Project Details

App Authors: Closing the App Gap II is a three-­‐year project that will be led by Dr. Deborah Stevenson, Director of the Center for Children’s Books, with co-­‐PI Dr. Kate McDowell, Associate Professor, both at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. The proposal is being submitted under the Project category, and it addresses the focus area of Learning Spaces in Libraries. Over three years, we will work with a total of six to nine school and public libraries to present app creation programming for children aged eight to twelve at those sites. The project’s goal is the creation of a curriculum for use in school and public libraries that will teach young people to create apps and allow them to share their achievements with other children; that curriculum will be disseminated for adoption at other school and public libraries. The project will provide young people with early programming experience and further establish the place of libraries as a site of opportunity to engage youth in STEM exploration and digital development.