Computer science unplugged: A new vision of education for special children

27 September 2024

Hi-Tech Park welcomes the participants of the project ‘Computer science unplugged - for every child’. 

The event has brought together teachers from pre-school and institutions of special and additional education for children and youth from all over the country, as well as representatives of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Education and the Republican research and clinical center of medical expertise and rehabilitation. The participants summarised the results of the pilot phase of the project in the format of a round table

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The programme ‘Computer science unplugged - for every child’ developed by Hi-Tech Park with the support of the Ministry of Education is aimed at promoting logical thinking and forming algorithmic skills without using a computer for children aged 6-7 years old and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, severe speech impairment, intellectual disability or locomotor disorders.  The programme is based on the experience, gained during the five-year implementation period of the Hi-Tech Park educational project ‘Computer science unplugged’. 

Opening the event, Alexander Bazanov, the Director of Hi-Tech Park, spoke about the history of the new project: ‘Hi-Tech Park has always had an educational programme for IT, but this is the first time that we focus on assisting the development of children with special needs. Last year Natalia Kochanova drew attention to the problem of supporting such children. And the Park has responded to this call. This is how the idea of adapting an existing educational programme came about’. 

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This idea has been supported in the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, where an Advisory council on social adaptation and integration of children with special developmental needs has been established. ‘Today's event is a vivid and obvious example of how the state realises its obligations [to create equal conditions for citizens - note]. It is very pleasant that our technological giant - Hi-Tech Park - has actively joined in the realisation of these goals. The additional educational programme ‘Computer science unplugged - for every child’ is a very important constituent in the general education framework,’ said Sergei Sivets, the Chairman of the Standing committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on education, science, culture and social development

Alexander Bazanov expressed his gratitude to the teachers who during the year developed, adapted and tested the programme in pre-school and institutions of special and additional education for children and youth: ‘We are completing a whole year of joint efforts with a good result. What is the success? We have developed this project together, because only jointly we can change the situation for the better. A year ago we were not even aware of problems of this scale, and it was thanks to you that we have realised how the Park could be helpful’.

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The individual programme of additional education ‘Computer science unplugged - for every child’ has been developed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and approved for use in pre-school and institutions of special and additional education for children and youth. ‘Today it is no secret that among the tasks that are determined by the need to implement the principle of inclusion in education, an important place is occupied by those, related to socialisation and integration of children with special developmental needs and autism spectrum disorder into the society. The presented project has been developed with due consideration of the special educational needs of this category of children. Another benefit is the possibility to use the the project for other categories of children,’ said Alla Veretennikova, the Head of the Department for adaptation and integration of individuals with special developmental needs of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus.  

The teaching and methodological materials have already been tested in thirteen pre-school educational institutions in Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Minsk regions and the city of Minsk, where they demonstrated their high efficiency and were appreciated by teachers. Svetlana Ermashkevich, the Deputy head of kindergarten No. 43 in Borisov, notes: ‘In the process of conducting didactic games, our teachers were able to see their special children not in terms of their diagnoses, but in terms of their hidden abilities and interests.’ The programme's games activate the mental activity of children with special needs, help develop the basics of algorithmic thinking and logic, and shape intellectual readiness for school.

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Psychiatric specialists also confirm the usefulness and relevance of the approach suggested by the project ‘Computer science unplugged - for every child’’ in terms of improving the social functioning and quality of life of children with special developmental needs. As Tatyana Emelyantseva, the Head of the laboratory of medical expertise and rehabilitation for mental and behavioural disorders at the Republican research and clinical center of medical expertise and rehabilitation, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor, stressed: ‘Hi-Tech Park has challenged us because we are talking about very severe disorders. In the case of assisting children with autism the priority is given to pedagogical activities, medical care is only in the second place. The developed programme and methodological recommendations to it allow to identify the potential of children with special needs, to develop the basics of formal logic in a game form, to increase intellectual readiness for learning. The use of the proposed didactic games improves the functions of memory and attention, emotions and communication by maintaining interest, and also contributes to the activation of cognitive activity’

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The collection of teaching and methodological materials of the additional educational programme is available for download on the website of Hi-Tech Park.

Kuprevicha, 1/1, 220084, Minsk, Belarus.



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