The Digital NEST: Building Pathways to Computing Education and Careers for Latino/a Youth

This project aims to identify effective strategies that community technology centers can use to prepare, support and motivate underserved high school students to pursue and persist in computer science courses and careers. This is a partnership between ETR and a community technology center called the Digital NEST that prepares Latino/a high school students for the tech workforce. Data will be collected from 100 youth and 32 adults to examine whether participation in informal educational opportunities at a community technology center promotes high school students’ skills, identity and motivation to pursue and persist in CS, the role that badges play in CS learning, and the role of relationships with peers and mentors in how youth participate in CS learning.