Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and IT, Dr. Ahmed Gamal el Din Moussa, Minister of Education, and Mr. Hans Ulimerky, President of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa, witnessed early ethis month the launch of Kidsmart, a program that utilizes IT as a teaching tool in kindergartens. The program aims to integrate IT and communication to deliver the special educational content for this early school phase, as well as introduce the young children to the IT tools of the century. This is the first time this technology is used in public schools and for students in this age group. The program comes as part of the efforts being exerted to build a knowledge-based society in Egypt and educating an IT-savvy generation.
The program involves providing 50 specially designed computers that are in a colorful housing made by specialized toy manufacturers which are designed to be especially appealing to children. The units are designed to allow two or more children to work together, and learn using a problem-solving solving approach driven by special educational software. The software, which has been translated into Arabic, covers basic skills in mathematics, science and creative writing and thinking through using applications and games as a teaching method.
Both Ministries of Communications and IT, and Education, in cooperation with IBM, have selected the schools in which the Kidsmart program will be applied in during the initial stage. In addition, IT and teaching training will be provided to the teachers participating in the program. The program will be evaluated by all the parties involved.
“This program aims at developing children’s social, innovative, and cognitive skills. It is also an equal opportunity program that aims at spreading IT awareness among children in lesser privileged communities,” stated Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and IT. Worth mentioning is that Kidsmart provides children with a rich learning opportunity, and allows them to interact with their peers in order to develop their social skills. This is accomplished by using specialized technology that strongly and positively affects the learning process. Dr. Ahmed Gamal el Din Moussa pointed out that there are efforts currently being exerted to provide advanced learning opportunities, using IT tools, to children during early learning stages.
The program also provides continuing education opportunities for pre-school teachers. Both teachers and parents can access the Kidsmart website (www.kidsmartearlylearning.org) which provides a wealth of information.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Egypt is the second Arab country that has applied the Kidsmart program, which is currently ongoing in 50 countries around the world. “IBM is proud to be a partner in this progressive and visionary program which will benefit Egypt’s children and society as a while,” emphasized Eng. Amr Ghoneim, General Manager of IBM Egypt. This program is part of IBM corporate social responsibility program which aims at providing IT resources to remote and needy communities.
