Schools in the Municipality of San Nicholas become leaders in education for the future – Latin American News Center

This year, the eight schools in the Noble District, which receive 3,445 girls and boys, have integrated computer science into their school business plan.

Within the framework of the Day of Rural Education, which is celebrated on April 7 in our country in honor of the birth of Gabriela Mistral, the San Nicolas schools in the Noble district, the principals and the municipality announced that, starting this year, all students announced that the Commune will learn computer science, becoming the leading municipal institutions in Implement a study program focused on developing twenty-first century skills.

In this way, there are 3,445 boys and girls from San Nicolas, from La Juela Basic School, Monteleone Basic School, Dadenko School, El Piomo School, La Loma School, Puente El Ala School, San Nicolás Bicentennial Polyvalent School and Puente Yuple Second Technical School with the passage of Hundred Years School – It will be part of the IdeoDigital initiative, created thanks to a strategic alliance between the Kodea Foundation and the BHP Foundation, which seeks to expand access to computer science in the nation’s public schools. For example, the program also has Microsoft Chile collaboration.

“It is undoubtedly our pride to be able to fully immerse ourselves in this program as a community, which means continuing to provide our students with better tools for their future work. The added value is also from making this a communicative teacher,” said San Nicolas Mayor, Victor Hugo Reyes. Framed on Rural Education Day, at the beloved Laguilas School, where I have served as a teacher and principal for 30 years.”

The news was announced at a ceremony at Lajuelas Primary School, which was attended by Mayor Victor Rice, municipal authorities, council members, teachers, students, the IdeoDigital team, BHP Foundation and Microsoft.

“Equality in education is one of the main lines of action at BHP, and increasingly, technology is an important tool for progress in this direction. We are convinced that having digital skills beyond the user level is essential for today’s students to have better opportunities in the future. Today, at IdeoDigital and in collaboration With Microsoft Chile, we are taking a new step on this path towards better education,” explains Alejandra Garces, Program Director of BHP Foundation Chile.

IdeoDigital is a five-year initiative that develops content based on Code.org and the curriculum, available as a public benefit and free of charge to the entire educational community in the country. In addition to creating this material, it provides the teacher with a friendly teaching path to integrate a computer science major into the school’s educational project.

Schools have already participated in the pilot program of this program in 2021, which was developed in 23 schools in the capital and Noble region, where teachers from first to sixth grade received training on this school system, and they will continue in 2022 in the program and support.

One of the great promoters of participation in IdeoDigital is the Director of Liceo Bicentenario Polivalente de San Nicolás, Victor Reyes, who has long demonstrated in the municipality the importance of developing scientific and technological knowledge in San Nicolás. This distinguished high school has chosen to innovate from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade, incorporating strategies such as programming to develop logical thinking, robotics, and mechatronics.

“We want to bring the future classroom into the present, design pedagogical strategies and make the curriculum more flexible so that our students from rural sectors of San Nicholas and the Noble area acquire the skills and competencies needed to develop in the 21st century, improve their expectations in life and dream of future careers related to computer science, thereby enabling Positively impacts greater equality, democratization of information and training of participatory and critical citizens.We thank IdeoDigital, BHP Foundation and Microsoft for giving us the opportunity to dream of a better future for our students, their families, and the entire educational community in San Nicholas in general,” says Reyes.

According to the Ministry of Education figures, there are currently 3,317 rural institutions in the country, more than half of which are located in isolated areas, playing an essential role in educating thousands of boys and girls.

“This agreement with San Nicolas schools is very important to us because at IdeoDigital we believe we must prepare all Chilean boys and girls so that they know how to function in the world they have to live in regardless of their context. Access to rural communities allows us to reduce the gaps that exist On scientific-technological knowledge ”explains Claudia Gana, Director of Education at Kodia.

“With the growing digital economy, driven by cloud computing and the emergence of new technologies powered by artificial intelligence, we believe that a renewed commitment to digital education and the delivery of IT skills is essential. For boys and girls to be part of the digital revolution, it is a revolution.” Macarena Ramírez, Director of Education at Microsoft Chile, explains that these types One of the initiatives is at the core of our mission at Microsoft, which is to empower every person and organization to achieve more.

Evidence collected by the Kodea Foundation shows that computer science contributes to the development of digital citizenship, the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and the promotion of empowerment. Motivate students and their creativity, and foster interest in STEM careers.

San Nicolas Municipal Schools will accompany IdeoDigital for two years to enable teachers to teach computer science. Registration to join the initiative is open to other schools in the country and they can request more information at www.ideodigital.cl

Tags: Chile, Computer Science, Rural Education Day, IdeoDigital