Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — AT&T and Syracuse University’s iSchool have teamed up with other organizations to create a summer program for children. This program is designed to offer children in grades fourth through sixth, free digital literacy and education. This will be the first of its kind in Central New York.
This program will be held at Frazer PreK-8 school and it teaches students technology skills such as coding, typing, cyber-bullying, artificial intelligence and more. One skill in particular that sparked the interest of the Vice Principal of Frazer School, was that the children will be learning about fake news.
“So having them understand that they can do their own work, they can do their own research instead of just always listening to what’s on TV —empowering them — and looking at specific sources to figure out what’s out there,” said Stan Whalen, Vice Principal at Frazer PreK-8 school.
This program is designed to educate marginalized and diverse students who may not have the access to technology that other students have. When first told about the program, the students first thought it was for them to learn more about social media. Once they realized it was about other technology skills like coding and typing, they got excited.
Whalen jumped at the opportunity for his students to have this program because he knows how important technology is. He wants his students to have more knowledge on technology and learn how to be safe while using it.
“A lot of the times kids have technology but they don’t necessarily know how to use it in the most appropriate ways,” said Whalen.
