The Staunton Creative Community Fund is  launching their very first 2-day Startup Experience youth entrepreneurship workshop series on October 4th and 5th at Blue Ridge Community College's Plecker Center.

 

The Startup Experience is an intensive hands-on workshop for future entrepreneurs and social innovators. During the program over 200 students, grades 10-11, from five Shenandoah Valley school systems will immerse themselves in the magical startup world and learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. 

 

They will learn about Startup team formation, problem definition, user analysis, idea creation, business model innovation, customer development, prototyping, web development, fundraising and professional pitching, and get hands-on experience with the tools they need to create a successful startup company! 

 

Through entrepreneurship education, these young innovators will learn organizational skills, including time management, leadership development, and interpersonal skills, all of which are highly transferable skills sought by employers.

 

Recent national studies report other positive outcomes of youth entrepreneurship programs including:

• improved academic performance, school attendance, and educational attainment
• increased problem-solving and decision-making abilities
• improved interpersonal relationships, teamwork, money management, and public speaking skills
• job readiness
• enhanced social psychological development (self-esteem, ego development, self-efficacy), and
• perceived improved health status

Additionally, ongoing research commissioned by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of youth entrepreneurship programs found that when youth participated in entrepreneurship programs:

• interest in attending college increased 32%
• occupational aspirations increased 44%
• independent reading increased 4%
• leadership behavior increased 8.5%
• belief that attaining one's goals is within one's control (locus of control) increased

Sponsorship opportunities for the program and many opportunities are available. For more information on the sponsorship opportunities available , please contact Kathy Deacon at  Kathy@stauntonfund.org, or Debbie Irwin at Debbie@stauntonfund.org .

Takes place on August 8th from 6 - 8 pm.  Learn the basics of Tinkercad, a 3D modeling program that allows you to transfer online designs into physical objects using the 3D printer. You must be 8 years of age or older to take this workshop. 

This event will be occurring again on August 17 from 10 AM - Noon.

Join us for Code & Coffee Study Group! Whether you're looking to keep practicing what you learned in your last class or are in the midst of a project, your community is here to help!

This will be an informal event where members can meet each other and collaborate. TAs will be there to help troubleshoot and brainstorm ideas with you!

Have a project idea and some skills, but haven't attended a GDI event yet? Want to focus on helping others with their projects? You're welcome too!

This is also a great event for first time attendees who just want to socialize and learn more about GDI. 

As a group, everyone will hold each other accountable for completing our projects, and provide on-going support and feedback.

Bring a laptop and something to work on. It's okay if you don't have a project! Feel free to come by for the whole thing or drop in when you have time.

Registration is now open. Please note that membership is NOT required to register. When registering as a non-member, under "Not a member" select "Click here to continue your event registration."

Register at:  http://tinyurl.com/VBSummit18

Graphics make or break your credibility when potential customers are browsing online. Come learn about the amazing online tool of Canva! Canva helps you create great looking graphics without breaking your budget.

Register for August 14, 2018 SCCF Workshop

Use graphic software to create your own 2D designs and then learn the basics of uploading to the laser cutter or vinyl cutter. Laser cutters are capable of three main operations - Vector Cutting, Vector Engraving and Raster Engraving.  You must be 8 years of age or older to take this workshop. Free with your paid admission or membership.

If you don't know what Google Analytics is, haven't installed it on your website, or have installed it but never look at your data, this workshop is for you! This workshop will look at Google Analytics from the absolute beginner's point of view. Why you need it, how to get it, how to use it, and workarounds to common problems.

Register for August 28, 2018 SCCF Workshop

Formed in 2013, TECHSTERS is an after-school program for middle school aged girls dedicated to inspiring young women to pursue their interests in STEM fields. Since the program's first day event with robotic balls called Spheros, TECHSTERS has served over 1,100 students in the greater Richmond region. In 2017, Capital One used the TECHSTERS model to host ten regional coding programs for middle school girls all across the Commonwealth. The outcome was spectacular as they reached over 900 students in two days.

This year, using the best practices and lessons learned from Capital One in conjunction with the long-standing TECHSTERS  program, the many technology and innovation business councils of the Commonwealth will work together to host a statewide "Capture the Flag" event on Saturday, September 8 that will expose the girls to the cybersecurity industry in a fun and interactive game style.

Be on the lookout for more information soon!

The Shenandoah Valley Technology Council is excited to announce that Michele Strano from Bridgewater College will be joining us for our September luncheon. Her talk will focus on the key characteristics of digital media that have revolutionized the way marketers and consumers interact. While the idea of targeting an audience can be traced back to early newspaper advertising, Web 2.0 enables marketers to gather data about consumer preferences easily and often invisibly. In addition to describing some of the key processes involved in online marketing, Michele will touch on some of the potential concerns we might have in a system that trades privacy for individualized content and convenience.

 

Michele Strano is an Associate Professor in the Communication, Technology and Culture major at Bridgewater College. Her research and teaching interests focus on the creation of online identity, the cultural impact of the digital age and the collection of data in the interest of effective message design. Strano is the director of Bridgewater's Master of Arts in Digital Media Strategy, scheduled for launch in January 2019, pending accreditation approval.

Register for September 13, 2018 SVTC Luncheon