We are so excited to share that the 12th annual Emoti-Con NYC Youth Digital Media and Tech Challenge is open for review and emoji-encouragement from visitors and judges until Friday, June 6. Teens from around the city, across many in- and afterschool programs, are showcasing their innovations and ideas on our Virtual Project Fair site.

How can my students participate?

1. 👀 Watch the Keynote Video from Google’s Errol King 👀 - At the top of the project fair site, your students can hear from Errol King, a Creative Technologist from Google who shares his pathway from growing up in the Bronx to becoming an innovator.
2. 🔎Project Fair Scavenger Hunt🔎 - Scroll down the page to see all of the projects submitted, or select “Random Project” at the top to see what you find! Projects include app and game prototypes, websites, videos and more - all designed by middle and high school students. Make it game to explore using the scavenger hunt below.
3. 👏Give Feedback & Support👏 - Great innovation requires collaboration, reflection and a community of peers and mentors who give lots of support. At the bottom of each project page is a feedback form where anyone (not just official judges) can share encouraging emojis, comments, ideas and questions.

Emoti-Con Scavenger Hunt and Reflection

Here’s a worksheet you can use for the scavenger hunt.

• In the Keynote Video, Errol says “The most awesome things to be learned are actually impossible to be learned quickly.” Do you agree or disagree? Can you think of an experience in your life that relates to this idea?
• Find and play a game that tackles an important issue. How does this game introduce the issue and incorporate it into gameplay? If this were your game, what would you add or change if you were going to make another prototype of it?
• Leave an encouraging comment and emoji on a few of your favorite projects.
• Find a project where the designer does a great job describing what they made. Why do you think it is important to have a good “pitch” for your work?
• Find 2 projects that have similar topics and compare them. How are they different or similar? If you were to combine their ideas into one, what elements would you keep from each project?
• Find a project with artwork and graphics that you like. How would you describe the look and feel of their design?
• Find a project that makes you think differently about an issue or topic. How has your perspective changed and why?
• Leave a helpful comment on a project where you give a suggestion for how they could make their projects even better.