Google program teaches digital skills to Boys and Girls Club teens

The Boys and Girls Club has formed a partnership with Google to teach kids in Dane County digital skills.

Aiden Nunez, an 8th grader, says he learned a lot from the program.

“I learned how to use Google slides and how I could use it to incorporate it into school projects and stuff like that,” said Nunez. “At first it was kind of hard to learn but the more I got the hang of it, it was getting easy to me.”

Madison Memorial freshman Alexis Liggins was surprised to learn there was more to the skills than simply being tech-savvy.

““I thought digital, it was going to be something you do on the computer but no, it was way different from what it sounds like,” said Liggins.

Both Nunez and Liggins learned how to build a resume and make a presentation.

Boys and Girls Club CEO and President Michael Johnson says the Dane County chapter was selected out of 4,000 chapters across the country.

“I think that with google being here in Madison and with the boys and girls clubs we are able to create additional options for young people in our community,” Johnson said.

The Madison Google site lead, Jeff Naughton, says these skills are important for their future careers.

“They may not know, for example, how to make a professional resume or build a presentation or use a spreadsheet,” said Naughton. “So we have a partnership with them, giving them teaching materials and giving them some funding to let that go.”

Johnson says exposure to these skills also allows students to see their future in a less conventional track.

“There are some young people who may not see college as a pathway so how do we teach them to become entrepreneurs how do we teach them about all of the digital technology that's out there,” said Johnson.