National Computer Science School
Encyclopedia
The National Computer Science School (NCSS) is an annual computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
summer school
Summer school
Summer school is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, that teaches students during the summer vacation....
, organised by the School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, which has taken place annually since 1999 over a seven to nine day period in the January school holidays. Attending students participate in an intensive course in computer programming with Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
, culminating in the development of a website and its backend software for presentation to a nominated charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
. The summer school also incorporates a number of social activities, competitions and outings.
Eligibility
Each year NCSS is open to all students in Australia entering Year 12 in the year running, but also considers applications from particularly gifted students entering Year 11. The NCSS program assumes no previous programming or web design experience, and is designed to suit a wide range of abilities and experience. Some students who have participated in the program are invited back the following year.Activities
In previous years, groups have developed many applications including search engineSearch engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
s, wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
s, forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s, social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
s and Content Management System
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
s.
Students also have the opportunity to participate in networked games, sport and career talk sessions.
As of 2008, the embedded systems course has been running at the school at the same time. This stream, instead of programming a website type system in python, will instead program a robot/microproccessor in the Arduino (similar to C) Language.
The two streams in the school are referred to as the 'embedded' stream and the 'python' stream.
Charities
The main NCSS development projects require (re)designing the web site and building a search engine for a charity organisation, in the past:- 2009: Youth Insearch
- 2008: Youth off the Streets
- 2007: Hands of Help
- 2006: Conservation Volunteers Australia
- 2005: Stewart House
However in 2010, the tutors needed a new challenge and the project for 2010 was to develop a social networking application very similar to Facebook.
Social Activities
To make things more interesting and engaging for the students attending the school, a number of interesting games and activities are carried out. These may include:- Trivia Night
- Treasure Hunt
- Cryptography Challenge
- Programming Challenge
- Afternoon Outing
There are other, more interesting activities, which are disclosed only to attendees.