Code + Create: Bringing refugee and Greek youth to learn & work together – GFOSS

The scope of this project is to teach young people digital skills with the use of open technologies. We have set up two open labs and have created open educational material (available at elearn.ellak.gr) to provide free courses to mixed classes of refugees and Greek youth. Code+Create has been designed and implemented in partnership between FCA and Open Technologies Alliance, FCA is Finland’s largest NGO in development cooperation and 2nd largest provider of disaster relief – has been successful in channeling Finnish education expertise for delivery of solutions and services to needs in fragile contexts, namely cost-efficient activities for Education in Emergencies, leveraging Finland’s principles of quality learning, equity and accessibility.

A solution for life skills & integration

Youth who learn digital skills become better architects of their own future and can be active participants instead of passive consumers in an increasingly data-filled world. Just like a language, digital and tech concepts are best learnt young. Interventions that support the development of intercultural competencies connecting refugees with their peers in host community, are identified to be inexistent in the ongoing refugee response in Greece. Uncertainties about the future and difficulties in integrating to Greek society, put young refugee women and men at risk of losing all sense of hope.

Filling an educational gap

Refugee adolescents of 15-17 years old are not included in formal reception classes organised by the Ministry of Education in Greece. On the cusp of adulthood, it is critical for them to get access to more meaningful and constructive opportunities that offer a chance to learn – even at an introductory level – valuable, marketable digital and technological skills. Youth need to be proficient at 21st-century skills in order to thrive in a rapidly evolving, technology-mediated world, where IT and technical literacy is an important asset in any work or educational context.

There is also an emerging need for models that bring together local and refugee youth. While offering access to new (digital and technological) skill sets, youth need more opportunities to interact and learn together.

We address these educational gaps by setting up introductory courses in an open technology lab for mixed classed of refugee and Greek youth to learn computer science, coding and related competencies. The project delivers effective educational activities to motivated learners from both youth groups in an effort to address 21st-century skills gaps. It has been designed to be scaled up to include additional refugee sites, youth centres and Greek public schools and to be further modified to accommodate learners of other ages.

Objectives

The project’s main objectives are:

To provide refugee youth who are not in school or have no access to other educational activities with a solid foundation in digital & tech skills, and the starting tools for more advanced exploration and/or coursework in information technology.
To provide a shared space for refugee and Greek youth to interact, learn and work together on digital projects.
To create an inspiring learning environment where youth are encouraged to learn, connect and problem-solve.

Spaces set up, instructors, location and program

Youth participants are selected from the urban Athens area. The two learning spaces currently active are equipped with tech tools such as Raspberry Pis, Nodemcu, Edison robots, 3D printers, projectors, and a laptop for every participant. Classes last 3 hours and take place 2 times a week. The program’s duration is 8 weeks. Classes are held in the evenings during weekdays for groups aged 18-24. During weekends classes are held for groups aged 15-18. Every class is run by two instructors per session with the aid of a class facilitator. All instructional material is in English, openly licensed and available for free in an online learning management system (Moodle).

Learning spaces are setup as open technologies lab with the following hardware:

(42) Linux Laptops

(2) 3D Printer Ultimaker 2+

(2) Interactive Projectors

(12) Starter Arduino Robotics Kit

(10) Raspberry Pi 3 + SD + Power adapter

(1 per person) Edison Educational Robot and Internet of Thing Lab

Course list and educational modules

The educational modules taught in the courses are:

1.Web design and digital content creation

In this course students learn how to use HTML, CSS, JavaScript and GIMP to create simple websites. They learn to use Audacity and OpenShot to create audio and video files. At the end of the class participants will be able to create a blog and upload their own audio and video content. The online material of the course is available at https://elearn.ellak.gr/course/view.php?id=47.

2.Introduction to 3D printing, robotics and IoT applications

This course is designed as an introductory series of lessons on Educational Robotics with Edison, 3D Printing and Internet of Things (IoT) using NodeMCU and is designed for students aged 15 to 18. Students are introduced to Robotics by programming an Edison (robot), to 3D printing, Internet of Things and the NodeMCU platform. Students and Teachers get to experiment with LEDs, sensors for monitoring temperature and humidity through widgets and are taught to design automated functions. At the end of the course participants are able to produce an overall project using smart home concepts, relays, sensors and weather monitoring. The online material of the course is available at https://elearn.ellak.gr/course/view.php?id=45.

3.Introductory Python programming

This is an introductory course in Python for students, ages 15-18. Its purpose is to help students become acquainted with basic programming concepts through a high level language and be able to create simple arcade games using Python and the pygame library. Python is a widely used high-level programming language for general-purpose programming that is widely used by various organizations such as Google, Yahoo and Youtube. By the end of the course participants will have the skills to create a simple video game. The online material of the course is available at https://elearn.ellak.gr/course/view.php?id=49.

4.Mastering Office Computing

The course is designed to teach how to effectively produce a wide range of documents: job cv’s, letters, books, reports, newsletters, brochures, theses, templates and other documents. Students learn how to produce great looking presentations for work, school, or personal use plus essential tips to effectively presenting their documents. Also students will learn to use spreadsheets for capturing, manipulating and displaying data and extracting meaningful conclusions. The online material of the course is available at https://elearn.ellak.gr/course/view.php?id=37.