‘Meeting people where they are’
March 6, 2024
For nearly a decade, NewBoCo has been offering programs for all ages within our building. Now we’re making more of an effort to bring those programs out into the community, too.
Rob Merritt
Rob Merritt is an award-winning writer, editor, and videographer who crossed over into his current role after a decade of working in the journalism industry. He is a longtime Eastern Iowan and a graduate of the University of Iowa and volunteers with multiple nonprofits and theatre organizations. Rob is always exploring new ways to tell the stories of his community.
Making an app? Come learn from the best
February 22, 2024
Jess Faber is a Prometheus Award winner. She’s taught at DeltaV Code School. She’s a founding member of NewBoCo. And she’s currently building all kinds of apps as a UI/UX Developer for NewBoCo Studios. You can see examples of her work that will blow you away. So when we tell you that she’s giving a free talk about what she does next Tuesday, you can bet it’s worth hearing.
Train the teachers you already have
February 14, 2024
We know Iowa needs more computer science teachers for every child to have the opportunity to learn future ready skills.
Thanks to NewBoCo’s Code.org Partnership, you can train your existing teachers who want to begin teaching computer science here instead of finding and hiring a new teacher.
The ‘Future’ looks promising indeed
February 13, 2024
Last weekend, the regional level of the national Future Cities competition was held at Maple Grove Elementary School in Cedar Rapids. More than 30 teams of middle school students from across the state competed.
Every year, there’s a theme for students to build around. This year it was “electrify your future,” with teams challenged to create their cities specifically with renewable energy in mind.
Supporters rally to ‘Fund the Future’
January 24, 2024
People see the need for computer science, and the relevance. At NewBoCo, we want to get that message out even further. So we held a Fund the Future event Feb. 6. Taking place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Geonetric Building, 415 12th Ave. SE, Fund the Future showcased all of our education programs. Those ranged from Tiny Techies and CoderDojo for kids, to K12 curriculum for students and teachers, to adult career programs like DeltaV.
Linn-Mar students win Future Cities Regional Competition
January 22, 2024
Thirty-four Iowa teams competed in Cedar Rapids; winner advances to national competition in Washington, D.C. More than 30 teams of middle school students from across Iowa competed at Maple Grove Elementary School on Saturday (Jan. 20) in the annual Future Cities contest. Their goal? To show how to design a
Help get Tone over the finish line
January 17, 2024
This local musician and entrepreneur is less than $1000 away from his Kiva goal, but the clock is ticking. Kiva Iowa is for real. But don’t take our word for it. Just ask Antonio “Tone Da Boss” Chalmers. As a musician, Tone didn’t think there were enough opportunities in Iowa
AI can be a huge help to teachers
January 10, 2024
Artificial Intelligence programs have arrived in our schools in a big way. And while we can debate all day about the pros and cons of students using AI in school, one thing that ISN’T up for debate is this: AI will continue to have a huge impact on our lives.
Computer science matters in schools. Here’s why.
January 10, 2024
We really can’t stress this enough: Computer science matters. That’s certainly not a secret here in Iowa. Code.org has ranked our state 7th in the nation for providing computer science education in schools. In the past six years, the number of states that have dedicated funding to computer science programs
Episode 51: Van Meter (ft. Danielle Monthei and Gavin Palma)
December 19, 2023
How does innovation keep a company going for nearly a century? In the finale of Season 4, hosts Anthony Betters Jr. and Rob Merritt sit down with Danielle Monthei and Gavin Palma of Van Meter in Cedar Rapids. They dig into being an employee-owned company, how Van Meter gives back to