By Teodora Alexandrova | PR & Communications
From the expansion of our successful Math program to new features in Khan Academy, we are committed to empower students and teachers for better results! Our recent initiatives showcase our dedication to innovative teaching methods, digital leadership, and creating an engaging and supportive learning environment.
Better in Math with Khan Academy: Expanding the Program
This year we are expanding our program to improve students’ Math results by incorporating Khan Academy! The program is building upon our experience since last year working with two schools with very low Math results.
During the summer we carefully selected ten new schools from the regions Burgas, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Stara Zagora, and Sofia to participate in the program. Teachers in the selected schools are undergoing intensive training and will receive regular mentoring sessions throughout the next two school years. While working with those teachers, we are focusing on how to effectively use the resources of the world's largest free educational platform, Khan Academy, that can simplify the teaching process and enhance student motivation.
"Improving Math Results in 10 Bulgarian Schools with Khan Academy" program is supported by our main partner, the America for Bulgaria Foundation, as well as Cargill Bulgaria and the Municipality of Burgas. Additionally, we have established an official partnership with the Blagoevgrad Municipality and Burgas Regional Department of Education. Their teams will actively support the efforts of their schools and help disseminate information and best practices to other schools throughout both regions.
Celebrating the End of the Previous School Year
In June 2024, we celebrated the successful end of the school year at 75th Primary School "Todor Kableshkov" and 71st Secondary School "Peyo Yavorov" in Sofia. Fifth graders and their favorite Math teachers gathered for an unforgettable dance challenge! It was a day filled with smiles and joy in the rhythm of the music and with many references between music, dance and Math.
The students' reaction was extremely positive – laughter and enthusiasm spread all over the school. Teachers also had a lot of fun. At the end students received certificates for the time spent learning with Khan Academy during the past term.
These events marked the conclusion of the first year of the "More Successful in Math with Khan Academy in Middle School" project funded by UniCredit Foundation.
Finale of the Digital School Leaders Program
At the end of June 2024, our 6-month mentoring program "Digital School Leaders" concluded successfully. The final day was highly inspiring for all 12 participants, featuring presentations of their projects and receiving peer feedback. It was during this final phase that the true partnership between leaders began – they created a community space for exchanging ideas, discussions, information and useful materials.
The "Digital School Leaders" program prepared the participants to create and manage innovative projects related to the digitalization of educational processes and the application of artificial intelligence, including in STEM education.
“Mrs, We’ll Remember You for This!"
Tsvetelina Stoyanova, a physics and chemistry teacher at 20th Primary School "Todor Minkov" in Sofia, transformed the learning process in her classroom with 7th graders with the help of "Education Without Backpacks" expert Mikhaylo Grishchenko.
In just three months the students were able to:
The final class of her interactive STEM lesson series took place in June 2024, when the excited students shared with their teacher: "Mrs, we’ll remember you for this!"
Exciting Events
Hello, Space!
We are proud that our team was part of the biggest space event in Bulgaria, which took place on June 25 at Sofia Tech Park. The event brought together over 1,000 students interested in science and technology, as well as young scientists and researchers at Sofia Tech Park.
At the "Education Without Backpacks" and Khan Academy booth, young mathematicians solved problems using Khan Academy all day! Something even more exciting also happened – an epic duel between Dr. Solomon Passy and engineer Dr. Petko Dinev! The two brilliant minds led student teams in a Khan competition involving Roman numerals. In fact, all the children did an excellent job and left happy with small gifts from Khan Academy.
Unconference in Milan
In July 2024, the "Education Without Backpacks" team participated in this year’s Unconference, organized by UniCredit Foundation. The two-day event took place in Milan, Italy, and was bringing together selected educational organizations that are part of the Call for Education 2023 UniCredit program.
During the event members of organizations from 12 countries had the opportunity to meet and exchange experiences. This year's theme was Conflict – social, cultural, educational, and in the family.
Rozalina Laskova, CEO of "Education Without Backpacks", led a discussion workshop on "Challenges in the Digitalization of School Education". During the workshop, various aspects of both potential and current conflicts in the digitalization of education were discussed.
Microsoft Teams Integration with Khan Academy: A New Era in Digital Learning
Microsoft Teams users can now seamlessly share Khan Academy content directly with their students in Teams! This is made possible through a new partnership between Microsoft and Khan Academy. Additionally, Microsoft has integrated more Khan Academy content into its Copilot, aiming to innovate in the field of artificial intelligence and improve the quality of education globally.
Khan Academy is also introducing a new feature across all exercises, tests and course challenges – the "Skip" button! This button allows students to pass over difficult questions while getting step-by-step guidance for solving specific problems.
Khan Academy Localization for the Period May 2024 – August 2024
Translation: 449,8K words in Mathematics and Resources
Proofreading: 449,2K words in Mathematics and Resources
Thank you for supporting us on this journey and helping us expand our impact!
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By Melli Popova | Operations Manager
By Melli Popova | Operations Manager
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