Have you ever been amazed and perhaps slightly worried by how quickly a child in your life has picked up technology? A toddler who knows how to swipe through photos or a pre-schooler who finds their way to youtube on your phone? Yep, we know the feeling! Fountains of Hope students started using their new computer lab in October. Already, they are not just typing and researching, they are coding.
Kenya is a hub for tech developments in Africa, so many start-ups are innovating new tech solutions and creating new job opportunities. We hope that an early introduction to I.T. will equip our students for future jobs in tech.
Lara, in Class 5, said, “it is important to learn computers because then you can do what you want. You can be an accountant or a shopkeeper or any other thing.”
Lara’s group are getting to grips with a coding game where the players use code to advance their character through the game.
Teacher Kelvin brought his Class 5 students to the lab to research a recycling project. The students googled ideas for ornaments they could make out of waste materials before making various recycled creations.
At the recent ReimaginED Summit in Nairobi, we met innovators reimagining education in Kenya. One of the hosts summarised a common theme at the event when she urged, “we need to prepare children for a future we know not.”
We cannot predict what the future will look like, we can prepare children for whatever the future holds by building their resilience and creativity. And by equipping them with skills to take the lead in developing new technology that will help solve the challenges of tomorrow.
