Atlas high performance academy Ltd.

It was a pleasure to meet both Simon Squibb and Ben Askins at The Business Show Maybe we'll do great things together one day! Let's change the world of education, 1 product at the time

Behind the scenes at The Business Show - it all came together in the end!! Thank you Hyped Up Ltd. and Ra j for the help in setting up the stand

Super Cyber Kids: Learning Cybersecurity in the Classroom Through Play The European project "Super Cyber Kids," funded by the Erasmus+ program and designed for teachers and children aged 8 to 13, aims to create tailored tools for teaching cybersecurity in the classroom. "Super Cyber Kids" offers a broad range of digital materials, in various formats, to introduce and deepen classroom learning on cybersecurity topics through a playful, game-based approach. The program will include: - A game-based e-learning platform, also accessible via mobile app, that uses typical gamification mechanics (missions, scores, levels, leaderboards, immediate feedback, badges, etc.) to make the learning experience more effective and engaging. - High-quality interactive teaching materials, designed using communication styles suited to the 8–13 age group. - *Nabbovaldo and the Cyberspace Blackmail*, a serious game developed by CNR-IIT to introduce children and young people to cybersecurity themes, available in each partner country's language. - *Spoofy*, a cybersecurity game developed by CGI Group. - A set of instructions and guidelines to support teachers in using the available educational materials. "Super Cyber Kids" is the result of an innovative study, distinguished by: - Its open and flexible system, which allows teachers to adapt the training path according to the specific needs and knowledge levels of their students; - The ability to monitor the overall progress of the training path; - Opportunities to incorporate gamification elements, including student participation in international contests. Finally, at the end of the training program, studies and reports will be produced to illustrate its effectiveness and provide various player profiles, with the aim of tailoring the educational experience to the personalities of the participants. Source Immagine: stem@it #Future #Tecnology #CyberSecurity

"Digital Connections" Initiative Supported by the Crédit Agricole Italia Group The initiative was created to combat digital educational poverty, defined as "the deprivation of opportunities to learn, experiment, develop, and freely foster skills, talents, and aspirations through the responsible, critical, and creative use of digital tools." Its goal is to enhance the digital skills of young people and to foster the development of informed digital citizens by integrating digital teaching with Civic Education courses. This two-year project has involved 99 middle schools in 56 cities across 17 regions of Italy, reaching over 1,000 teachers and a total of 5,843 students between the ages of 12 and 14. The participating students created digital communication projects based on their experiences, learning to use technology responsibly and boosting their civic engagement. The project includes the establishment of creative learning spaces equipped with technology for students to create digital content. In these spaces, students rotate through different communication roles, allowing them to experiment with new skills and organizational methods. A total of 80 digital newsrooms were created, which will remain available to the schools even after the project concludes. Over the two years, students were introduced to and created various digital products, including digital writing, podcasting, digital storytelling, and social marketing. Altogether, the participating schools produced 2,147 pieces of digital content. In Italy, only 58.7% of young people aged 16 to 19 have basic digital skills. Italy ranks fourth from the bottom in Europe for digital skills in this age group. The national average also conceals significant regional disparities: in the South, over half of young people have few or no digital skills (52%), while the North and Central regions are closer to European averages (34% and 39%, respectively). The percentage drops with age: only 45.7% of Italians between the ages of 16 and 74 have basic digital skills, around ten percentage points below the European average of 55.5%, and far from the EU's goal of 80% by 2030. The project has had a positive impact on the digital skill development of approximately 6,000 students who participated, according to an impact assessment conducted by the Italian Evaluation Institute on the schools involved in the project. Source Immagine: Aigae.it #Tecnology #School #Future

No more boring shadowing and on-site training --> embrace a faster track to effectiveness, come say hi at Stand B1923! 🚀 Right at the ExCeL London on November 13-14 we’ll be showcasing Omega Point’s next-gen, gamified training that slashes training time by 80%! And guess what? We’re hooking you up with a FREE TICKET to come join us! 🎉 Don’t sleep on this chance to connect, learn, and get inspired! Grab your free ticket now, and come say hi at Stand B1923! 🚀 Link to Omega Point and free ticket in first comment

