Google awards $10K grant to NewBoCo’s Tiny Techies

CEDAR RAPIDS — Google announced last week it is awarding $10,000 to the Tiny Techies program that trains teachers in computer science they can teach youngsters in their classrooms.

The program, run by NewBoCo, is for prekindergarten through second-grade teachers. By teaching the fundamentals of computer science, Tiny Techies is designed to get students ready for the careers of tomorrow.

No screens, laptops or iPads are involved. Instead, the program aims to help students build computational thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers instead use “squishy circuit” materials, learning to teach basic robotics, pattern recognition and more to children.

“Tiny Techies is approachable, creative and gives educators the confidence to help our youngest learners think like computer scientists,” NewBoCo Director of K-12 Education Samantha Dahlby said in a news release.

More than 300 educators have participated in Tiny Techies workshops since 2022. Participation by educators across the state was supported by the Iowa Governor's STEM Council.

Google’s grant will fund the gathering of data for a Tiny Techies case study in 2024. It also will pay for the beginning of a video library that features teachers implementing Tiny Techies lessons in the classroom.

The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative (NewBoCo) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids. Its programming supports entrepreneurship, innovation and tech education.

Google built its first data center in Iowa in 2007 in Council Bluffs and has invested more than $5 billion in the state since then.