All primary schools across Ireland will get complimentary coding kits, marking a significant milestone in an educational research initiative. The project – EDTips (Enabling Digital Technology in Primary School) aims to equip these schools with quality digital technology education resources and tools, preparing them for the new primary curriculum framework set to launch next year.
Computer Science Inclusive (CSinc) at Tu Dublin, the orchestrators of the project, received financial backing from Science Foundation Ireland. This initiative is also backed by the university’s industrial collaborator, AWS in Communities and Workday. Spanning over two years, EDTips is set to train primary school teachers using an array of interactive educational tools suitable for all students. This training will nurture the students to become proficient, innovative, and discerning users of digital technology.
Academics at TU Dublin, renowned for their research proficiency in computer science education, will create detailed teaching resources and activities inspired by the curriculum. Meanwhile, AWS will provide 3,000 complimentary offline digital technology kits. Workday, a predominant provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, also supports EDTips.
Workday, which employs upwards of 2,000 individuals in Ireland, will contribute various resources to streamline the programme implementation, incorporating software development, content, design, and project management.
Neil Morris, the country leader for AWS Ireland, emphasised that these innovative technology kits would allow teachers of all Irish primary schools to become more knowledgeable and creative with coding. By doing so, they will be better equipped with digital literacy tools, ahead of the digital technology curriculum’s introduction.
AWS Ireland is committed to nurturing future Irish technology leaders, and they will continually seek ways to inspire and support young tech talent throughout their educational journey into higher education.