The digitalization of school and the lack of women in tech are two important tasks we need to solve.
The tech industry is struggling with skewed recruitment both in background and gender. Many countries are also facing other challenges such as how to integrate tech and digital education in school. It starts here! Not only to attract young girls to discover the joy – or to keep the interest – of tech but for all to better understand the digital impact of our everyday life.
Educational toy
One thing that crossed my path almost a year ago is Quirkbot, an educational toy that teach you tech and code – and much more! – while building and having fun. That’s great, but what really hooked me was the possibility for this little quirky character to help solving these things. With an easy to use and educational web it’s a fun and simple way to create and learn to code. It removes the anxiety that some may feel about technology and coding.
Last week I had the luxury of pitching the idea of Quirkbot at SuperStartup Summit as it had been picked as one of nine companies nominated for the prize 2016. We didn’t win but I am truly happy about the nomination. I hope that the nomination will bring light to the importance of the challenges school is facing within tech and digital learning.
Including and diverse
By developing children’s digital knowledge we give them the opportunity to create their own toys and at the same time understand more of how present code is all around us. They can learn while they play and create, and thanks to the great versatility, teachers can use it for any subjects and level of knowledge their pupils have. Age, gender and ethnicity are irrelevant, everyone can participate on their own terms.
Teaching can be developed from just being a digital intermediation of information to creating. Instead of being passive consumers children can be active producers of technology.
Confidence, security and understanding of technology enhances self-esteem and become a foundation of democracy, just like all form of accessibility and inclusion. There’s a big difference of preparing children for the jobs of the future and by giving them the opportunity to create the jobs of the future.
VMG 