Internet & Technology

Herald Dispatch: Tuition-free coding school NewForce comes to Huntington

10.16.18

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams at Mountwest Community and Technical College press conference to announce NewForce. Image via Generation WV Facebook page.

BY TAYLOR STUCK FOR THE HERALD DISPATCH

Move over, Silicon Valley. Silicon Holler is ready for its debut into the technology world.

With the addition of a brand-new, tuition-free coding school in the city, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams is not joking when he says Appalachia is poised to be the next Silicon Valley.

“It’s in our DNA,” Williams said Thursday at the program launch.

“What we’ve got to do is create the system as we are, so we are certainly excited to fast-track these students’ careers to be able to move into something. … Make no mistake about it — we won’t run second fiddle to anyone. Just because they started at Silicon Valley and advanced to Boston and New York doesn’t mean we can’t ramp up very quickly and show we are providing a competitive edge.”

New Force is a new six-month intensive technology training program developed in partnership by Mountwest Community and Technical College and Generation West Virginia, with support from the West Virginia Technical College System and Jobcase…

Read the full story on the Herald Dispatch site »

Celebrating southern WV’s path forward at the Small Communities, BIG Solutions Conference

09.24.18

Photo from Coalfield Development Corporation Facebook page

BY STEPHANIE TYREE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE HUB

At The Hub, our goal each week is to share with you the incredible stories of resilience, leadership, innovation, grit and creativity that we see underway in communities across the state.

There is a seemingly endless amount of under-sung leaders, new projects and partnerships with huge potential, and models of action demonstrating impact that we try to turn a spotlight on. We are only ever able to showcase a portion of it.

That is why we are so excited to co-host the Small Communities, BIG Solutions Conference on October 22-23 at BridgeValley’s Advanced Technology Center in South Charleston, WV. Partnering with the Alliance for Economic Development of Southern West Virginia and Coalfield Development, the conference gives us a chance to celebrate a few of our heroes on a larger stage – we hope with you.

Will you be there with us?

You’ll hear about federal action on broadband and addiction recovery services from Senator Capito and Senator Manchin. Major General Hoyer will be speaking to the myriad of economic development and disaster recovery projects that the National Guard is leading. And dozens of speakers will be sharing resources, models and success stories straight from southern West Virginia on topics ranging from supporting children recovering from trauma, to workforce development, stem and manufacturing, and agricultural development programs.

We’re especially excited about the two community revitalization sessions we’re helping with – and we think you might be too.

Our first session is focused on innovative models of community revitalization based in healthy lifestyles initiatives. Have you heard how the mayors of Smithers and Montgomery started a program to provide free YMCA membership to every person in town? Or how about the $250,000 in mini-grants that the Try This program has distributed to hundreds of projects across the state? Just a couple of examples of innovation focused on building healthy lifestyles as a core element of community development and revitalization.

We have a second session focused on creative placemaking as a core strategy for community revitalization. There are the dozens of large-scale murals they’ve put in place in Princeton, only one small part of a multi-layered innovative strategy for economic development based in creative placemaking. From maker spaces to renovated factories to all types of arts-based events that could be replicated anywhere, the amount of ideas you’ll take from this session can’t be understated.

And we can’t forget the 6 Power of Performance awards we’ll be giving during both days of the conference to groups, individuals and businesses who are blowing everyone’s socks off in southern West Virginia.

The categories are focused on putting people to work, revitalizing communities and changing lives. We had dozens of nominees, just another example of how much innovative work there is to celebrate in southern West Virginia that is solving persistent community challenges.

So join us on the 22nd of October!

Herald Dispatch: MU professor’s Clio app featured as a top humanities project in US

09.04.18

BY TAYLOR STUCK FOR THE HERALD DISPATCH

A mobile app developed and run by a Marshall University professor and his students is being touted as the gold standard for what collegiate humanities projects should be by the National Humanities Alliance.

