The future is written in code. More than 75 percent of all jobs will require some expertise in STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—within the next decade.
The problem? Only 10 percent of teachers feel confident in teaching high-level technology skills.
Educators need STEM curriculum that is proven to work for the young students who will be the professionals of tomorrow.
“That choice just got a lot easier, as we can see from a series of independent research reports on the effectiveness of Digital Media Academy Tech Camps from Stanford University and the University of Texas,” says Digital Media Academy CEO Andre Nudelman who splits his time between Silicon Valley and his Vancouver office.
Launched by STEM educators on the campus of Stanford University in 2002, Digital Media Academy (DMA) offers students tech camps and other programs at 11 universities, to gain skills as designers, developers, programmers, engineers, animators, musicians, filmmakers, and creators.
Locally DMA has developed an incredible community of learners and instructors at their University of British Columbia summer camp location (pictured).
The Stanford University study that Nudelman cites showed students in the 2019 summer Tech Camp achieved a higher perception of STEM subjects and would be more likely to pursue similar opportunities in the future. In one course on learning to code AI in Python, the number of students who said “I can contribute to the world by using digital technologies” jumped from 46.2% pre-survey to 76.9% post survey.
Students also doubled or in some cases, more than tripled their self-reported intermediate or advanced expertise in technical subjects thanks to DMA courses, according to an independent EPIC STEM Evaluation Services research report from the University of Texas.
The University of Texas’ report also showed that 95 percent of Tech Camp students surveyed were satisfied with experience overall. Many of these students will progress through more advanced education programs, giving them the best chance of obtaining high-quality STEM roles as adults.