The programming concepts workshop focused on creating an SIR (Sick Infected Recovered) model using Java, a programming language used to write many applets on websites. The students were editing the Java code using a text-editing program called TextWrangler. They first changed the code to cause the start button to start the applet. After they made and saved their changes they compiled and launched the code. They also made a drop down box that would change if people would appear on the other side of the area when they walked over to the edge of the model or if they would stop and turn around. They then changed the code so that the slider bars for the infection rate, recovery rate, and initial population would change the corresponding values in the applet.
Afterwards, they opened the java file, and edited it to change the appearances of the people in the model. They first changed the color of sick, infected, and recovered people. They then changed the number of columns and rows the simulation would run in so that there would be less tiles for the people to move in, but each tile would be larger. They made faces for the sick, infected, and recovered people. They made it so that each type of person had a different face that represented them. Near the end of the workshop, students had time to try out different things on their own. Some people did things like change the eyes and mouths on some of the people. Some people even added people wearing hats.