Microsoft held its flagship computer science workshop for students and teachers at its corporate office in Colombo last Friday.
More than 1000 participants representing public and private schools in and around Colombo were invited to code through voyage aquatic and the micro bit.
The main intention behind this is to make students aware the importance of programming and to Teachers how to combine innovation in teaching methods. Students from grade six to grade 13 and teachers irrespective of the subject they teach participated in the workshop.
Microsoft Certified Educators (MCEs) encouraged teachers to facilitate real world problem solving and student use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools. Teachers were educated on the technology literacy competencies needed to provide a rich, custom learning experience for students.
Students were given the chance to experiment with a new Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial called Voyage Aquatic. This introduced students to puzzles that required them to leverage key computer science concepts such as loops and conditionals. The tutorial also included a “free play” level for students to apply what they learn to build imaginative underwater creations.
“We are committed to help close the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) gap and expand the opportunities for students in Sri Lanka to learn Computer Science,” said Microsoft Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager, Hasitha Abeywardena. He further said that more than 50 percent of the jobs today require technology skills and in future that may arise more.
Microsoft has been philanthropically engaged in conducting Computer Science education programs for the last fourteen years but this is the first time that they had brought these unique programs: Hour of Code, Hackathon and Microsoft Innovative Educator together as the Computer Science Education Day. The local staff as well as the volunteers of Sarvodaya Fusion assisted in these workshops.
Students who gain knowledge in STEM will thrive in a world dominated by the advancement of technology. Through this they encourage, empower, and excite participants of all the ages and varying backgrounds to learn more about STEM and Computer Science. Also workshops like these helps students and teachers become ‘Future ready’ by connecting them with STEM learning experiences and career development opportunities.
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