"Technology to the Rescue of Geographic Illiteracy" Geographic illiteracy in Europe is a serious issue. Few hours are dedicated to this subject, specialized teachers are scarce, and university training is inadequate. The consequences? Students who cannot orient themselves, fail to understand global interconnections, and are unable to critically interpret territories. This is a significant gap, especially in a globalized world where environmental, migratory, and geopolitical challenges demand a solid geographic knowledge base. Geography is well-studied in the early school years, with effective efforts to build spatial and temporal skills. However, these skills are not reinforced in later years, where teaching focuses on rote learning and descriptive information, neglecting critical analysis and the use of modern tools such as maps. The paradox is that geography is fundamental for understanding the contemporary world. Studying migration flows, sustainable development, climate change, and geopolitical relationships all require a strong geographic foundation. Yet, geography is often marginalized in school curricula. The “International Geography Night” serves as an important moment to raise public awareness about the importance of this subject. However, a consistent commitment from institutions is needed to promote widespread geographic literacy. The metaverse could become a new tool for teaching geography, offering the chance to explore territories virtually and understand their characteristics. However, it is crucial that this technology is paired with a rigorous and critical teaching approach. Geography should not be considered a secondary subject. Investment in its instruction is necessary, and its essential role in helping us understand the world we live in should be recognized. Source Immagine: Freepik.com #School #Technology #Geography

"Including Play in Primary Classrooms: Examples of Flashcards and Role-Playing" In primary and early childhood classrooms, there are many ways teachers can support effective learning through play. For example, the end of a lesson is usually a good time to offer opportunities for child-led free play, allowing them to choose what and how to play. There are also many ways teachers can create opportunities and an optimal environment for guided play, such as: - Using English as much as possible in teacher-directed games, making it a part of the play routine. - Encouraging children to make choices about play, for example, by bringing toys to class and using play to review and expand vocabulary. - Monitoring play and suggesting ideas or words without directing it. - Allowing children to control the play, for instance, by taking turns as "leader" and adapting the rules. - Varying interaction, encouraging children to play in groups or pairs once they are familiar with a game played by the whole class. - Creating a dedicated play area in the classroom for English play, featuring a "word wall," a puppet in its home surrounded by storybooks in English, and a display of drawings or objects made by the children. - Communicating with parents/guardians about how play can support learning. **Flashcards** Flashcards are an excellent resource for games, and most teachers have access to them. Illustrated cards are very versatile and provide a simple way to practice vocabulary, such as finding matching pairs or playing charades: children look at an illustrated card and then act out the word depicted for the rest of the group to respond by saying the word aloud. **Role-Playing** Role-playing offers children ample opportunities for less structured, more child-led play. It gives them the freedom to be more creative and the autonomy to invent their own scenarios. A language-rich area is when children take on the roles of the teacher or parent. This can manifest in giving instructions related to a task, or a game like "Simon Says." They might also pretend to prepare meals or read a story to other children. Play in early childhood is something that deserves more time and space than we have available here, and many books have been written on the topic. It's worth noting that play not only helps our students but also benefits us as teachers and adults. As George Bernard Shaw wisely wrote: "We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." source immagine: Wikiscuola #School #Game #Children

"Education will be the epicenter of the revolution": Schools in 2050 Technology will play a central role in the continuous progress of education, thanks to factors such as the integration of Artificial Intelligence, which will lead to a personalized learning experience. By 2050, for example, brain-computer interfaces will enable students to instantly absorb knowledge, and teachers will be able to adopt a more holistic approach toward students, focusing not just on imparting knowledge but paying greater attention to their health and well-being. This is the vision presented in the report “The End of Schooling as We Know It: Education in 2050,” produced by the online tutoring platform GoStudent, in collaboration with renowned professor and futurist Tracey Follows, named by *Forbes* among the Top 50 Female Futurists in the world. “With rapid technological advances, we are on the brink of a technological explosion that will change the way the entire world operates," explains Tracey Follows, futurist, author, and visiting professor of Digital Futures and Identity. "Education will be the epicenter of this change. The shift toward immersive learning, AI-based personalization, and continuous monitoring is set to revolutionize how we learn and adapt." As a result, the traditional back-to-school experience as we know it will become a distant memory. In 2050, for instance, learning will no longer be shaped by the subjects schools currently prioritize, but will instead be driven by each student’s passions, with curricula tailored to their individual interests. In the next 30 years, every job will, in some way, be a tech-based job. Consequently, while computer science, programming, and data analysis are already on the rise, they will become foundational elements across all training courses. Most students will have basic knowledge in each of these areas. “With the rise of technology, and AI in particular, the educational sphere is set to change yet again in a significant way as accessibility and personalization converge,” notes Felix Ohswald, CEO and co-founder of GoStudent. “To actively continue shaping the future of how students learn, we need to embrace what lies ahead. We are excited to see how education will evolve and what it will mean for us as we continue our mission to reinvent education.” Source Immagine: Milano Post #Tecnology #School #Future

