Roxbury Community College turns to students to bridge digital divide

Why it matters: The efforts led to RCC's first hackathon — and potential solutions to boost students' digital literacy and academic performance in a school whose students are predominantly people of color and low-income.

Hackathons are typically hours- or days-long codefests where programmers and entrepreneurs come up with a tech solution to global problems.

• RCC's first hackathon was shorter — presentations began after three hours of brainstorming — and focused on helping their peers.

State of play: Some 15 students spent last Friday morning brainstorming a "digital solution" that promotes digital literacy and involves generative AI to increase student engagement on student email, the learning platform Canvas and other online resources.

• One group proposed a school-issued phone with an app that created automated reminders to complete assignments, educational games, translation apps and AI study assistants.
• Judges assessing the proposals gave them an honorable mention.
• Other groups proposed similar platforms that house apps used by students that track schoolwork and school communications.

What's next: Mya Bowen, the Information Systems Technology department chair and hackathon organizer, says staff who judged the proposals will brainstorm a plan to present to the college president.

• If successful, they plan to enlist students from the hackathon and potentially others to make a version of their proposals a reality.