Editor's note: This article was originally published by 15MIN on August 27th, 2020. Devbridge translated the contents from Lithuanian to English.
August 26th, 2020: Teachers from Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, gathered at the Vilnius Talent Garden to discuss a unique project taking place at 26 innovative Vilnius schools. Starting on September 1st, these schools will kick off a new program on fundamental studies of information technology.
The formal curriculum includes technology-focused creativity lessons for primary school students. Children will have the opportunity to master digital tools, such as creative design and virtual reality programs, testing the basics of artificial intelligence, developing problem-solving skills, and strengthening their critical and logical thinking capabilities.
After the announcement, the capital's city hall announced an open call with more than 140 primary school teachers opting to participate in the "Informatics and Technological Creativity Education Program." The teachers will conduct lessons at least once a week for students. In addition, the teacher's plan to strengthen their personal informatics and technological creativity skills to better support their students.
The program was initiated by Devbridge, alongside the representatives from Vilnius City Hall and the Center for Educational Progress. The technology company, which opened offices in Lithuania just a decade ago, has actively invested in technology education of children, students, and adults who want to build a career in the IT field. A free creative technology academy for children aged 7–12 was established a few years ago. Sourcery for Kids academy aims to implement a change in the Lithuanian education system by including programming lessons informal education and ensuring their accessibility to all Lithuanian children.
“Technological literacy has permeated all areas and will remain the foundation of the success of any promising profession in the future. New opportunities are opening up for children. The programming discipline is still being included in the list of compulsory subjects in many primary European countries such as Sweden and the United Kingdom, and even in neighboring Estonia. We are happy to contribute to the cultivation of future professionals. We hope that the example set in the capital will finally take a more advanced path and encourage other schools in Lithuania to get involved and start teaching children the basics of programming in primary classes.”
– Viktoras Gurgždys, Vice President of Devbridge and Head of the Lithuanian Division.
The program is developed and implemented by a team of Teachers Lead Tech mentors to help primary school teachers prepare lesson content and develop the necessary skills to impart new knowledge in the classroom.
