Robotics and coding programme promotes equal and inclusive learning for rural youth

MORNINGSIDE resident Ashling McCarthy, founder of education non-profit, I Learn to Live – Ngifundela Ukuphila, encourages society to invest in educational opportunities for all children, including youth from rural communities.

I Learn to Live was founded in 2010 to provide educational opportunities to schoolchildren and youth in rural Zululand. “We believe that rural children and youth should be given an opportunity to create a meaningful life in which they contribute towards their community and society at large,” says McCarthy.

In May 2021, I Learn to Live launched the first Coding and Robotics Club in the rural areas lying between Empangeni and Richards Bay, providing these children with the opportunity to engage in the push towards tech-related careers. “Ten children from the community were selected to participate in the pilot programme, which took place at the Ngqamuzane Support Centre on Saturdays, where children aged 9–15 were introduced to Arduino, an open-source electronics platform that uses both software (coding) and hardware (sensor kits). This year, twenty children attend the Saturday classes, which now include music sessions, with children learning the drums, keyboards and sight-reading,” explains McCarthy.

With the success of the pilot, I Learn to Live sought to expand the programme into the community. An ICT resource audit done at primary schools in the neighbouring communities revealed a dire lack of infrastructure to run computer-based programmes. “Maqhwakazi Primary School had a functional but unused computer lab. In collaboration with the principal and parents of Grade Five to Seven learners, sixty children were selected to attend an after-school Coding and Robotics Club,” says McCarthy.

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I Learn to Live’s Coding and Robotics programme is aligned with the KZN Department of Education’s focus on introducing coding and robotics to children in foundation phase in 2023. It also meets Sustainable Development Goal #4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The programme is specifically run as a free afternoon extra-curricular club for interested learners. I Learn to Live facilitates the sessions, which include equipment and data. Arduino online training manuals are tailored for a rural school context, which factors in implementation challenges, such as the limited resources, and electricity that often runs out. It also takes into consideration that English is not the learners’ first language, so it is taught in both English and isiZulu.

“The programme first tackles the basics of computers as most, if not all, learners have no computer experience. Only then are learners introduced to coding and robotics. Grade Five learners start with block code in the form of Scratch 4 Arduino, which also uses hardware components, while Grade Six and Seven learners move straight into Arduino, working with sensor kits and coding.”

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I Learn to Live is developing a training programme so that youth studying coding can implement similar coding and robotics clubs in their communities. “In 2023, we will be adding a meal for each child who attends the programme as most of these children’s last meal was at breakfast time,” says McCarthy.

If you would like more information or would like to support the I Learn to Live Coding and Robotics programme, contact Phumlani Zungu at 073 337 5226 or Ashling McCarthy at 072 432 0316, or email at ash@ilearntolive.co.za, or visit www.ilearntolive.co.za

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