Tech Kids Unlimited Hackathon Encourages Young People of all Abilities to be Good Digital Citizens
“Stand Up for the Internet” Event at NYU Tandon Will Help Attendees Advocate for Net Neutrality and Privacy
The Tech Kids Unlimited hackathon in 2017 brought together digital experts, teens with disabilities, and entertainers to explore solutions to online misinformation. For 2018, the event will try to hack a solution to issues surrounding net neutrality.
BROOKLYN, New York – Teens are among the most avid users of the Internet, but many never learn what it means to be an upstanding digital citizen: respectful of their own and other people’s privacy, careful to manage their digital footprints, aware of copyright and intellectual property issues, and willing to advocate to keep the Net an open and democratizing space.
To address those issues, Tech Kids Unlimited (TKU), a tech-based organization for children and teens with special needs, will host “Stand Up for the Internet,” a hackathon at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering on Sunday, March 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
With net neutrality — regulations that require all users connect to any Web site at the same speed — still very much under debate, the Tech Kids Unlimited event aims to guide teens in “hacking” the problem. The “Stand Up for the Internet” hackathon is for young people ages 14 to 21 with learning and emotional disabilities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Dyslexia.
The event will take place on the eighth floor of 2 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, where experienced facilitators and special guests will outline the issues and challenge students to think critically about the topic. No prior tech knowledge is required, and the 20 dollar fee will include all instruction, materials, and lunch, which will include entertainment by a comedian.
Founded by NYU Tandon Adjunct Digital Media Professor Beth Rosenberg and her son, Jack, Tech Kids Unlimited and its partner organization, the T3 Digital Agency, give children and teens with learning and emotional disabilities valuable tech skills through creative and constructive programs like the hackathon. The non-profit organization is affiliated with the Ability Project, founded by the NYU Tandon Integrated Digital Media Program, NYU Steinhardt Occupational Therapy Program, and NYU Tisch Interactive Telecommunications Program. The hackathon is sponsored by the FAR Fund, Giphy, and Yext.
Visit Tech Kids Unlimited for more information and to register.
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About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country’s largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.