2020 Symposia Series

Coding Global was the second event of the mEducation Alliance 2020 virtual Symposia series on Play and Technology for Lifelong Learning and held on July 15, 2020. This event featured organizations working on education technology interventions that teach coding and computational thinking, particularly in low-resource settings.

The Alliance co-hosted this event with our partners of the Call for Ed Tech Responses to COVID-19, the EdTech Hub and the Global Innovation Exchange.

The first hour of this event showcased organization representatives who spoke about their specific global and/or national coding initiatives and soliciting input from a panel of respondents. The second hour was a roundtable discussion with representatives of several global organizations focused on global coding efforts. Roundtable topic discussions included: the relevance of such activities in light of COVID-19, highlighting opportunities for collaboration, and how to further democratize global and national coding efforts, particularly for lower-resource country context.

This Symposia event was part of a series of Digital Literacy Partner discussions which the Alliance will feature over the coming year.

Did you also know that July 15, 2020 was World Youth Skills Day? While the mEducation Alliance focused on one aspect of youth skills in Coding Global, the UN hosted an additional event centered around Skills for a Resilient Youth. To learn more, visit their virtual event page!

Presentation from inABLE

Recorded Event

Watch it Here!
Presentation from IEA

Agenda and Presenters

Hour 1: Pitch Presentations

Micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that inspires every child to create their best digital future. By combining hardware and software technology with creative exploration, children learn through play and discovery. Originally developed in the UK as a computing learning tool for students ages 8-14, the micro:bit is now in 70 countries helping students and teachers learn coding, computational thinking and making.

inABLE utilizes computer assistive technology and training so blind and visually impaired students have opportunity to learn digital literacy and coding skills. Their work also includes advocating for the adoption of educational policy that supports the use of computer assistive technology in specials schools for the blind in Africa. They gave a presentation at the 2019 mEducation Alliance Symposium on coding labs for blind learners.

International Education Association is a global organization that plays a leading role in enabling K-12 education to prepare students to become creative, collaborative, and productive citizens that will lead future economies and societies into a better and more equitable world. They gave a presentation at the 2019 mEducation Alliance Symposium on scaling coder-maker schools for Syrian refugees and host communities.

Ghana Code Club is an after-school program that teaches children computer programming skills. Children between ages 5-17 can join any of our Computer Science programs from Schools, Community Centers and Libraries to learn to create computer games, animations, interactive arts, websites and mobile apps.Ghana Code Club has gradually become champions for coding education in Ghana, driving results through program design and delivery, strategic industry and public partnerships, research and advocacy.

Hour 2: Coding Roundtable

This consisted of a discussion amongst coding partners working in low-resource settings, led by moderators. Below are a list of organizations and the names of their roundtable representative.

Moderators

  • Anthony Bloome, Senior Technology for Development Specialist, USAID and Founder, mEducation Alliance
  • Scott Isbrandt, Director of Strategic Initiatives, mEducation Alliance

Participants

  • Kyle Thornton, Portfolio Manager, Cisco Foundation
  • Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta, VP of International Partnerships, Code.org 
  • John Matogo, University Relations & Digital-Nation Africa Leader for East Africa, IBM 
  • Scot Osterweil, Creative Director, MIT Education Arcade 
  • James Aslett, International Programme Manager, Raspberry Pi Foundation
  • Sunil Geness, Director of Government Relations & CSR, SAP 
  • Davide Storti, UNESCO Programme Specialist, UNESCO YouthMobile 

The Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes. Initially formed in 2010, the mEducation Alliance is a unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts. For more information about the Alliance, including about our signature activities, visit the organization web page. Read Full Disclosure and Policy Statement Here

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Jax Chaudhry

Jax Chaudhry leads Project Invent, a national nonprofit that empowers youth with future ready mindsets for individual success and global impact, through invention. Originally from the Southside of Chicago, Jax loves working with students, families and partners to ensure every student can attain success as they define it. For more than 10 years, she has worked with elementary schools, high schools, education nonprofits and led regional teams and operations to ensure student success.

Michael Leventhal

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning scienceMichael Leventhal is co-founder of RobotsMali, a pedagogical and AI4D laboratory and STEM education center in Bamako, Mali. RobotsMali has trained thousands of students from elementary school to high school in computer science, robotics, and artificial intelligence, coached national robotics teams that have won 32 medals in international competitions, and developed technologies using AI and robotics for the social and economic development of Mali. Before becoming an educator in Mali, Michael worked as a technologist in Silicon Valley.s, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.

Enouce Ndeche

Enouce Ndeche is the founder and Director of Vijana Amani Pamoja ,VAP a community scheme based in Nairobi Kenya that uses the power and the popularity of the game of soccer/football as a catalyst for social, educational and economic empowerment.Enouce holds a degree in sociology from Egerton university and he is also the 2020 individual award recipient “Diversity and Inclusion Eminent Leader Award Enouce is also a certified Sports Philanthropy and Executive, George Washington University and is a 2023 Gratitude Network fellow.

Kenneth Y T Lim

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.