Communication and educational platform Kyiv Smart City School within the “Public Budget 2019”
In December 2019, within the communication and educational platform of Kyiv Smart City School, three free special courses were conducted for children and adults who expressed a desire to learn technologies and innovations. The purpose of the program is to create an environment of smart citizens who, thanks to quality IT education, will be able to work effectively and improve the digital ecosystem of the city in the future. In intensive training under the guidance of experienced mentors, students learned Scratch and Java programming languages and adult participants gained practical skills in developing web resources. The project was implemented thanks to the active support of Kyiv residents, who voted for the development of Kyiv Smart City School within the democratic process of distribution of city funds “Public Budget 2019”.
Intensive programming training using the visual language Scratch was marked by a well-thought-out methodology and aroused genuine interest among participants. Students learned the basics of programming both individually and in groups. With the help of Scratch tools, children learned to write algorithms, develop skills of the independent problem statement and choosing the best solution, analyze the results. At the end of the course, the teams presented the completed projects and congratulated each other on the successful completion of the tasks. The format of optional Scratch classes for schoolchildren was successfully tested last year. More than 400 students took this course at the Kyiv Smart City School, which operates based on public schools in the capital of Ukraine.
Another unique educational opportunity that Kyiv students received within the communication and educational platform Kyiv Smart City School is a special course in the Java programming language. During the elective, students mastered the basics of programming, learned about the architecture of the language and the basic principles of Java, solved current problems and developed analytical thinking. Today, Java is one of the most popular languages for software developers around the world, including computer games and consumer electronics software. Using the Java programming language, Kyiv students will receive equal educational opportunities compared to their peers from the most progressive countries.
This month at Kyiv Smart City Hub everyone had the opportunity to attend a training course “Web Development for Adults”. During the course, students learned the basics of developing modern web pages using the most common techniques and tools. In particular, the participants mastered the basic tools for creating WEB-resources, the main components of WEB-technology and WEB-design, as well as the ability to prepare the basic elements of WEB-pages (text, graphics, sound, animation). Special attention was paid to the technology of working with graphic objects. Industry experts shared with students their experience of using information technology on the Internet, formulated practical recommendations and homework.
The Kyiv Smart City School communication and educational platform is a source of new knowledge for all those who are interested in creating an innovative, comfortable and ecological urban environment. Active attendance of special courses of the platform testifies to the demand from progressive citizens who seek to master smart tools to improve their lives. New areas of knowledge suitable for professional development and service to society are opening up for adults. For children with a research interest in computer technology, programming courses are a successful investment in the future. In this way, the Kyiv Smart City School project team creates new educational opportunities for the successful dissemination of innovations in the Ukrainian capital.
According to surveys conducted among students within the Kyiv Smart City School project, we managed to achieve the following results:
- 10% of students of KSС educational branches have been trained in the basics of programming and IT technologies
- 100% of teachers of educational branches (9% of teachers of all institutions of Kyiv) took IT courses and improved their skills
- 40% of students of KSС branches (2% of students from all institutions of Kyiv) are involved in KSС projects
- 14 projects were implemented within the framework of Kyiv Smart City School
- 8 organizations are involved in the partnership and joint social activity with Kyiv Smart City School
- 4% of Kyiv’s educational institutions are involved in environmental projects
- 7% of schools in Kyiv have been monitored for air and water quality
- 6% of schools joined in improving air quality
- 17% – level of awareness about digital city services
- 11% – the level of digitalization
Курси для нових професій і методів навчання — це виклики для традиційної системи освіти, яка не встигає виявляти гнучкість у пристосуванні до реалій сьогодення. Щоб допомогти киянам опанувати нові технології, команда ГО «СМАРТ СІТІ ХАБ» запустила власну освітню платформу нового зразка — Kyiv Smart City School, яка надає актуальні знання з технічних дисциплін та консолідує smart-спільноту за допомогою електронних сервісів. Головна мета Kyiv Smart City School — популяризація якісного IT-освіти, доступного кожному. Наша глобальная місія — сприяти появі нової smart-генерації, яка легко й вправно користується технологіями та розвиває розумне місто за допомогою інноваційних інструментів. Kyiv Smart City School projects effectively complement the school curriculum with useful skills that are in demand in the global innovation environment. Kyiv Smart City School projects effectively complement the school curriculum with useful skills that are in demand in the global innovation environment.