Computing For All’s, Digital Skills for All Initiative
This introductory class introduces underserved, opportunity youth to beginning tech skills and educational pathways to tech careers. Our approach is modeled on interactive, basic instruction that integrates coding, computational literacy, and digital media skills with 21st century job skills, team-based project work, and career connected learning. Our goal is to help fill the current IT skills gap between the large numbers of available tech jobs and the growing deficit of trained workers available to fill them, with youth who might not otherwise be aware of the opportunities available to them in technology.
CONTENT OF THE PROGRAM
BYIT exposes youth to information technology, computer science and math, and inspires them to engage in further exploration of tech career pathways. We teach a series of short workshops introducing students to computer science concepts and tech careers. Our experiential, hands-on approach empowers students to engage with computer science as a medium for creativity, communication, problem solving and fun. BYIT currently takes place in partnership with other Youth Serving Organizations, and will be offered at partner high schools beginning in 2020. This beginning course helps students to identify the areas of information technology that they feel the most affinity with to pursue in the next phase of our program, the Digital Skills Academy.
Short, introductory workshops include topics such as Introduction to IT, Basic Programming, Web Development, Game Development and Animation, Digital Marketing and Social Media, Computer Network Fundamentals, Mobile Applications, an overview of tech careers, Future of IT, and more.
CAREER AWARENESS
Our approach is modeled on basic instruction that integrates coding, computational literacy, and digital media skills with 21st century job skills, team-based project work, and career connected learning via speakers from the local tech community and on-going career preparation via curriculum aimed at the demands of the current tech job market.
CAREER EXPLORATION
These sampler workshops include opportunities for students to experience basic coding exercises and participate in team projects that enable them to practically apply what they are learning.
This combination of education and hands-on experience helps them begin to develop a sense of the kinds of jobs they might have an affinity for. Visiting local tech companies for tours exposes youth to what tech career paths look like in action and prepares them to select tracks to focus on when they move into the Digital Youth Academy the following quarter where they will deepen their learning and experience.