We support digital education
No digital skills = No participation
Digital skills are just as important as reading and writing today. And they are not difficult to learn: after only a brief introduction, people can start writing code and developing small applications that have an effect on our physical world. Once people have acquired their first positive experience with coding and hacking, they are more open to the basic technologies of digitalisation. And an open attitude is important when people want to grow beyond the pure user role and take full advantage of the design options that digital technology offers.
But a basic understanding of digital technologies is not only important for individuals. Instead, it is an issue of the future for our entire society. After all, science, our education system and the economy will urgently require qualified young talent with ICT knowledge in future. Such knowledge is therefore essential to our society’s well-being.
We offer a series of educational formats
In response to this need, we offer a series of educational formats directly aimed at interested parties, but also for multipliers who pass on what they have learned to others. They range from the open Workshop at the CityLAB event series, which introduces specific tasks from the world of sensors, controllers and mini-computers from Calliope to Raspberry Pi on family-friendly Friday afternoons, to the Workshop for Teachers that shows how specific topic clusters and questions can be attractively prepared with digital hardware.
Coding on your own
And those who want to code without instructions will find an offer as well. We lend our Hacking Box free of charge to educational institutions, associations and other groups. We also create corresponding teaching and learning materials and make them available free of charge.
With EduTech, digitalisation also creates new opportunities in schools
Although data literacy is a key factor for our future, until recently schools have been almost completely digital-free zones. The situation has changed: so many digital teaching and learning programmes have been created that the EduTech field even received its own name.
“EduTech” is the general term for hardware and software programmes for teachers and pupils. They are primarily online, open-access learning and teaching programmes with clearly defined rights of use. In many cases, it is even possible to change and pass on the materials (open educational resources). Other CET programmes are also included; in particular CET for teachers, who can act as multipliers and disseminate new content (“teach the teacher” programmes).
Many pedagogues develop digital learning and teaching materials in the course of their careers and make them accessible without any commercial interest. Publishing houses are active in the field, new companies are developing content and technologies, and institutions such as school laboratories and Technologiestiftung Berlin create educational offers. As a means of raising awareness within the education system of the diverse offers and providing both teachers and pupils with an overview of the scene, we developed EduTechMap Berlin, an interactive map.
The database and map development were funded by the Senate Department for Finance.