For some youth, the COVID-19 closure of their school building is a time to learn about technology and design tools that they can use to create digital projects.
New Mexico State University’s 4-H Youth Development department is offering daily video-conferencing sessions to 4-H members where they learn the basics of creating digital presentations, graphic design, digital illustration, sound design, animation, and game design.
The Technology and Design project is a collaboration of two NMSU Extension departments: 4-H Youth Development, and Innovative Media.
Originally planned as monthly online sessions where youth could learn how to design, create and make things using digital tools, the project became 20 sessions, two offered each weekday for two weeks, after the COVID-19 outbreak.
The 4-H members could pick and choose the sessions they wanted to attend.
The daily meetings have some instruction and plenty of time for the youth to explore that session’s technology to see what they can do with the information. Each participant will develop a longer-term project that they will present at a Digital Expo later in the year.
The youth are learning from digital experts in NMSU’s Innovative Media Research Department, whose careers are in game design, animation and illustration.
More information about the program is available online at https://aces.nmsu.edu/4h/techanddesign.