GEAR UP, Bitsource host App Inventor Camp

This week, students from Pike and Floyd Counties were invited to participate in the App Inventors Camp at Big Sandy Community and Technical College's Pikeville campus.

The camp, a collaboration between GEAR UP East Kentucky and Bitsource, introduces students to the basics of app building.

GEAR UP is a Berea College Partners for Education program, designed to prepare students for life after high school, whether that includes college, training, or diving into a career.

The program partnered with Bitsource, a tech company in Pikeville that transitioned miners into coders, to show students the opportunities they have in the STEM workforce.

"A new vocation is the biggest takeaway from this. A new skill that they can learn and take out into this world," said GEAR UP college and career navigator Corey Mullins. "Hopefully, maybe one day, we have some programers and coders here."

Students attending will create their own apps, which they will showcase on the final day of camp.

The camp kicked off Wednesday and runs through Friday.