CiTIUS publishes 'A informática e a vida' workshop to promote equality in technology learning
Eva Cernadas, researcher linked to the Singular Research Centre on Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS), proposes a series of workshops for schools because of the celebration of 11F, the Day of Women and Girls in Science. Interested teachers can register for free on the workshop website to access its contents.
'A informática e a vida' is an online workshop developed by Eva Cernadas. It consists of 10 activities that can be done asynchronously from the classrooms of each center, since each one of them provides the necessary materials to be carried out. These workshops are designed for elementary and high school school students —each one specifies its recommended audience—, mainly covering ages between 9 and 14 years old.
As its name indicates, the workshop relates computing and the reality of life: from the history of computing to the practical uses that students can make of it, including programs used in medicine and fishing, tree leaves and even cell phones. 'A informática e a vida' seeks for the students to have an active learning about the uses and design of technology, always starting from the natural experiences of play typical of the vital stage in which they are. Eva Cernadas encourages students and teachers to try out this workshop with these words:
People think that in order to become a professional engineer they had to have a taste for technology in their childhood, but this idea is false, because engineering is simply the application of science in a creative way. In these workshops we carry out activities to exercise computer science using the mechanisms (science) of each age group to solve problems. We do this using materials commonly used in the classroom, such as pencils, paper, rulers, tree leaves, maps, body movements, music, cooking recipes, etc.
This project has a history: it began in 2016, with the program 'Unha enxeñeira ou científica en cada cole' (which celebrated in 2023 its 8th edition) and continues with the workshop 'O uso do xogo e a arte para educar na enxeñaría desde a infancia'. This last one can be considered a complementary workshop to 'A informática e a vida', since it is focused on preschool and elementary school students. Thus, this new workshop completes the remaining compulsory educational levels to offer a complete and customizable variety of contents and materials for the whole school.
Teachers interested in the workshop can visit its website.
