cost: $110.00
Instructors: Muhammad Hawkins and Hamza Hawkins
Program a Baseball Simulator
Uplift, Inc. is seeking 4 dedicated high-school students to design, code, and test a baseball simulator. The team would meet for 2 hours, twice a week, for each of the two, one month sessions. Upon completion of the first phase of the project, students will go to a baseball game and research further improvements for the simulator. The end result of the project is to design a program that can work with real team and player statistics to predict the outcome of a game between 2 real teams.
Prerequisite(s):
Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length:
June: 8 class sessions
July: 8 class sessions
Time:
Monday and Thursday
6-8pm
Seats Available:
4 in June
4 in July
Cost:
$70.00 (per 8-class session - one in June and one in July)
Instructors: Benjamin Russell and Marco Jacobs
Artificial Intelligence for Two-Player Games
Uplift is seeking 5 students for a course in Artificial Intelligence. Students will make an AI player for a simple game (tic-tac-toe, nim, dots & boxes) of the student’s choosing. This class is for students who have built at least one interactive game/app (i.e., that requires tracking state) before. Students will learn about two-player games and how to play (and win) as a human. Students will review game concepts such as representation, state, and winning conditions.
Prerequisite(s):
Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length:
6 class sessions w/ extra lab time by appointment
Time:
Saturdays, 12-2pm Starting June 15th
Seats Available: 5
Cost: $65.00
Instructor: Marianna Martindale
Introduction to Web Development
An introduction to web development is an entry level course covering the basics of developing for a web-based platform (website, mobile app, etc.). This course will teach the broader fundamentals of the web and give students a foundation in web development skills platform. The skills learned in this class will prepare students for follow-up courses in developing apps for Windows Phone 8.
Prerequisite(s): Introduction to Programming & Technology @ Uplift
Seats Available: 15
Length: 10 sessions
Time:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays (May 28 - June 26)
6-8pm
Seats Available: 15
Cost: $90.00
Instructor: Ebony Washington
Introduction to Java ...and a Little App Development
This course introduces students to the Java programming language. It will focus on concepts, techniques, technologies and APIs for android application development Concepts and techniques covered include client/server programming, database abstraction APIs and coding. The course will focus on skills for developing algorithms, and for writing and debugging programs. Students will learn how to accomplish a specific task with code samples you can re-use in your project. Students will also begin to learn chinese.s
Prerequisite(s):
Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length: 10 class sessions
Time:
Wednesday & Thursdays (May 29-June 27)
4-6pm
Seats Available: 10
Cost: $90.00
Instructor: Wei Zhang
Computer Graphics, Kinect (XBox)
Seeking students 14 and older who are interested in computer graphics. Two classes show you a few topics including the kinect sensor (from the XBox) and the way it uses body tracking and object recognition. The first week will be about computer graphics using Processing, and writing a simple flight simulator (here's a very basic version: <http://horza.weebly.com/flight2.html>). The second week will be about computer vision using OpenCV and the Kinect sensor.
Prerequisite(s):
Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Length: 2 class sessions
Time:
June 1st: 2-4pm
June 8th: 2-4pm
Seats Available: 15
Cost: $40.00
Instructor: Yi-Kai Liu
Build-A-PC
Seeking 15 students ages 12 - 18. Gerard Cooper from ITWIZKids is willing to teach various hardware and computer building classes on Saturday mornings. From his website “Gerard ...is a seasoned Information Technology (IT) professional with almost 20 years experience with extensive hands on-technical knowledge troubleshooting and configuring PCs/MACs and servers.
Prerequisite(s):
Introduction to Technology & Programming @ Uplift
Seats Available: 15
Cost: The cost of computer parts
Instructor: Gerard Cooper
Introduction to Android App Development for Adults
This class is a monthly 2-day crash course in app development using MIT App Inventor. The fee is $80.00 and will be used to offset fees for students in our programs for youth. From the App Inventor website:
“Creating an App Inventor App begins in your browser where you design how the app will look. Then, like fitting together puzzle pieces, you set your app’s behavior. All the while, through a live connection between your computer and your phone, your app appears on your phone. “
Prerequisite(s): None
Seats Available: 15
Friday & Saturday
June 7 (6-8pm) & June 8 (4-6pm)
*Time on June 8th can change by student vote and availability.
Cost: $80.00
Instructor: Leshell Hatley
Monthly HackerSpace
This unstructured time is available for any students enrolled in other classes as well as experienced programmers (any age) who want to come share space, guidance and feedback, and programming abilities. Students and professional software developers will meet to work on their own projects and/or group projects, offer feedback, and simply stay connected and learn together. We can also connect via Google hangouts for those who are not in the immediate area. These sessions generally occur on Saturday evenings (3rd Saturday of the month).
Prerequisite(s):
(For Students) Enrollment in 1 other class or have advanced programming knowledge and experience
Length: ~3 hours
Time:
Once a month, Saturdays, 5-8pm
May 18th, Scratch Day DC 2013
June 29th, @ the Lab
Seats Available: 15
Cost: Donation
Facilitator: Leshell Hatley
Programs:
Myles & Ayesha® (Learning Technology)
GirlCrew® (Website for Girls)
- The Black Scholars Index® (Website featuring Scholars from the Black Diaspora)
MYLES & AYESHA™ lead a research effort in culturally relevant learning technology. They are positioned as 'learning companions' and provide children, especially African-American children, with reflections of themselves and their ways/behaviors as they learn and grow. We believe placing them within the learning context gives children a sense of familiarity, encourages more interest and engagement, and provides them with a companion as they learn. This belief will be tested in various forms of learning technology - animation, mobile technology, interactive games and activities, as well as books and other forms of written material. Thus, making this a research and development effort. top
GirlCrew! is a web-based community designed to encourage girls to embrace their individual and collective power. This project launched in 2003 (formerly called 'Project Aiesha') and was reborn during the summer of 2011. The website is still in progress. A team of Youth APPLab girls have been working on an app and the webite, with the hope of officially launching both by Thanksgiving 2011. The site is viewable now, but please remember, construction is still in progress. top
Black Scholars Index™ (BSI) (Relaunching September 2012) A timeless online index of Black Scholars from across the world. Black scholars are featured daily along with information about their lives, education, and their areas of work and interests. The site has been in operation since the beginning of 2008 and has won an research award and has been featured in the 2009 Digital Humanitites Conference. top
