The Virtualization Summer Camp that was held at the EpiCenter campus from June 17th through June 22nd was a success. The camp was made possible due to a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and was held in partnership with Florida State College of Jacksonville (FSCJ). The Summer Camp was one of three virtualization summer camps that were piloted in the summer of 2013. Twelve male students from Gibbs, Countryside, and Osceola High Schools participated in activities designed to impart computer networking and virtualization skills. Through this five-day course, students learned networking and virtualization concepts which included: CITRIX VDI-IN-A-BOX, a new generation of software that allows creating virtual desktops for users that can be accessed from any location, wireless networking and router configurations. Students were assisted by Instructors Michael Gordon, Dr. Holly Hoopes, and Vera Goodacre, all from St. Petersburg College (SPC). Also present were Technical Support Specialists Jamaal White and Michael Selva, both from SPC. High School faculty included Dan Smith from Countryside High School and Sheryll Norwood from Gibbs High School.
At the start of the week, students built a computer from scratch and installed Windows 7. Once the computers had an operating system, the students installed Oracle Virtual Box, which was their first opportunity to work with a virtualized environment. Students installed Ubuntu, the LINUX distribution currently used in networking courses, and Windows 98 in Virtual Box. On Tuesday, the students moved into the CISCO classroom, where they were taught about various networking components. The students learned how to capture and analyze data packets as they moved across the network. They also learned about routers and how they move data across the Internet. Using CITRIX VDI-IN-A-BOX, mentioned at the outset, students had to learn real-world troubleshooting. They learned to configure virtual machines, simulating a real-world corporate environment.
Throughout the week, guest speakers, which included instructors from the College of Computer & Information Technology department (CCIT), spoke to the class about various aspects of computing. On Monday, former SPC student Joseph Hall addressed the group. He currently works for ION Media and is CITRIX certified. He gave a presentation about Virtualization and its role in the tech world. Tuesday, CCIT instructor Jon Crawfurd came in. On Wednesday, there were two guest speakers: SPC CCIT Instructors Scott Kearney and Adrian Tillman. Kearney, who first addressed the group, spoke about virtualization and how it is used to maximize resources here at SPC. He emphasized the importance of becoming certified and the benefits of internships. Tillman focused on programming languages. He mentioned Java Virtual Machine (JVM) which “simulates underlying hardware, virtualizes it, writes code and can work on any machine.” In closing, he urged students to gain an understanding of as many programming languages as possible, that way, “you’re more valuable,” he said.
On Thursday, SPC CCIT instructor Shane Hamilton spoke about robotics and various career opportunities in the IT field. Students were surprised when they received a Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized computer that accomplishes many of the same things as a PC desktop computer. Students can use them to play computer games and to learn how to program. Hamilton helped them load an operating system and demonstrated some of the things that the students could do with their new “toy”. Friday, Dr. Sharon Setterlind, Dean of the CCIT department at SPC gave students an overview of how they can complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology Management for $10,000. She also mentioned curriculum changes that will come about in the fall 2013 semester.
At the end of the camp, students, and staff received certificates of completion.
