On the recently held regional coding competition in April, children from Blaze Koneski school from Prilep won the second place. Read an interview by their teacher Natasa Prodanoska Risteska.
- Why do you think digital skills are important for future?
We cannot imagine life without ICT technologies. It is considered that information technologies are crucial or the development in the 21st century. As a result, even today many jobs are based on these technologies. If we want to prepare our pupils for their future, we need to develop and nurture their digital literacy and creativity.
- How do you use the Micro: bit in teaching and what are its advantages?
We can use microbit device in any learning subject. For younger pupils, the teacher uses the device to create various teaching materials: experiments, quizzes, multiplication tables, games… than it is used as a tool to learn basics of programming, and in the recent years in the primary education it is used as a tool for many different projects, where pupils combine their knowledge, creativity and practical usability.
- Is the use of Micro: bit devices possible at different levels of education?
Yes, pupils from the lowest grades can start using the microbit device a tool to make their learning easier and for acquiring diverse knowledge. Later it can be used as a tool to initially learn coding, and ultimately to embed microbit in various projects.
- Can Micro: bit devices be used as a means of acquiring the skills of logical thinking, enhanced learning and problem solving in all disciplines.
The use of microbit is helping not only to acquire some basic knowledge in coding, but also offers creativity, new links and connections between the known facts and the knew information, thus creating new knowledge. With the microbit device pupils solve concrete tasks, problems and situations across the elementary school curriculum. It also helps the pupils to connect the knowledge from various disciplines and use it for concrete purpose.
- Can you say that the use of micro:bit affects younger generations in a way that motivates them to be more creative and more interested?
By using microbit devices, pupils do not wait for their teachers to tell them what to do, but they come up with their own ideas that are further developed into projects. The pupils do their own planning and take initiatives, set questions and find answers and solutions more independently.
- Does the use of micro:bits computers encourage collective learning and group work?
Creating projects with micro:bit asks for cooperation, communication, exchange of opinion and ideas, as well as resolving conflicting situations and reaching compromises, and supporting each other.
- Can learning about micro:bit computers better save students for employment?
It helps the pupils to see directly how what they learn can be practically applied and what they can create with the knowledge they get. Pupils acquire knowledge and skills that are applicable to the real future world.
