On the 12th of December 2021, 60 learners and teachers from Kayonza district visited ZoraBots in Kigali to discover how the coding clubs initiated in their schools link to the world of work. This ‘exposure visit’ is part of the Scratc2h 2050 Project, which aims to equip secondary school teachers in Kayonza district with the competences to set up after-school coding clubs and to integrate Scratch in ICT and STEM lesson plans.
This project is funded by Belgium through the Wehubit programme implemented by Enabel; and is in line with Rwanda’s Vision 2050 to enter the digital age. By introducing secondary school learners to Scratch – a free coding tool, the project aims to develop their creative, problem-solving and collaborating skills, helping them to thrive in a digital economy.
During the visit, teachers were reminded that they are the pillars to the promotion of students’ capacity and that they need to learn the application of Scratch in real life.
“Students are the future of our economy, therefore teachers must support them to apply what they learn and know how they can use their knowledge to contribute to the country’s development,” said Dr. Christine Niyizamwiyitira, the Head of ICT in Education department at Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB).
After an introduction on the necessary 4th industrial revolution skills for Rwanda’s youth by Rwanda Basic Education (REB) and VVOB, teachers and learners were introduced to ZoraBots. They discovered that ZoraBots makes the use of robots easier, helpful, and universal to ease and simplify various activities. The most recent application of ZoraBots’ robots is in the health sector, where they contributed to the fight against COVID-19 through regular monitoring of COVID-19 patients in health centers and automatic temperature checks of passengers at the Kigali international airport. Teachers and learners were excited to learn that the robots are being programmed using the Scratch coding app that they interact with in their coding clubs. Students and teachers learned the functionality and programming of robots including the most common robot in education, named Marty.
“Today is a good day!” says Jean Bosco Ndabikunze, teacher at G.S Rwisirabo. “I only saw the robots in movies and videogames before coming here. I am so excited to see robots in real life and how they work. Also, my students are so delighted. They all wanted to see it with their own eyes!”
During the demonstration, ZoraBots’ staff members explained and showcased how to use Scratch to programme robots.
Students’ take-aways
“I thought coding was hard, complex and advanced but then I came here, and I learnt it is easy and I can do it myself. I can dream bigger now,” says Angel Ingabire, a student at New Life Christian Academy.
“Before this visit I sometimes thought that Scratch was a little lame. That it was all about cats and chickens (the sprites of Scratch Ed.) moving around on your screen. But now I’ve seen what you can do with it in real life, and I am going to tell all my friends that it’s not only about cats and chickens, but you can achieve big things with it such as programming robots,” she added.
Participation in the exposure visit turned teachers and learners into true coding-ambassadors. They are committed to continuing their Scratch journey, by integrating the coding tool in other school subjects.
Fiacre Umurigirwa, a student at G.S Nyagahandagaza puts his dream into words as follows: “My dream is to go to university and study law to become a lawyer. Then I’ll use technology like robots to do my investigations!”.
About Enabel and Wehubit
Enabel is the Belgian development agency, implementing the Belgian international development policy. Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, Enabel carries out public service assignments in Belgium and abroad. With its partners, Enabel manages approximately 200 projects in view of improving public service delivery to citizens as well as the living conditions of populations, primarily on the African continent.
Rwanda is among the three largest beneficiaries of Belgian development cooperation. This cooperation supports Rwanda’s sustainable development agenda for the socioeconomic welfare of its population. For more information on Enable, please visit: www.enabel.be
Wehubit aims to boost digital social innovation as a vehicle for accelerating inclusive and sustainable development, reducing inequalities and empowering people in Enabel’s partner countries. They specifically target the scaling-up/replication phase of digital social innovations. They seek for projects that will scale-up existing digital solutions so that these are rolled-out at larger scale and become more available, affordable and performing. . For more information on Enable, please visit: www.wehubit.be
