Digital Citizens Mentorship

Since our last report we have distributed over 70 computers, and we have expanded to more homes. 

At this point we have distributed 450 computers to over 10 homes. It is not simply a physical donation, but it is also our volunteers and staff continuously visiting the homes to teach digital, and language skills. We know that this continuous support is so important for the kids.

We have also expanded our efforts to provide education as it pretains to children in need becoming digital citizens. We have done this by offering our computer language lession sessions to more and more homes. (Ichigo Jam, Scratch, Sphero Bolt, and more)

For language classes we are working with NightZookeeper, which is now providing NZK Missions. (An easier version of the English teaching tool that has many games.) Which has helped us to engage more young students

This past month we provided volunteers, funding and support for an annual arts summer camp for disadvantaged children in Tokyo. 30 kids participated from 3 homes, and through this summer camp we introduced many of the children to the Ichigo Jam class, where they could learn basic programming language to give commands to a robotic car.

 Moving forward:

We are putting the finishing touches on a new digital citizen's curriculum which we are looking to offer in the coming few months. 

We are also beginning to offer support like career assessments to the older kids. This means gauging their interests, personality and competency, which will then determine possible career paths. We believe this is extremely valuable to help disadvantaged children focus on their future, and how they can thrive in society.

Links:

• You Me We NPO

As summer approaches we are hard at work promoting digital literacy and connectedness to disadvantaged children.

Technology Donations:

While some of the children in the homes are 11 or 12, it is clear that they have not used a computer before. This is why when we donate laptops to the homes, we also take the time to educate the children on PC use and safe internet practices.

Night Zookeeper:

The team at Night Zookeeper is hard at work expanding their available English learning content, and likewise, we are expanding and promoting it to more children in Japan and other countries. This is one way we are promoting connectedness through education.

Programing Skills Education:

We continue to hold workshops where the kids learn about computer programing through hands-on methods. One long-running program is Code Club.

Some of the other programs we are teaching are: 

Sphero Bolt: The kids are able to program a robotic ball through a code script to then perform a task. This is a fun interactive way to introduce the children to coding concepts. 

SCRATCH: From the MIT media lab, Scratch allows kids to program their own games, stories, and animations. It builds on the same idea of using programing language to complete a task. It also adds a collaborative aspect allowing the kids to connect with other young users in different countries.

Design Artists Academy:

Our art summer camp for the children is being planned thoroughly, to ensure an amazing experience for the kids. Many professional artists and volunteers are getting involved.

Child Safety Protocol:

As an organization, we are growing, and while we hold education as a core value, we need to ensure that every child's safety remains paramount. This is why we have added a Child Saftey Protocol to hold ourselves accountable, and to act as a preventative measure for safety concerns in the future. 

• Volunteer Child Safety Protocol (PDF)