TECHCORPShack Hackathon is Teaching Students Mobile App Development

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- Technology has become the main focus in today’s world, however, Zane State College, TECHCORPShack Hackathon, is allowing students to use technology in a positive way by creating a mobile app that tackles a real-world need or problem.

The event will be held November 6th, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Zane State to students in grades 9-12. Marcie Moore, the Dean of Business, Engineering and Information Technologies at Zane State College talked about the skills students can develop from this event.

“The top three takeaways for me with the students who participate, they learn a new skill they may not already have any desire to learn, but it’s a very simple skill for them to learn and it would probably open up new doors for them,” Moore said. “The second thing definitely is team building and that’s so important when you’re in that 9-12 grade age range, you need to learn how to work with your peers and then communicate.”

The students will receive support and guidance from technology volunteers and once the students have their apps developed, they will have to present and sell it to a group of judges to decided the winners.

Moore stated that some of the app ideas that have been chosen previously were, recycling methods, a reminder to-do-list, drug recovery, and many more. She shared how this experience has inspired students to take on similar career fields.

“The first year we did this, I remember one particular participant, I actually recognized him, and he’s now a student here at Zane State and so he did that, had experience and then came here. He’s actually a pathways engineering student,” Moore said. “Then two students from the last year we were able to do this, which was in 2019, decided that they really loved the creativity side of information technology so they’re now enrolled in our digital content media technology program.”

Moore said she would like to thank AT&T for sponsoring the event. Students will also need transportation and technology professionals are needed as well for volunteers.

Students and volunteers can now register at techcorp.org, by selecting programs, awareness and then selecting TECHCORPShack.