What does an Irish Dancing Doll, IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) KidSmart programme and electronic postcards have in common? In recent weeks they've been inspiring the collaborative spirit in Irish schoolchildren, enhancing new ways of learning using digital tools and the Internet, while helping them to increase their understanding of different cultures and countries around Europe. This highly educational IBM project for schoolchildren participating in its KidSmart programme is in support of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
To begin their dialogue, the children from Scoil Bhríde National School, New Inn, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway sent off an Irish Dancing Doll named ‘Sinead’, as their “Travelling Toy” to the four European countries whom they are partnered with. During Sinead’s travels around Europe, schoolchildren from Spain, Poland, Belgium and Netherlands exchanged messages, photographs and postcards of her travel adventures back to Scoil Bhríde in New Inn, Ballinasloe using their IBM KidSmart Early Learning Centres.
The Galway school also received Travelling Toys from their partner countries. With help from the schoolchildren in Scoil Bhríde the visiting toys sent back daily messages and photographs of their adventures in Ireland to the children in the sender schools.
"We are expanding the awareness and reach of this intercultural dialogue to encourage children from Ireland and across Europe to consider how technological innovation is supporting the transformation of society," said Deirdre Kennedy, IBM Ireland Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs manager. "We also want to help ensure that Irish students are among the next generation of European inventors, scientists and engineers."
As well as the schoolchildren engaging in this dialogue, IBM’s Travelling Toys project allows teachers in the participating countries the opportunity to share and exchange their teaching and learning methods.
“We are very pleased to join with IBM in its efforts to cultivate European collaboration and the next generation of technology-savvy youth”, said Therese Farrell, Principal, Scoil Bhríde National School. “IBM’s Travelling Toys project has allowed the junior and senior infants from Scoil Bhríde, to gain an insight into the daily lives of children around Europe. They are also getting well practised in new technology like digital cameras alongside their daily use of IBM’s KidSmart Early Learning Centre in the classroom. At the same time, the students in our senior classes have been studying the countries Sinéad has been visiting and this has allowed the whole school to be involved in the project.”
Research in six European countries has confirmed that IBM's KidSmart Early Learning Programme for young children has had a strong impact on effective teaching and learning in its target schools.
“We are strongly aware of the positive impact of integrating ICT into early learning and IBM’s Travelling Toys project goes a step further by allowing children to experience the positive aspects of different cultures around Europe through ICT”, said Michael Daly, Country General Manager IBM Ireland. “This is something we experience in IBM every day with a diverse global workforce of over 380,000 employees in 170 countries working together, sharing and learning from each other.”
IBM’s KidSmart Early Learning Programme is a worldwide programme designed to explore the role of Information and Communication Technology in early childhood development. The centrepiece of KidSmart is the Young Explorer - a colourful ‘kid-proof’ play station manufactured by Little Tikes and IBM and loaded with award-winning educational software from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (formerly Riverdeep) and a dedicated Web site.
The KidSmart computer units are donated primarily in disadvantaged areas in line with IBM's policy of helping to address social needs and reduce the "digital divide" between children from low-income families and those with greater opportunities.
Since the launch of the programme in 2000 and throughout successive years, IBM has donated 610 KidSmart units to 210 schools in Ireland.
About IBM's KidSmart Early Learning Programme
Research in six European countries has confirmed that IBM's KidSmart Early Learning Programme for young children has had a strong impact on effective teaching and learning in its target schools. The two-year study, which was led by John Siraj-Blatchford of the University of Cambridge and Iram Siraj-Blatchford of the Institute of Education, University of London, was commissioned by IBM and conducted by independent researchers in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study found that KidSmart has led to substantial improvements in teaching and learning using ICT within a year, greatly benefiting teachers and their pupils.
“The IBM KidSmart Early Learning Programme has been a major catalyst in improving practice in the use of ICT in early childhood settings. It has further enhanced the awareness of practitioners and policy makers of the need for sustained training in ICT education for the early years workforce across Europe and beyond.” - Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Institute of Education, University of London
More about IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs at www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives/ (US).
IBM Press Contact
Jim O’Keeffe
Media Relations, IBM Ireland
+353 1 815 4124
+353 86 8542054.