By making technology applications fun, our programs exposed students to new career possibilities and improved their technical literacy and critical thinking abilities. In addition to lessons, participants toured the University of Arizona and learned about preparing themselves for college.

Exmaples of past activities included:

Summer Programs:

Summer camps taught children in the community IT and career skills. Undergraduate business students helped to design the curriculum and staff the camps which were held in the Hoffman E-commerce labs.

Career Days:

The full day, on campus event, was held twice per semester and focused on IT careers in both traditional and non-traditional industries. Each child was given their own Catcard loaded with $5 for lunch in the student union. Example visits included Agriculture/Meat Farm, Optics and Journalism.

Hello Future! Field Trips:

Every Friday, the Hoffman E-commerce Lab hosted on-campus field trips. Teachers from various elementary schools brought their class for four hours of IT related activities including digital art, digital photography. Customized field trips were also available.

After School Clubs:

Because of the success of our summer programs, the Tucson Unified School District requested a pilot after school program at 5 elementary schools. The schools were chosen because of their diversity in both population of students and availability of technology. Participants met weekly in this free club where they earned digital awards for completing curriculum requirements. The curriculum is designed by the MIS department staff as an introduction to IT related skills.

Topics included:

• Peripheral and internal hardware
• Software
• Networks
• Podcasting
• Blogs
• Web Design
• Digital Photography and Editing
• Organizational tools
• Typing skills