Opening Doorways to High-Tech Skills
Tech EdVentures was created in Silicon Valley by Dr. Allen Selis, a visionary educator with nearly three decades of experience in his field. As the headmaster of a private school near Palo Alto, Allen saw a significant disparity of access to high tech skills. Some kids were assured a secure future in high paying fields while others never had a shot at this winning skill set. This had to change.
How could schools change to help kids prepare for high-tech careers starting in Kindergarten? Within a few weeks of asking the question, Allen started Tech Edventures. He knocked on doors across Silicon Valley, speaking with professional software developers, Singapore Math trainers, Montessori educators and researchers from Stanford University. Six months later, Allen quit his job and launched Tech Edventures’ full-time operations from a base in Dallas, TX. Within a few years, Tech Edventures earned a winning reputation as a smart, ambitious company that was fearless about building bridges. Tech Edventures staff taught in Dallas’ most exclusive schools as well as some of the city’s poorest zip codes with equal success in both.
After five long years of work, Tech Edventures’ curriculum and teacher training programs are available to schools across the country. Here is what has made that program such a success.
We Stand Back and Guide from the Side
Getting teachers out of the middle helps kids learn.
Kids learn best by getting hands-on experience with content that invites exploration as the first step to deeper conceptual understanding. Based on our work within Montessori schools as well as our collaboration with Singapore mathematics experts, we train faculty to set a stage filled with accessible tools and then stand back. In Tech Edventures classrooms, the move from content to concept is rich, authentic and lays a foundation for the development of sophisticated problem-solving skills.
We Make Learning a Hands-on Challenge
Authentic projects teach durable skills.
Project based learning drives the Tech Edventures curriculum. Students advance in their learning by completing projects that are challenging, relevant, and exciting. As students code their robots to navigate around obstacles or build modules for an interactive restaurant menu they develop a deep sense of engagement in their work. The project-based learning design offers student a high level of ownership in their work that is based on the intrinsic rewards of solving real problems.
We’re High Touch
Because mentorship is essential for young engineers.
Young learners need the freedom to make mistakes as they fine tune new coding and engineering skills. Strong mentorship and in-person support are essential at this point. That’s why Tech Edventures provides a fully supported classroom learning experience, not just an app that kids access alone. Teachers and peers play a critical role throughout a curriculum that includes kinesthetic activities, personal interaction, and a healthy dose of fun. Because you can’t teach high-tech until you embrace high-touch.
We’re Industry-Focused.
A progression towards high-value skills.
The Tech Edventures curriculum directly prepares children to compete for real world employment opportunities that can change their lives. Coding in Python, one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, starts in 3rd grade followed soon after by C++, the language that powers micro-chips and small devices around the world. In Middle School students can even choose specialty skills like video editing and digital animation. These tools pave the way towards well-paying careers and a future of success in the workplace.
