Geek Squad helps Round Lake area kids catch up on technology

Students who ordinarily don't have easy access to technology received lessons about online safety, computer coding and more in a special two-day program at Round Lake Middle School.

Best Buy's Geek Squad Academy ran the hands-on technology program for about 150 students from Round Lake Area Unit District 116 that concluded Thursday. District 116 was among the school systems selected by Geek Squad from a nationwide pool of grant applicants.

With 68 percent of about 7,350 students classified as low-income on the most recent Illinois State Board of Education report card, District 116's student demographics fit what Geek Squad Academy is trying to accomplish with its technology training.

"Our goal is to bring 21st-century technology to kids that are underprivileged and underserved," Geek Squad Academy field lieutenant Andrea Riehl said during a break Thursday at the middle school in Round Lake Heights. "So, we are trying to bridge the digital divide between what kids have experienced in the past and what they can do."

Classes included computer coding and internet know-how featuring online safety, 3-D printing and video production. The 150 or so students in fourth through ninth grades were divided into groups and rotated among the one-hour courses.

Outside the energized digital music classroom where students worked with iPads, Devyn Tellez, a fourth-grader at Indian Hill Elementary School in Round Lake Heights, said he wasn't much into technology before the two-day program. But he said he enjoyed all the courses and plans to hone his newfound technology skills.

"I learned that this place (with technology) is fun and it's pretty cool," said Devyn, wearing a T-shirt he received as part of his Geek Squad Academy swag bag. "It's like a great opportunity to be here."

As part of the program, District 116 officials pointed to statistics compiled by the nonprofit code.org computer science organization on the importance of technology for students' futures. The group projects 71 percent of new jobs will be in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

District 116 director of technology Dejan "Dan" Kozic said the two-day program provided hands-on experiences the students may not have received otherwise. He said the district's strategic plan calls for having more technology readily accessible to students.

"We feel as kids go through our school district, we are positioning them for those jobs of the future by infusing technology in what we do," Kozic said.