We ran a pilot program during the Fall 2020 semester to assess the feasibility of our plans, and to identify the pedagogical and technological challenges of the Digital Age Academy (DAA).
The pilot program was offered by a team of professionals from industry and academia (see Our Team), to a group of students recruited from two high schools in the South Bronx in New York City: University Prep Charter High School and University Heights High School. During the three months of the pilot program, we offered four mini-courses and four mini-projects, the details of which are shown in the next section below. Students who successfully completed all of the mini-courses and one of the mini-projects received a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Our program was designed to instill soft and tech skills in high school students' minds such that they can transfer their skills into efficient solutions for real modern world problems. Acquiring these skills enable them to secure jobs in the digital world. Our mentorship simulates the real world experience and the modern work environment. Courses were taught in an online hybrid synchronous/asynchronous format and projects were mentored in real-time.
