Digital Skills for Disadvantaged Children in China

As the spring semester is coming to a close, we are pleased to report that our Digital Literacy Program has continued to grow in 2024, empowering hundreds of disadvantaged students in China with essential 21st-century skills.

In the first six months of 2024, our Digital Literacy Program reached 962 students across China, and we recruited and trained 107 volunteers to deliver an impressive total of 596 online or offline lessons so far.

Our teaching approach continues to combine project-based learning with engaging group activities, focusing on several digital competencies. While our basic courses are designed to provide all our students with essential skills and concepts of digital literacy (e.g., online searching, Microsoft Office, and coding), advanced and innovative courses, such as 3D printing, AI, C++, and embedded systems design, are now offered to our second and third-year students to enhance their knowledge and learning experience. Through our intervention, we also aim to unleash students’ creativity, foster critical thinking, develop communication skills, and help students look toward their future with excitement.

For the upcoming summer term, we will continue to provide engaging digital literacy lessons to more than 300 under-served students in China.

It goes without saying that none of this would be possible without the efforts and dedication of our volunteers, donors, and other supporters. Thank you all for your support!

Links:

• Read more about our programs on our website

As we are entering the year of the Dragon, we reflect on the past year — a journey marked by learning, collaboration, success, and a sharp rebound in our activities. We want to take a moment to celebrate the milestones that we achieved in 2023.

In 2023, our digital literacy program experienced a significant increase in volunteer and student enrollment, reaching under-served children in Shanghai, Shaanxi, Hubei, Henan, Fujian, and Anhui provinces.Throughout the year, more than 200 volunteers and teachers delivered an impressive total of 1,904 online or offline lessons to 2,065 students. Compared with 2022, we are pleased to report that we have increased by 183% our number of beneficiaries, thus enabling more students to acquire knowledge and make progress in their computer and life skills.

New classes in STEM, logic, mathematics, coding (Scratch 3.0), graphical programming, embedded system design (Micro:bit), and social-emotional learning were added to our curriculum to enhance our students’ knowledge and learning experience. These classes employed innovative teaching methods to make it easier for students to understand programming concepts, develop creativity and problem-solving skills, and recognize and manage emotions.

For the upcoming spring semester, we will continue to provide engaging computer and life skills lessons to more than 900 under-served students in China.

In these unprecedented times, we especially want to thank all of you, our volunteers, donors, and other supporters. We need your support more than ever to keep our programs running sustainably in 2024. We sincerely thank all of you, and wish everyone good health, good luck, and much happiness!

Links:

• Read more about our programs on our website