The Clio app picks up a user’s location anywhere in the United States and tells him or her about the history and culture that surrounds him or her. A growing database includes information on museums, art galleries, monuments, sculptures and historical sites. The app has been used in every state in the country, and entries are added every day.

David Trowbridge, associate professor of history and director of African and African-American studies at MU and developer of the app, said between 5,000 and 10,000 people use the app every day.

After completing a Mellon Foundation-funded project called Humanities for All to identify humanities projects that are impacting the public in meaningful ways, the National Humanities Alliance chose Clio to feature out of 1,400 projects from across the country.

Daniel Fisher, project director at NHA, said choosing Clio was an easy decision…

Read the full article on The Herald Dispatch site »

ART26201 Young Filmmakers Camp

04.24.18

Filmmaking

BY ART26201

ART26201’s YOUNG FILMMAKERS CAMP is back for a third year in a row June 25th – 29th!

We’re looking for around 15 interested students to take part in our five-day workshop at Lascaux Micro-Theater with Jamie Johnson.

Place: LASCAUX Micro-Theater

Age: 10-15 +/-

Time: 9am – 4pm Daily

Seats: 6(min) -12(max)

Fee: $100

Please contact info@ART26201.com to reserve your child’s seat!

For more information about ART26201 »

CentralApp apprentices earn in-demand coding certification

01.30.18

via CentralApp

BY CENTRALAPP TEAM FOR CENTRALAPP

For Beth Fanning Taylor, a mother and wife living in Raleigh County, the holidays were busier than usual. “I was wrapping presents while watching lectures online… I carried my laptop with me pretty much everywhere” Beth said. “It was all worth it, though, when I passed my certification test.”

Beth is one of seven individuals from throughout southern West Virginia who recently completed the first phase of the CentralApp apprenticeship program, a rigorous eight-month course of study focused on helping residents of coal-mining communities transition to careers in the tech industry.

The program, which is funded by grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Southwest Corner Workforce Development Board in Pennsylvania, is designed to help participants become experts in configuring and developing tools for the Salesforce platform — the fourth largest software system in the world…

Read the article on the CentralApp site »

CBS: Coding program targeted to out-of-work coal miners awarded 80 certificates in coding

12.04.17

BY WEIJIA JIANG FOR CBS NEWS

The coal industry has lost more than 40 percent of its workforce in recent years. Out-of-work miners have had to find jobs in other fields.

Former miners are heading to the classroom, using many of the same skills they used underground.

In Boone County, West Virginia, coal mining has provided work for seven generations of Billy Jack Buzzard’s family. He became a miner when he was 18, right after graduating high school.

Three years ago, Buzzard lost his job.

“It was horrible. I got laid off, lost my vehicle, lost my house,” he said. “There was no Plan B.”

But the 29-year-old found one in June, swapping his hard hat for a laptop.

He was accepted into a free training program called “Mined Minds” that teaches former coal miners to become computer coders, creating apps, websites, and games…

Read the full article on the CBS site »

Bluefield Daily Telegraph: Bluefield to develop app for Millennial Ambassador Program

10.03.17

FOR BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. announced Thursday that the Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded $15,000 to the city of Bluefield for the Bluefield Cool and Connected Broadband Program.

Manchin and Capito said the funding will support the development of a mobile app that will be used to promote the city of Bluefield. The app will support the Millennial Ambassador Program for high school and college students, link to the website promoting city activities, assist with tourist attractions and assist businesses with an inventory of available space to market.

