Programs
We partner with high schools and community and technical colleges to offer Career Prep and Career Launch programs with multiple specialized tracks available that reflect the variety of potential careers in tech. out of school
Career Prep Pre-Apprenticeship
Our Career Prep Pre-Apprenticeship program developed in partnership with Apprenti and Year Up to offer a grounding in programming and web development. Students graduate with valuable digital skills, portfolios of work that demonstrate their mastery, and have opportunities to take a variety of paths out of the program.
Career Launch
Career Launch programs offer a rigorous combination of classroom learning and work-based training with an employer. These programs build on our pre-apprenticeships (or equivalent tech training), and offer learning pathways such as full-stack development, IT support, cybersecurity, and data analysis.
Upcoming Sessions
Interested in our programs? Check out our upcoming sessions!
Support Services
Through our Support Services, we have the potential to make a real and positive change in the community. This is one of our key areas of focus here at Computing For All, and a source of much success for our Non-Profit Organization. Get in touch with us today and see how you can lend a helping hand with this program.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Most of our efforts pertaining to this program involve studying new approaches and developing innovative ways to implement them. We evaluate our success in this field by gathering qualitative and quantitative data, and using that information to measure shifts and changes from our baseline measurements.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
We see every challenge as an opportunity, and this initiative helps us ensure that our partners are better prepared to manage the unique situations they find themselves in. We are invested in an innovative approach that empowers our community and delivers the support they need, when they need it.
PROJECT-BASED MENTORING
Computing For All takes project-centered education to the next level by connecting classrooms with employers.
Projects embedded in our curricula incorporate the skills and competencies students are learning in a given quarter. The frameworks for these projects are often designed or refined with input from current employer mentors. Collaboration on this material simulates real work environments and promotes meaningful relationships between students and IT professionals.
First, students split into teams. Within each team, the students and mentor(s) use the quarter’s framework to plan their project and set up a project board with agile scrum methodology. Students then take on roles within the team that reflect the roles employees would take on a team project in a real work environment. The mentor advises and supervises throughout the project as students design the UX and UI in prototyping software, code their ideas, and test and de-bug their code. Students use version control tools and analytics just as they would if they were working for a software company. Finally, students present their projects to employers, educators, and peers in the style of a stakeholder meeting. In this way, project-based mentoring gives students a concrete, detailed picture of what it’s like to work in a tech company. It also allows students to immediately apply the skills they’re learning to real projects, which deepens their understanding of the material while nurturing ties between students and employers.
MENTOR ROLES
MEANINGFUL PROJECTS
Employer mentors provide authenticity to a project. A mentor can contribute ideas to a project, or be a sounding board to help students understand whether their ideas are workable in the planning phase. Mentors provide real world work anecdotes, feedback, and support in early stages of work.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
A mentor can help students develop a realistic timeline and develop the necessary tasks for their Scrum board. Mentors assist with monitoring project work flow and progress. As mentors working with a student or students throughout a project, they can also help identify strong points and areas that need improvement in the student’s project management.
MOTIVATION
Students push themselves to higher levels of achievement when they know there is someone who cares about their success paying attention to their work. Further, when specific project challenges arise, a mentor can provide motivation and support, helping students with practical suggestions and empathy.
PRESENTATION PREPARATION
A mentor can help students draw together key points of their project to present their work in a clear, logical way.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
Mentors are able to provide invaluable feedback during the project review cycle, and can point out strengths to build on, as well as areas that need improvement. They can share feedback about long-term growth and changes they see in students’ progress over the life of a project. A mentor can contextualize their advice with a lifetime of work experiences, which helps students accept and incorporate constructive criticism.
SUPPORT AND FACILITATION
Mentors provide networking experience, share knowledge of the IT employment sphere, and offer extracurricular assistance at their discretion. Mentors can also validate student efforts at milestones of accomplishment, and can reflect student progress back to them in meaningful ways.
THE BENEFITS OF PROJECT WORK
Our programs empower students to apply their learning immediately to real-world, employer-mentored projects.
Self-Directed
Students are able to plan, do, and review a project independently or as part of a peer team. They learn to make sound judgments without the direction of a teacher or mentor.
Skill-Building
In addition to the academic instruction we provide, students develop learning techniques and skills that build their confidence and will help them in the workplace.
Collaboration
Working with peers and mentors on a project emphasizes team building and communication skills.
Inquiry
Students formulate their own “authentic inquiries” as they begin a project and learn to problem-solve. Students learn to ask questions, examine facts, and synthesize the information. Projects often include developing a series of questions that fuel an investigation into a problem to discover viable solutions.
Problem-solving
Students tackle hypothetical or real problems as they would be solved in a real-world company. They learn a work-based approach to planning and completing an employer-assigned project, and develop higher order critical thinking skills and computational thinking.
Learning Style Accomodation
Learning styles impact how a person comprehends, expresses, and remembers information to gain knowledge or develop skills. Projects allow students to choose and utilize learning styles that are the most effective for them to accomplish their goals.