The Department of Computer Science (DCS) at Notre Dame University-Louaize North Lebanon Campus (NDU-NLC) organized on Saturday, February 18, 2017, a day focused on programming titled, “Programming For All… Programming For Fun.” Around 30 students from seven schools in North Lebanon participated.
The programming day started at 9 a.m. Bachir Maroun, NLC Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (FNAS) coordinator, welcomed the students to the Computer Science Laboratory. An introductory lecture about Computer Science presented by Dr. Marie Khair followed. The lecture focused on the basic concepts of computer science, the different fields of work, and the ever-growing need for computer science graduates. Following the first presentation, Ruwayda Takchy gave a three-hour workshop on the Alice programming language. Alice gave the students the opportunity to learn the fundamental programming concepts in a fun and easy way. By the end of the workshop, the students were able to design small games and animations. Participation certificates were awarded just before the lunch break.
At 1:30 p.m., the students were asked to apply what they had learned by designing a small game or story using Alice. They were given the option of working individually or in teams of two or three. The students of the DCS and Graduate Assistant Guy Kanbar were on hand to help and assist. The projects designed were submitted via blackboard. The day ended at 4 p.m. with an overall high satisfaction rating, as reflected by the results of the evaluation questionnaire that were distributed to the students.
The winners of the competition were as follows:
First Prize
School: Tripoli Evangelical
Team: Members: Abdul Hamid Dabboussi, Hana Ghamraoui, and Shereen Manoun.
Prize: USD 500
Second Prize
School: Sainte Therese Amioun,
Individual: Bernardo Chalouhy
Prize: USD 300
Third Prize
School: David Karam Educational Center
Individual: Fawaz Abdo
Prize: USD 200