Kids into developing Technologies

What was your experience during school and while growing up? Well, mine was not so different from the many Ugandans’ of my times and before. The school curriculum included Mathematics, English, and Social Studies and Science including other activities like Physical Exercises and outside school, I would learn how to do house chores.  All I had to think about was the four subjects, who to play with and when to play. Problems were for the grown-ups and they were the ones to solve them.

Then, none or just one person in the whole society owned a mobile phone which was mostly likely to be a company phone as Technology was just in its initial stages of development. Computers were owned by very big companies if not only the government ministries. Communication was through letters if not physical. And data in schools, businesses, hospitals, police stations and banks was recorded on and stored in hard copy,  usually a huge stack of papers in enormous box files.

If I was to ask, what was the first time you saw a computer or even a mobile phone and what was that time you first used any of the two technologies? Would your answer be as early as you were in primary or secondary which would be the same answer I would give if I was asked? My first time to interact with a computer was in my senior two in a computer lesson.

Thanks to innovators and technology, all those times are just part of history, currently there are smart phones, computers, laptops, tablets, different kinds of gadgets, devices and many technologies. Many urban kids in Uganda learn of and are exposed to all these as early as age 3. They learn how to operate these gadgets and they become part of them.

Have you thought of how great it would be if these kids took part in the creation of ideas and development of these technologies? With the amazing imaginations and fresh minds the kids have, there is no doubt the future's so bright. Giving a chance to children to take part in the in developing outstanding technologies, brings us an exciting present and a cheerful future.

Well, I got to be part of the excited ones when I got to hear about Scratch and that kids would get an opportunity to be part of the technology developers’ world as they identify problems they face as kids or in their societies and get to use technology to solve them. Scratch is a software that gives kids the power to create programs that could include games, software applications by dragging and dropping blocks.

The kids of Mbarara Preparatory School and Mburara International School were all filled with excitement when they got to learn of how much they would do with Scratch. Most of the kids could not wait to tell their parents to install the software on the computers at their homes. At the end of the session, one little boy wants to build a better version of the FIFA game in the future with Scratch. Let’s all be part of building the future with technology as we involve the young generation.