SAVE THE CHILDREN’S PROJECT ET3 – Equip today to thrive tomorrow

Equip today to thrive tomorrow (ET3) is a 3-year project (June 2020-August 2023), which is being implemented in Italy as part of the broader Skills to Succeed programme and is being carried out simultaneously in 5 other countries around the world. The project is being developed by Save the Children Italy, as part of an existing partnership with Accenture.

The ET3 project aims to reach 44,000 beneficiaries, including 41,000 children and 3. The main objective of the project is to develop human skills (communication and interpersonal skills, critical thinking and responsible decision-making, social-emotional awareness dimensions) and digital-technological skills in a pathway towards STEM subjects for children (aged 8-14), with a focus on growth mindset and creativity in a gender-inclusive perspective.

In this project, Scuola di Robotica (the School of Robotics in Italy) designed several workshops for pupils and students from primary to secondary school. Depending on the grade of the school, the themes and challenges of the workshops were modulated.

But all the workshops share the same methodology: they are dedicated to themes of interest to all participants, the themes are inspired by Save the Children’s mission and the challenges of the UN 2030 Agenda:

• they use an eco-sustainable kit made of wood and cardboard,
• using Halocode, a single-board computer designed for the world of education, and low-cost LED lights,
• using low-cost tablets.

The workshops

The eco-sustainable model tool will be the device for carrying out various actions and adventures. Thanks to the Halocode board contained in the kits provided to the schools, it will be possible to programme, using a visual programming language, different activities and missions that will involve interactions and animations on the tablet or monitor.

In this way, participants, young and old, will be able to operate in the world thanks to a small tool and assess how lessons in the virtual world can connect to real objects.

They will learn to program with an iconic language similar to Scratch and will do so, even the youngest, without difficulty.

Each participant will be able to invent his or her own character, a “digital twin” who will operate in virtual space, controlled by Halocode and events in the real world, animating in a game or interactive story.

The competences acquired in these workshops cover both hard and soft skills. as the workshops involve learning artificial languages and natural languages (Halocode programme and narration in the mother tongue); design skills and logical thinking and STEAM subjects; teamwork and sociability. In addition, content relating to traditional teaching will be conveyed, with the support of digital tools.

Exploring space

With an eco-sustainable spaceship we see the planets and space. That is, we use a real object – a model of a spaceship that can be built with a series of joints – as a tool to control a digital animation. Halocode will make the spaceship interactive, and thanks to what will happen on the screen we will discuss space exploration and research.

The garden

Our plants need care, they need to be watered regularly and kept healthy. We will be able to take care of our garden thanks to a self-built soil moisture sensor, using wooden supports and commonly available materials to produce a MacGyver-like sensor that – once connected to Halocode – will be able to warn us about the health of the plants.

The watch

Smart watches are becoming increasingly popular. We too will be able to design one; Halocode will be worn on the wrist, and can help us keep and mark the time, or count steps, or imagine our own personalised Smart interaction.

Too noisy?

A smart keychain will measure the intensity of ambient noise and warn us if there is too much noise by changing the intensity of its light.

The brochure   SAVE THE CHILDREN_SdR_laboratories

The ET3 project website on Save the Children: https://www.savethechildren.it/cosa-facciamo/progetti/equip-today-thrive-tomorrow

Credit: picture by Tara Winstead