For years, the educational system has been pushing to keep up with technology, said Ted Baker, CEO of Innovation Connector, a local business incubator, with kids getting tablets or chromebooks to use during class.
But now, Innovation Connector is having TechWise Academy teach regular coding classes to K-12 students through “Coding Connector,” — the partnership between the two organizations.
The two organizations began hosting a new lineup of STEM classes through the Coding Connector in August, according to the organization's press release. It states these classes “help students learn computational thinking and computer science through coding and robotics.”
Started in 2017, Ryan Hunter, founder of Apax Software, and Brandon Coppernoll, digital marketing strategist at Ball State, began TechWise with the help of Innovation Connector.
“My kids were interested in what I do because I’m a software engineer,” Hunter said. “I knew there was a lot of tools for kids to learn coding, and I asked around to see if there was anybody in Muncie who taught classes, but no one really did.”
Baker said the main focus of Innovation Connector, which has been around for 15 years, is to help small businesses find connections within the community that can get them off their feet.
“We allow young entrepreneurs to come in, help them process and set up everything they need so they can flourish on the outside,” he said.
While Innovation Connector deals with all the businesses, Baker said, TechWise focuses on hosting the classes with the goal of getting kids excited about learning ways to be creative with their tablets and cell phones.
Using Minecraft, Legos and other world-building tools along with programs like Python, Hunter said, kids can understand how engineering works, the basics of coding and how to build on their problem-solving skills.
“The kids are having a blast with the classes,” Hunter said. “We know they learn more when they are having fun and enjoying what they’re doing, so we make sure every class the kids are having a great time.”
While most classes are for beginners and are based on the kids’ knowledge about coding, Baker said, over the last two years, the Innovation Connector and TechWise have seen a higher demand for more challenging tasks.
“The school system here in Indiana is doing a great job in teaching kids about coding, and so, with what we do, we see ourselves as more of a club activity,” he said. “We do more and want to complement what the schools are doing.”
The classes are held Thursday evenings with certain labs being held Friday at the Innovation Connector.
Contact Hazel Uppencamp with comments at hmuppencamp@bsu.edu.
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