About

My Name is Steven Christian. I created this Doodlyfe as a way to give back to my community. With Doodlyfe, I am developing a series of online courses and projects that introduce augmented reality to non-tech Black and Brown communities. I come from a culture rich in expression, but that expression is limited in reach. Whether it be painting, dancing, or singing, the opportunities for self expression and creating experiences during COVID-19 have relegated Black and Brown creators to videos and music. The amount of opportunities to express through technology pales in comparison to the opportunities in traditional entertainment. As a creator that has a background in both, but also the cultural competency to know how culture is expressed, my work focuses on seamlessly applying technology to enhance the cultural expression. I use technology to bridge the gaps between traditional virtual mediums to create immersive experiences. Augmented reality has amazing applications in the work that I do because it is a container that stimulates all the users senses without removing them from the real world. More importantly the opportunities in the augmented reality industry opens doors for new career opportunities. My approach to teaching augmented reality is focused on Black and Brown creators that have no tech background. They may use digital tools in their work, but they are not coders and developers. The courses I teach give them the basic knowledge they need to build mobile apps that expand the reach of their creative works as well as the skill to not only be in the entertainment industry, but also the tech industry. Emerging technologies have a notorious record for evolving without including Black and Brown communities. That has social and economic consequences that negatively impact their career opportunities. My goal is to disrupt that by lowering the bar of entry into this space.