Digital literacy summer program for students includes cybersecurity

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — AT&T (NYSE: T), Syracuse University, Tech4kidz and the Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School plan to host a free digital literacy and education summer program. 

The AT&T ‘Cuse Youth Digital Ambassador program seeks to address equity issues in technology education and careers, “while supporting local students impacted by the digital divide by providing critical skills to help prevent a summer slide in technology,” according to an AT&T news release. 

Students will learn about digital-literacy skills that include cybersecurity, robotics building, social-media uses, computer-coding basics, keyboarding skills, AI (artificial intelligence) and associated ethics issues, and finding factual news. The students will also learn how to use technology for good and community building by “creating solutions and discovering creative uses to address issues impacting youth of the region, such as digital citizenship,” AT&T said.

The program is also designed to encourage more underserved and diverse students to enter the field of technology, an industry that has “long faced a pervasive diversity gap,” while providing students with digital-literacy skills and hands-on experience with emerging technology and training them to be community digital ambassadors to help others be safe and more proficient online. 

The program will provide more than 45 underrepresented students from the Syracuse City School District, local nonprofit organizations, and city charter schools in grades 5-7 an opportunity to gain digital literacy and readiness skills through technology focused, “immersive experiences,” while encouraging them to explore tech focused educational and career paths, AT&T said. 

The free program has been made possible by financial support and programming collaboration from AT&T as part of the company’s three-year, $2 billion nationwide commitment to help “bridge the digital divide and homework gap.” To eliminate economic barriers, the program is free, with lunch, snacks, and transportation provided.

The AT&T ‘Cuse Youth Digital Ambassador program is set for later this month at the Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School, located at 1001 Park Ave. in Syracuse. The local organization Tech4kidz and professors from Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) will host the program that is scheduled between July 31 and Aug 4 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. each day. 

To sign up a child for the free program, parents need to register them via the registration site at: https://tech4kidz.net/event-calendar/att-cuse-youth-digital-ambassador-program —or call (315) 400-0488 — by July 14. 

Qualifying students will be accepted in order of registration. The program will notify all applicants regarding the acceptance shortly after they register and qualify.

The AT&T ‘Cuse Youth Digital Ambassador program will culminate Aug. 4 in a digital demo day where the students will present and showcase their final digital projects, which will feature student created technology in the digital world addressing digital-citizenship issues and how to be safe online.