Thanks to the generous partnership with THE PLAYERS , The PGA Tour , and Guidewell / Florida Blue , these 500 computers have been distributed. Highlights of the related partnerships and programs are described below: Camps and Events To earn a computer, students participate in a
STEM course, STEM camp, or STEM event. The STEM2 Hub worked with partners to bring STEM into existing one-day camp events that were going to take place. Examples include Jax PAL Football/STEM Camp, an overnight Girls Empowerment event, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Florida’s Friday Night Lights program. Together just these two programs reached over 700 students. To date, we are approaching the distribution of almost 1,000 computers! In these camps and events, students rotate
through multiple sessions, gaining exposure to STEM experiences, including flying a drone, learning about the medicine of sports and safety through a Concussion Simulator (in the football camps), programming a robot, coding with Minecraft or Code.org curriculum, and learning about careers through the Learning Blade curriculum. Members of the business community participant, speaking with students about their career and answering questions. Students who engage in these STEM learning experiences, often express interest in learning more, or in joining a STEM club through the organization or at their school. Students in these camps, which serve those students traditionally underrepresented in the tech fields or students in low socioeconomic areas, are frequently selected to receive a computer through our Closing the Digital Divide initiative. Computer Familiarization Workshops Many of these camps served as the prerequisite experience to earn a computer through the Closing the Digital Divide program. When students earn a computer through the Closing the Digital Divide project, they are provide with a training class that teaches them how to use their computer, connect to the internet, access school resources, and try educational tools that will help them learn to code, explore careers, and access other academic content. What is even more important is that they are connected to a youth serving organization, a school, club, or mentorship program that helps to assure the
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