AIM’s Youth In Tech program was chosen as a partner for Omaha Public Schools to
enrich young minds. Recently AIM associates ignited creativity and innovation at
several elementary schools while teachers participated in professional development
opportunities outside the classroom.
AIM’s Isaac Piper, Erin Lasiter, Andrew Ochsner and Sara Berkebile helped students
connect to literacy and reading. Using the story “Knuffle Bunny,” by Mo Willems, the
AIM leaders discussed the importance of a setting of story, then had the students use
3D pens supplied by AIM to draw settings of their own. A 3D pen is like a 3D printer in
your hand. The pen melts plastic through a nozzle which you can then form into any
number of things.
Another cool activity was “rotoscoping,” a technique that bridges the magic of art and
technology. Using a rotoscope, students took a picture of a real-life place in the
classroom and then drew in the characters, closely mirroring the technique of Mo
Willems who wrote “Knuffle Bunny.”  The result was an unforgettable day of learning
and creativity. Both the students and AIM associates were inspired by the active day.

AIM has helped provide certification to 18 adults who recently graduated from AIM Code
School’s Foundations of Web Development and Foundations of Tech courses, which are
accredited by the Nebraska Dept. of Education. The event highlighted the achievements
and milestones students made throughout the course. At the Jan. 8 graduation
ceremony, graduates also received free refurbished Chromebooks donated by AT&T
and Human I-T through AT&T’s partnership with the AIM Institute. Over the past several
months, over 100 youth and adults enrolled in AIM Institute programs received the free
laptops from AT&T as part of its ongoing AT&T Connected Learning® initiative to help
address the digital divide through internet accessibility, affordability and safe adoption.
If you are interested in continuing your tech education, check out our Code School
programming at this link: https://aiminstitute.org/programs/technical-training/aim-code-
school/.

In the photo above, proud graduates receive their new AT&T Chromebooks, thanks to AT&T’s partnership with AIM. Also pictured are AIM representatives: course instructor Jorge Grimaldo (second from far right), AIM President and CEO Dala Alphonso (far right) and in the back, Brett Berkebile,  Director of AIM Code School and Technical Training.

Dala Alphonso, President and CEO of AIM Institute, shared practical ways to use technology and AI to plan your year with intention on January 21 at the AI Omaha and Women in Technology of the Heartland ‘Leveraging AI for your Year’ event. 

Dala shared simple time management tips to keep you on track; how AI can be your personal assistant; various ways to integrate tech tools into your daily routine and strategies for balancing your personal and professional goals. 

AIM Institute teamed with Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Council Bluffs, Iowa to host an Hour of Code event Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the school for close to 900 students. Computer coding-related activities sparking creativity and problem-solving skills taught at the event will help introduce students to a rewarding tech career.

Hour of Code is the largest educational global movement introducing tens of millions of students worldwide to coding opportunities with AI and non-AI components. This event inspires kids to learn more, break stereotypes and leaves them feeling empowered towards tech. This year, the free Hour of Code platform is offering hundreds of one-hour coding activities for students featuring pop culture topics such as Minecraft.

This Hour of Code event is the result of a collaboration between the Council Bluffs Community School District and AIM Institute. Both organizations are committed to building a strong and diverse tech community through education and career development. Events like Hour of Code are among the youths’ first step into opening the door to the possibilities of their potential in tech.

Thanks to AIM’s partnership with Council Bluffs Community School District, the national Hour of Code program at Woodrow Wilson Middle School was a great success!

AIM representatives at Wilson Middle School are from left  Staci Wise, Charles Kaup, Sarah Berkebile, Jayme Busch, Dala Alphonso, Monika Philp, Jessie Rowe and Isaac Piper.

On Friday December 6, over 100 Omaha-area high school students part of AIM’s Youth
Academy Upward Bound and Talent Search programs gathered at the Ashton at Millwork Commons for a
day of college and career exploration at the AIM Academies Winter College and Career
Fair.
At the fair, students received free refurbished Chromebooks generously donated by
AT&T and Human I-T. The AIM Institute sincerely thanks AT&T for its partnership in
working together to help youth and adults bridge the digital divide to support academic
and career success.

AIM’s Charles Kaup (left) with AT&T’s Christian Karch, who announces the laptop donation to
the students.

The students who participated are part of AIM’s Youth Academy, which has a partnership
with Upward Bound and Talent Search to serve first-generation/under-resourced youth
headed for college. The students were from Benson High School, Bryan High School,
Papillion La Vista High School, Papillion La Vista South High School, and Thomas
Jefferson High School. Students also had the opportunity to meet with representatives
from colleges and universities, explore career paths and build connections that will help
pursue their futures in post-secondary education.