Google

Engaging the next generation of Club youth and teens in workforce development through Applied Digital Skills.

In 2019, Google partnered with BGCA to launch a pilot program called Applied Digital Skills in six Clubs around the country.  Applied Digital Skills consists of “ready-to-use video lessons that teach digital skills and have immediate, real-life application”.  Geared towards teens and tweens who are working age or soon approaching working age, this Applied Digital Skills (ADS) pilot will give Club members the opportunity to gain valuable workforce development skills through an interactive, online program that allows them to tailor sessions to their own needs/interests and to go at their own pace.  Club Staff will also benefit, as they will be eligible to participate in a 60-90 minute training by Google staff that introduces them to ADS and teaches them how to use the system to monitor, assign, and track the sessions in which their Club members participate.

From 2014-2018, Google partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to sponsor the Code Corps initiative, created to support the development of computer science programs in local Clubs. The goal is to inspire and train the next generation of computer scientists, specifically minorities and females, by engaging Club youth and teens through CS First, Google’s online computer science curriculum. The classes are developed around themes of interest to youth and incorporate video instruction and Scratch programming to enhance skills in coding. Since its inception, the curriculum has reached more than 850,000 students worldwide.  The Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) is an essential part of this partnership, providing full time VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) to lead the initiative in communities, impacting over 40 local Clubs. VISTAs recruit and manage CS First volunteers, train local staff in computer science instruction, and develop partnerships to build sustainability for each organization.

Young people are more connected now than ever before. But are they ready for the digital economy?

Google has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to pilot the Grow with Google program at six Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Recently, The Atlantic visited the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County in Madison, Wisconsin to see the Grow with Google program in action.

View the full story here: https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/grow-google-2019/smartphone-generation-computer-help/3127/?utm_source=BGCA_O_3127