Welcome to SPIRIT!

The SPIRIT project celebrates the immense impact that information technology has on our world and seeks to rekindle enthusiasm for the field as a career choice among high school students, especially young women.

Launched in summer 2008, SPIRIT programs involved professional development opportunities for high school teachers and counselors and a summer camp program for high school students who have been endorsed by their high school teachers.

SPIRIT is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and is administered and taught by Purdue's College of Technology faculty in collaboration with faculty from the College of Science and experienced consultants.

SPIRIT also sponsored the 2010 SPIRIT Essay Contest to encourage 6-12th grade students to share how they learned about SPIRIT and describe how they have used Alice for school, work, and/or fun. The winner and two honorable mentions from this contest are being recognized on the essay contest winners page.

Spirit is fun for students, teachers and counselors
Photo courtesy of Journal & Courier

The SPIRIT team developed an Alice workbook for participants in the 2010 program. This workbook shows you how to employ various features within Alice to convey visual information in an angaging manner to your audience. The SPIRIT Alice Programming Workbook is now available for purchase online.

SPIRIT in the news: