In an effort to prepare its students to navigate this digital landscape, NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC), announced today an initiative with Codecademy, to teach NYU students how to code.

NYU Teams Up with CodeAcademy to Promote Digital Literacy

With every aspect of life – from following news to finding love – now governed by algorithms, learning the fundamentals of coding is essential to developing true digital literacy. In an effort to prepare its students to navigate this digital landscape, NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC), announced today an initiative with Codecademy, a New York-based start-up that offers online programming classes, to teach NYU students how to code.

“This pilot will give our students an excellent introduction to the intricate information systems underlying so much of today’s networked culture,” said MCC chair Marita Sturken. “It is increasingly clear that a basic understanding of computer programming has now become essential knowledge that all college graduates should have.”

The 10-week pilot program will feature weekly workshops with an interactive online component covering in-demand programming languages like HTML, Javascript, and Python, allowing each student to proceed at his or her own pace. Participating students will be invited to a series of intimate monthly talks with leading tech scholars and industry innovators, who will speak on everything from the history of video games to the future of the Internet.

“We’re very excited to help NYU teach scores of students to learn to program - it's great to work with a world class institution like NYU that thinks on the cutting edge and wants to teach its students the skills and creativity that the labor market require,” said Zach Sims, CEO and co-founder of Codecademy.”

Sessions begin Sept. 28 and run through Dec. 7. They will be co-taught by NYU Visiting Assistant Professor Liel Leibovitz and coding instructor David Hu. The partnership with Codecademy is a project spearheaded by the NYU Steinhardt Initiative for Internet and Network Culture (INC@NYU), which aims to generate new knowledge about the ways in which the Internet and networked media are reshaping social life, culture, and commerce.

“We believe the partnership with Codecademy represents a bold and new approach to coding literacy, one that combines the expertise of a liberal arts institution with the savvy innovation of a start-up,” Sturken added. “There’s a lot of excitement among students on campus for this kind of knowledge."

About the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication
Media, Culture, and Communication, a department within NYU Steinhardt, advances scholarship in all areas of technology and society, with expertise in global media, digital media, and media history. To discover more about MCC, visit: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc.

About the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development prepares students for careers in the arts, education, health, media, and psychology. Since its founding in 1890, the Steinhardt School's mission has been to explore aspects of the human experience through public service, global collaboration, research, scholarship, and practice. To learn more about NYU Steinhardt, visit: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu.

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