We want to engage kids from ages 8–14 who are looking to build really neat things.
We want what’s best for our children. This isn’t groundbreaking news but the fact remains that when it comes to future generations, we will do everything in our power to help them succeed — teach them, educate them, and provide them with the necessary tools to learn. As technology rises to previously unforeseen heights, it’s vital that the ways we educate our children progresses along with it.
That’s what makes today’s launch of Tech Trep Academy so exciting, an online learning community that offers various new-age courses designed to teach children the intricacies of the tech and entrepreneur world. Our kids are eager to learn about the future, and Tech Trep Academy is ready to teach them.
“The opportunity is so big to recognize and highlight kids that are doing extraordinary things,” Co-Founder Derek Miner told Beehive Startups in a recent interview. “There are so many amazing stories….For myself, as a father, I see this incredible enthusiasm for learning that kids have when there are things that interest them. That’s what we want to help elevate, to give hope so they can say, ‘Man, if another kid can do that, my idea might not be so silly.’”
We know that kids love learning about things that interest them. For youngsters interested in the fields of tech and entrepreneurship, the offerings haven’t always been top-notch — a lot of self-learning, with minimal concentration on either subject in traditional school. Tech Trep Academy is looking to change this, offering 11 different courses (with more on the way) focused solely on tech and entrepreneurship, including sound mixing, digital art, coding, 3D printing, and animation.
“It’s not like some of the other courses that are out there, where you just sit and consume,” Miner said. “It’s very project-based, once you complete a specific level you can go back and tweak or refine it. So it’s personalized at their own pace, but also built around being highly interactive. We hope the experience is just that — not just consumption, sitting back, but actively engaged in building really cool things because that’s what kids love to do.”
All of Tech Trep’s course offerings are available through their website, where they can be accessed and experienced over the span of a year. If you don’t have the funds to pay, I have good news for you — Tech Trep has partnered with Steve Young’s Forever Young Foundation, allowing children to apply for scholarships that subsidize the cost of each course.
“The really cool thing about their entire mission is it’s around the strengthening, the education, and the development of kids,” Miner said. “That aligns perfectly with what we’re building and what we’re all about. We want to engage kids from ages 8–14 who are looking to build really neat things.”
So there you have it. If your kid is interested in Minecraft modding, or loves the ins and outs of computer programming, or just has a general appetite for consuming things relating to the wide world of tech and entrepreneurship, you now have options. Tech Trep Academy is live, running, and ready to give children a place to embrace the technology of the future.
“At the end of the day, when you’re able to build something from nothing and do it with your own hands, that really is rewarding and fulfilling,” Miner said.
Published 11/5/2015
