Dallas City of Learning Teams With Best Buy Geek Squad Academy

By Sean Walker

We live in an age of progress. New jobs are created rapidly in response to changes in technology. Unfortunately, making sure the next generation is prepared to adequately fill those positions is not an automatic result of progress. 40% of U.S. employers have jobs they cannot fill due to a shortage of skilled applicants. According to the United States Chief Technology Officer and former Google executive Megan Smith, “There is going to be 1.4 million tech and I.T. jobs coming the next decade and only 400,000 trained people to fill them.”

Jobs are created faster than we can keep up. To reverse that trend, more effort must be given towards exposing children to what technology has to offer. Phones, tablets and computers don’t just connect people by social media, they become portals to opportunity.

Geek Squad Academy is a national program of Best Buy produced with a goal of training middle and high school students in technology. Since 2007, Geek Squad Academy has grown to include cities all over the nation. The program was brought to Dallas this year and was free for attendees thanks to a partnership with Big Thought and Dallas City of Learning (DCOL) program. Participants engaged in a variety of tech topics and were coached by professional Geek Squad “agents.”

Geek Squad Academy challenges teens to get hands-on with tech, including Lego® robotics, 3D printing, digital music, digital citizenship, circuitry and film and script. Andrea Wood, Senior Manager of Community Relations for Best Buy explained that course line-up changes to keep the most current technology at kids’ fingertips. For example 3D printing was introduced this year and has been a huge hit. Many kids like 13-year-old Karen declared it “definitely my favorite so far” and was already looking forward to the second day of the camp.

Wood noted how involved students were. Geek Squad Academy visits more than 30 cities a year, and the first year in Dallas was a success. Much of this credit was attributed to the design of the Dallas City of Learning program. With a core focus of providing equitable access to enriching program opportunities throughout the summer to our most underserved communities, Big Thought sought to enroll students in the academy who were part of existing community programs. The majority of whom might never be exposed to the opportunities that advancing technology offers. When given opportunity, combined with advancing technology, youth are positioned to imagine the impact of merging passions with a career.