100 Detroit Students Grasp Technology In Website Contest

DETROIT, MI — More than 100 Detroit students from Cass Technical High School, Osborn High School and Central High School took part in the 2018 Discover Detroit Technology Challenges on the campus of Wayne State University Tuesday, coming together to produce websites about issues that matter to teens.

During the event, students worked alongside experienced developers to create and produce websites around the themes of stopping distracted driving and curbing the problem of cyber bullying with winning websites being selected from each school.

For students like Tasdyque Syed, 17, who is headed to Wayne State to study computer science, it was an invaluable lesson.

“We got the chance to ask questions to interesting people,” Syed, who created a website on distracted driving, said. “One of the main things I learned was not only how to make a website but how to make a website look good.”

Syed is considering web design as a part of his future now, he explained.

Tashnim Asgar, 17, said learning Wordpress is a skill he will also incorporate into his future

“The best thing i got out of this event was learning Wordpress,” he said. “All this time I’ve been learning to make a website but i didn’t know how to use Wordpress.”

Asgar said he will use it for everything from school projects to his portfolio.

“Now i can make it look professional,” he said.

Sponsored by AT&T and in partnership with WordPress.com, Rebrand Cities and Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), the challenge aimed to serve as a gateway for juniors and seniors to consider technology and web development as a career path.

“What's important to us is the future. The next president of AT&T michigan could easily come from this group,” said David Lewis, president of AT&T Michigan. “We want to spur an interest in these young people.”

Lewis said the students first showed frustration at the idea of creating a website from nothing, but then once volunteers and guides put the pieces together, that changed to excitement and enthusiasm.
“They thought, ‘I’m actually part of building a website,’” Lewis explained. “From there, it went to determination. It was exactly what we wanted to happen.”

Hajj Flemings, founder of Rebrand Cities and one of the event organizers, said technology like this has a “diversity problem” and is most often found in the suburbs.

“We want Detroit Public School students to be prepared to design the future and partnering with AT&T and WordPress.com to create a hands-on experience is part of that roadmap,” he said. “There is no lack of creativity in our community and we saw that at work today.”

Prizes will be awarded for the best websites, and students also attended a talk about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and participated in hands-on, interactive sessions led by industry professionals.

Featured speakers at the event included WDIV Local 4 News Anchors Rhonda Walker and Evrod Cassimy, John Maeda and Chris Taylor of WordPress.com, Flemings and Lewis of AT&T.

Subscribe to Patch for more regional news and real-time alerts. Connect with Detroit Patch on Facebook. Images via AT&T Michigan