Digital education for Syrian refugee children

Since 2013, Télécoms Sans Frontières has been working to assist Syrian refugee children inside Syria and in neighbouring Turkey through educational activities, to help them get over their past and give them the means to rebuild their future. The Lab4Future project, started in January 2020, is the latest evolution of these activities. It focuses on TSF’s core expertise with the aim of using technologies to improve the self-confidence, learning capabilities and peer-collaboration skills of vulnerable children.

Since the beginning of the project, over 150 children have participated in the Lab4Future activities. Guided by TSF’s instructors, they have had the possibility to learn the basics of programming through interactive platforms and tools such as Scratch and Lego robots. They learned the basics of a safe and effective use of personal computers and the Internet, as well as the basics of electricity. All of this surrounded by a safe and welcoming environment built specifically around their needs, with their difficulties, strengths and weaknesses in mind. An environment and a pedagogical approach developed and refined throughout the years to help them learn, work with their peers and regain the willingness to learn after the trauma of their past.

The feedback we received from our instructors, the children and their parents has been extremely positive. For the parents, the proposed activities can be very useful for their children’s future. For Mrs. Mohamad, “Of course it can help them! Especially in programming”. Mrs. Mohammad agrees, “sure it will help them, it gives them expertise in programming, reading and writing, they spend their time wisely and it will of course help them in the future”. Mrs Amani goes even further by saying that “it gives them ideas about programming, robots and computer and I hope they will like this field and will continue studying it in the future”.

Discussing directly with the children, we could also realise how important these activities are for them. All those interviewed confirmed that they like the activities and that they feel well when coming to the centres. And nearly all of them would like to continue to study one of the subjects they learn at the centre in their future. Finally, more than half of them told us that, at the centres, they found something that makes them dream. Beyond the technical skills, the Lab4Future project aims at helping vulnerable children and youth get their lives back. After the trauma of the war, after having to see around you nearly just suffering and destruction, after being forced to move to a foreign country, it’s hard to think that you can still dream of something better and of a normal life. With its Lab4Future, TSF is contributing to reconstruct the lives of a generation that would risk being completely lost through no fault of their own.  

TSF is now ending the project and it is working with its local partner Minber Alsham to facilitate the hand over and thus allow them to continue the activities independently in the future.

In July, after nearly one year and a half of lockdown and distance learning, the children participating in the Lab4Future could finally come back to the centres and attend the activities in person. The government restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been eased and our classes could reopen and welcome again the children for in-person activities.

The lockdown period has been difficult for everyone and keeping children engaged while working only remotely has not been easy. However, our staff in Gaziantep took up the challenge and managed to find subjects, online platforms, tools and a way of teaching that could be adapted to remote learning even in the long-term. The results have been positive and the majority of the children kept following the lessons and doing their homework throughout the whole period, even with limited face-to-face interactions.

However, we all know that in-person activities are better, especially for children. It is important for them to have a direct contact with TSF’s instructors, to meet their friends and find the welcoming atmosphere typical of our centres and of the Lab4Future activities. To help you better understand why it is so important for the children to be back in the centres, we thought the best way would be to have them explain directly the reasons. Below are their words when we asked them why it is important for them to be back in the centres and why they prefer in-person activities.

Fatima, 15: “I love the center a lot because I meet my friends there and learn useful things like robots, computers and the Arabic language. I was very happy when it opened. Face-to-face lessons are better because I understand my lessons more and I can work with my friends on robot activities jointly and thus we understand them more.”

Muna, 14: “I am happy to return to the center because I benefit a lot from the lessons and activities that I take at the center. Face-to-face lessons are much better because I can interact with the teacher more.”

Hamze, 12: “I am happy to return to the center because the lessons and activities at the center are fun and because I miss my friends and teachers. Face-to-face lessons are better because the teacher can explain the topic in a faster way and we understand it faster.”

Muhamad, 11: “Returning to the center is important for me because at the center I always learn new and useful things. I was very happy when the center reopened because I was feeling very bored after the long lockdown period. Face-to-face lessons are much better because I can understand my lessons more and can do robot activities.”

Ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, every single person’s life has been affected in some way. This has been even more significant for Syrian refugees.

We have to bear in mind that the world is growing, and rapidly at that, towards digitization. The restrictions put in place during this pandemic have considerably echoed how much, besides our health institutions, the digital world is an essential element in the 21^st century.

That being said, it is notable that not everyone has the same opportunities when it comes to new technologies. Our Lab4Future project focuses on helping Syrian refugee children in Turkey to develop digital skills. We wish for these skills to act as a ladder, for them to aim for better life opportunities and a better future. Digital skills will greatly benefit and ease their integration in their host country.

This goal of ours has been impacted by the “new normal” of the last 12 months. The centres have been closed for many days and weeks, forcing the teachers to adapt to the situation and, with creativity and the help of the parents, engage with the children remotely. Keeping children occupied and intellectually challenged is not only important for their development, but also for their mental health. In fact, these types of cognitive activities are proven to be essential for a child’s development. 

Our team has succeeded, despite the difficulty of teaching remotely, in putting in place activities for the students. In order to continue their learning in coding, computer science and 3D design, the teachers are using online resources to engage and teach students remotely. Fortunately, students have now become accustomed to this “new normal”, and are getting comfortable with this method. Each week, they are given new themes of activities they will be working on. Our teachers have implemented also manual activities for the younger students. Considering that children are losing social interaction during the pandemic, manual activities give them the opportunity to harness their creativity by creating forms and designs. They’ve also worked on the programming platform Scratch for several months, before switching to new platforms while improving and progressively increasing the difficulty level of the activities.

In the beginning of 2021, they used the platforms BlocksCAD and TinkerCAD, which are designed to teach children and teenagers 3D design through block-based coding, while improving their maths and computer science skills.

To consolidate their learning with these platforms, our local educators organise competitions every three months for the students participating in the program, resulting in the selection of the best 3D designs. It is a great way to keep the students engaged and motivated in pursuing their learning activities.

Our teachers make it a priority to regularly meet with students, either in person or remotely, to answer any questions they might have or help them overcome difficulties they might face.

Throughout the year in 2020, Télécoms Sans Frontières had to adapt its Lab4Future activities to the restrictions put in place due to COVID-19.

In fact, this program which contains 4 workshops (computing and Internet, programming and robotics, electricity, and fabrication) requires students to be physically together, allowing them both to use robots, computers, tablets, and other instruments provided by TSF, but also peer-to-peer collaboration, which also fosters teamwork. It is therefore important that children be together to do these activities.

However, once COVID-19 hit and the centers with which we partner in Turkey were closed, we decided to adapt the system so they could continue learning at home. Our local team remains in contact with the parents of the children through the use of WhatsApp groups.regular videoconferences, . This allows them to continue their learning in Computer Science, programming and 3D Design.. The local TSF staff regularly send resources, exercises and video tutorials to the children, which ensures constant contact with them and allows them to regularly give them feedback on their work.

Some families do not have access to the Internet or do not have smartphones or computers at home. In order to not disadvantage those who do not have these resources and make up for it, TSF provided free Internet data packages and tablets so that everyone can continue their distance learning. The adaptation to distance learning was a success: 80% of the pupils are active and the parents are satisfied with the process.

In October the centers were able to reopen, all the while respecting all sanitary measures necessary to ensure both children and teachers stayed safe. This allowed some children to come back and benefit from learning with their peers. It has been an excellent opportunity for them to be able to meet again their friends and teachers in person, exchange with them and ask additional questions on the work done from home.  

Unfortunately, in November the centers had to close again given a worsening COVID-19 situation. This did not stop us, as we once again adapted to those restrictions and moved back to distant learning. We are constantly monitoring the situation to always ensure the safety of our staff and the children while continuing to offer them the opportunity to continue their education. In the coming weeks the classes will thus be most likely conducted in a hybrid mode that will change depending on the COVID-19 restrictions.