By Bertha Badu-Agyei
Kyebi, Nov 07, GNA – Siemens Stiftung in collaboration with Ghanaian social enterprise, BLUETOWN, has launched the AccessSTEM pilot project in four schools in the Eastern Region.
The project is to bridge the learning digital gap of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education using social entrepreneur solution.
The project is meant to improve teaching methods specifically in the STEM subjects and vocational orientation of students using BLUETOWN’s services, where the availability of digital learning tools were comparatively low.
The four schools are the Presbyterian College of Education, Akuapem-Akropong, Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, Kibi Senior High Technical School and Koforidua Technical Institute (Kotech).
The collaboration enables up to 5,000 teachers to connect to BLUETOWN’s infrastructure and access digital learning and teaching materials on the local cloud, deploying the social enterprise’s solar-powered technology to work off-grid under rough conditions, providing more affordable internet to underserved communities.
Ms Setoria Opoku Afriyie, Special Projects Administrator of BLUETOWN Ghana, in a briefing indicated that the collaboration would facilitate 4,000 to 5,000 teachers and students to get access to BLUETOWN’s connectivity infrastructure in combination with the latest learning materials in STEM subjects from Siemens Stiftung’s internationally recognized Open Education Resources (OERs).
The OER content is a modular and adaptable to country-specific needs and would be made available on the local cloud and can be downloaded in areas with low internet connectivity.
Teachers from the participating schools as part of the project would be familiarised on the OER to ensure their optimal use in the learning process.
“This pilot supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Four) on quality Education and Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG Nine), by not only providing educational resources to a wider population, while also improving digital infrastructure to prepare students for the future job market”.
Dr Nina Smidt, Managing Director and Spokesperson of the Board of Directors at Siemens Stiftung, said such initiatives bridge the learning gap exacerbated by the pandemic for students living in areas with no internet.
Ms Matilda Jimatey, an ICT teacher at Kibi Secondary Technical School one of the beneficiary schools, said the world was moving into a digital stage and described the AccessSTEM digital learning materials as just the right solution to challenges in teaching and learning.
BLUETOWN won Siemens Stiftung’s empowering people award in 2019, a global competition for low-tech solutions addressing basic needs in developing regions and subsequently became a member of its empowering people.
GNA