Malawi Model: "Technology Assisted Learning" Children's school test results are one of the major causes of concern around the world. Learning levels collapsed almost everywhere during the Covid pandemic, but even before that, scores on standardized tests in math, science, and reading were heading in the wrong direction. The uncomfortable truth is that commonly promoted approaches – increasing teacher salaries, reducing class sizes, and building more schools – are costly and do little to nothing to improve learning levels. However, there is a promising solution coming from an unexpected place. Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, faces issues of overcrowded classrooms, a lack of teaching materials, and a shortage of qualified teachers. It’s not a place where one would expect to discover innovative solutions. Yet, the country is now embracing an educational initiative that gives hope for a turnaround and is even being adapted and replicated elsewhere. “Technology assisted learning” might seem like a straightforward concept at first glance. But it tackles a frequently tricky problem. Schools almost always place all nine-year-olds in one class, all ten-year-olds in another, and so on. Many of these children, however, fall far behind or are far ahead of their classmates. Now, children in Malawi use a tablet for one hour a day with personalized and adaptive software. This software first identifies where each child is at in their learning, then teaches them how to read, write, and do arithmetic at their exact level. Teachers recount how amazed they were when they first started using the software and discovered that the entire class was fully engaged, while the children expressed relief at not having to worry about the embarrassment of giving a wrong answer in front of their peers or competing for the teacher’s attention. It’s an incredibly cost-effective initiative, costing just $15 per student per year in Malawi, partly because one hour of use per day means the tablets can be shared by many students. Extensive studies show that just one year of usage for one hour a day can produce results equivalent to three years of normal learning. Higher learning levels ultimately translate into more prepared adults who will be more productive in the workforce and therefore able to demand higher wages. Based on standard economic estimates, this means that a year spent with the tablet for one hour a day will result in an income increase of about $16,000 over the children's lives. Since most of this income will come in the future decades, the present value of this benefit is around $1,575. This equals a phenomenal return of 106 times the investment of $15. Parents around the world are desperately searching for policies and strategies that can reverse their children's poor test scores and ensure that kids are better equipped for the challenges of tomorrow. Source Immagine: Tempi.it #Tecnology #School #Future

Technology and Summer Camps: A Good Combination for the Summer Holidays Summer holidays are an important break: during this long pause, one can enjoy free time and a daily routine without the tight schedules of school learning. Often, assigning homework during this period is seen as disrespectful to this long rest period, and there is frequent debate about the real need to give students "something to do" before returning in September. In technology, many skills are acquired through hands-on activities: practice and exercise, along with metacognition (the ability to reflect on one's work), create a feedback loop that needs to be continually nurtured to avoid starting from scratch each time and to prevent learning loss, as highlighted in various sector-specific essays on the subject. For the upcoming warm season, numerous tech-themed summer camps are scheduled in Italy. These camps will provide young people the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the professions of the future, learn the art of coding, explore the potentials of artificial intelligence, and approach the world of video games from a different perspective. Some examples include "AixGirls," a camp dedicated to high school girls offering a training path focused on AI and Data Science related to future jobs introduced by the digital transformation; or the "Maker DOJO Summer Camp", featuring activities from video game labs dedicated to Minecraft to robotics labs, as well as courses on programming with Arduino and the potentials of artificial intelligence. These activities will be supported by a staff of competent and experienced educator-tutors in conducting EdTech labs across Italy. Another example is the "Champions' Camp - Coding Summer Camp", where children aged 8 to 13 will be introduced to the world of coding and design using software like Scratch, Lego WeDo 2.0, and App Inventor. In short, with the end of the school year and the arrival of summer, the only thing left to do is organize activities for the coming months. Summer camps could be a valuable solution for learning and having an innovative experience in the company of new friends. Source Immagine: Let's go.it #School #Summer #Tecnology