“I’m excited to see initiatives like Bluefield Cool and Connected Broadband sprouting up across West Virginia,” Manchin said. “West Virginia has so much to offer and creative ideas like this will help us show the world just that. I applaud the city of Bluefield for having the foresight to develop a mobile app and ARC for supporting this local project…”

Read the full article on the Bluefield Daily Telegraph website »

Online News Association for West Virginia hosts event to teach Facebook Live best practices

09.19.17

The Online News Association’s West Virginia group is hosting an event to teach journalists and members of groups + organizations how to use Facebook Live. Learn why it’s important to use Facebook Live and how to do it well. Leading the session is Gina Martino Dahlia, a teaching associate professor, the Journalism chair at the WVU Reed College of Media and the GM for 100 Days in Appalachia. The registration cost of $5 includes food from Black Sheep Burrito and Brews.

The event is geared toward members of the media, but it’s open to the public and will teach best practices applicable to anyone managing a Facebook page for an organization or business.

The group asks for registration in advance to determine a headcount.

Event: ONA WV Facebook Live
Location: Black Sheep Burrito and Brews (Charleston, WV)
Tickets: $5, online and at the door

Learn more and register online »

Paid apprenticeship program will teach West Virginians how to code – app. due 9/22

09.14.17

Applications due 9/22 – Apply on the Central App website »

CentralApp, a West Virginia-based company, is offering job-seekers throughout Southern West Virginia the chance to learn high-tech skills — and get paid while doing it.

CentralApp is looking for candidates for apprenticeships that will teach participants to develop applications within Salesforce, a digital global business platform. The eight-month career training program will allow workers to develop computer coding skills and earn certifications needed for employment in the rapidly expanding tech industry.

“We believe Appalachia is fertile ground for growing the digital development industry in the United States,” Patrick Farrell, co-founder of CentralApp said. “We have talented people who are ready to work — and the old obstacles of location and geography don’t apply for digital jobs.”

Weekly stipends are available for highly qualified candidates participating in the training, and CentralApp plans to offer job opportunities to workers who earn certifications through the program.

No prior computer programming experience is required and qualifications will be determined based on organizational skills, a willingness to learn and the ability to work independently.

Unlocking the Tech Potential of Appalachia: The CentralApp Apprenticeship Program from CentralApp on Vimeo.

Andrew Rieser, President of Mountain Point, a digital transformation consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said certified and experienced Salesforce developers are in high-demand.

“As Mountain Point grew, so did the need for qualified workers,” Rieser said. “We initially turned to off-shore developers and then quickly realized we should be tapping the potential of people here in our backyard. By partnering with CentralApp, we’re able to bring those jobs back home.”

Apprenticeships will be held in four locations:

Huntington (Cabell County) Tech Apprenticeship
Cabell County Career Tech Center
Huntington (Wayne County) Tech Apprenticeship
Spring Valley High School
Oak Hill (Fayette County) Tech Apprenticeship
Fayette Institute of Technology
Pineville (Wyoming County) Tech Apprenticeship
Wyoming County Career and Technical Center

Applications due 9/22 – Apply on the Central App website »

Vice: Rural America is building its own Internet because no one else will

09.11.17

By Kaleigh Rogers for Vice

Dane Shryock walked over to a map hanging on the wall of the county commissioners’ office in downtown Coshocton. He ran his finger along a highway to point out directions to a family farm, where he told me I’d find an antenna placed atop a tall blue silo.

“You’re going to want to go straight down 36, turn left on this county road,” Shryock, one of three county commissioners in Coshocton, Ohio, said. “There’s a cemetery on the left, and then you’ll see a big red barn.”

I snapped a photo of the map. The old-school directions were necessary because the address doesn’t exactly show up on Google Maps and, besides, my phone lost all signal after about the third hill on that county road. It was a blistering hot July day in Appalachian Ohio and I was on a mission to see firsthand how rural communities have stopped waiting for Big Telecom to bring high-speed internet to them and have started to build it themselves.

About 19 million Americans still don’t have access to broadband internet, which the Federal Communication Commission defines as offering a minimum of 25 megabits per second download speeds and 3mbps upload speeds. Those who do have broadband access often find it’s too expensive, unreliable, or has prohibitive data caps that make it unusable for modern needs…

Read the complete article on the Vice website »