2022 Nextech Impact Report
2022 was a year of deepening partnerships including leading the first-ever Indiana CSPDWeek with the Computer Science Teachers Association, receiving a comprehensive Indiana Department of Education grant and expanding the Nextech Catapult program to a second location in southwest Indiana. We continued to drive computer science education through robust educator professional development and comprehensive student programs that build the next generation of tech talent for the state of Indiana.
Click on the pulsing dots for more info.
Navigate
960 high school students across 19 high schools from all over Indiana registered for Nextech Navigate. In its third year, this one-day computer science conference that is modeled after tech and educational conferences, showcased numerous tech careers, how to get ready for life after high school and deep dives into tech tools across various breakout sessions with 28 industry professionals. Open to all Hoosier high school students regardless of computer science class enrollment and type of school attended, Navigate is built to inspire 9-12 graders to pursue a post-secondary path in computer science and technology and to remind them that they are the innovators of the future. Learn more about Navigate.
CSforGood
In its fourth year, Nextech CSforGood challenged students to use their creativity, problem solving, teamwork skills to solve a problem in their school or community. In 2022, 38 teams with 144 total students from Kindergarden through 12th grade submitted unique and insightful solutions using computer science. Submissions included fully built websites, robots, prototypes and apps. The top 4 teams from each division were invited to the Indiana Statehouse to celebrate Computer Science Education Week and present their projects to a panel of industry judges. The top team from each division won $1,000 for classroom technology and $200 for each team member. Congrats to our 2022 winners: Cold Spring School, South Vermillion Middle School and Westfield High School. Learn more about CSforGood.Catapult
We doubled the number of students who participated in Catapult during 2022 as the program expanded to its second site in Evansville! With 47 Catapult interns over the summer, The Catapult program is our immersive experience that helps Indiana rising high school Juniors and Seniors aspiring for a career in technology develop technical and workplace skills, authentic peer relationships, a passion for community service and deep roots for a lifelong personal and professional connection to Indianapolis. Along with the immersive summer internship, we hosted various workshops throughout the school year with our partners as continuous learning and networking. We are looking forward to adding our third location in the Bloomington / Uplands region in the summer of 2023. Learn more about Catapult.Professional Development
Nextech is the leading organization at the forefront of Indiana’s efforts to equip Indiana K-12 teachers to effectively teach high-quality, rigorous computer science in classrooms statewide. In 2022, 383 Hoosier educators participated in our professional development. We continued to offer virtual professional development, which has proven to provide teachers with robust education without depleting their personal resources along with in-person opportunities in various locations across the state. Since the inception of Nextech in 2015, over 58,600+ PD hours have been completed by 2,900 Hoosier educators. Learn more about our offerings.
Teacher Tech Connect
Upon the success of Nextech Navigate, we created an exclusive virtual educator opportunity for 6-12 grade teachers regardless of where they reside in the state. 55 teachers joined Teacher Tech Connect to learn about the tech community in our home state, gather first-hand knowledge of the techniques, skills and cultures of innovative workplaces, explore and find ways to add real-world experience into computer science classrooms and gain a more complete understanding of the careers and necessary skills needed in the current work environment. Teachers chose from 10 breakout workshops led by 13 industry professionals that dove into various topics from Jobs in Tech to CS History "Bits" to Fast Food & Cybersecurity.
