To develop innovation and technology in Hong Kong, talent cultivation is an important part.
In the current primary and secondary school curriculum, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is not an independent subject, but is mainly implemented in the form of extracurricular activities, which may not ensure that every student can participate.
Subsidized secondary schools add STEM education to the curriculum semi-formally, so that every student can access it.
Another international school adds robots, programming, etc. to the curriculum to cultivate students' hands-on problem-solving skills.
In recent years, the Hong Kong government has also launched a programming curriculum guide for primary and secondary schools, suggesting that programming learning should be arranged in class hours.
There is also a local STEM education center that cooperates with Roblox, the Chinese branch of the game creation platform Roblox, to use Roblox to provide programming classes for local primary and secondary schools.
According to the current local primary and secondary school curriculum guidelines, STEM education is not an independent subject, but based on science, mathematics and other subject knowledge, in the form of extracurricular activities, focusing on training students to apply knowledge and skills, and solve problems.
In recent years, the government has launched the "Secondary School IT Innovation Lab" and "Fun and IT Knowledge" projects, and the funding provided is mainly used by schools to increase facilities and organize extracurricular activities.
Some voices believe that STEM education is only implemented in the form of extracurricular activities, and the pace of schools varies. Some schools regard STEM as elite education and only select gifted students for nurturing.
Kowloon Huaren STEM for All All junior high school students can attend STEM class
The traditional prestigious school, Kowloon Wah Yan College, has added STEM education "semi-formal" to the curriculum, so that all students have the opportunity to be exposed to STEM education.
According to Li Haijun, one of the school’s STEM teacher team and the director of the computer science department, there are currently three levels of STEM education in the school, namely STEM for All, STEM for Some, and STEM for Elite.
Among them, the latter two respectively refer to students who are interested in spontaneously participating in STEM extracurricular activities, and key training for gifted students.
As for how to achieve STEM for All, Li Haijun said that starting from this school year, the school has transferred half of the junior high school computer class hours to STEM classes, and "semi-formally add STEM to the curriculum." He said that the classroom focused on making customers. (Maker) elements to cultivate students’ Design Thinking, that is, through observation, to understand the nature of problems in society or life, and to find solutions.
In addition, the course will also teach programming knowledge and train Computational Thinking in learning and daily life. "The most important thing is to master logical operations. Tools are only media."
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Mo Mingwei, the director of the Chemistry Department, is also one of the school's STEM curriculum promoters. He also pointed out that the classroom philosophy is to cultivate students' creativity, problem-solving skills, and collaboration skills, and to provide opportunities for "hands-on work". There is "no books" in the class.
In order to cooperate with STEM courses, the school has set up a STEM Lab to provide 3D printing, laser cutting and other equipment, so that students can transform their wild ideas into actual inventions.
Unfortunately, the new crown pneumonia epidemic was encountered at the beginning of the laboratory's opening last year.
Mo Mingwei recalled that although students were unable to use the laboratory in person, the epidemic also inspired students to use technology to solve problems for society.
He said that in the early stage of the epidemic, there was a shortage of anti-epidemic materials. Some students spontaneously designed protective masks and made them in large quantities using experimental equipment with the cooperation of teachers.
"The most important thing about design is to help people," Mo hopes students.
International schools do not need to follow the curriculum design of the Education Bureau and have a higher degree of freedom to implement STEM education.
Cheng Jiajian, Director of Science and Technology Curriculum at Hujiang Victoria School, said that international schools have more flexible curriculum arrangements, and there is no need to specifically pursue rankings, and they have the freedom to customize their curriculum.
International schools add STEM elements to the IB design technology curriculum
According to Cheng Jiajian, the school's STEM mainly includes education in Robotics, programming, etc. For example, starting from junior high school, students can use Lego learning accessories and other tools to understand the basic theory and operation of robots, and then learn to combine micro-controls. Parts such as cleaners and wires, design tools for smart homes such as vacuum cleaners, baby crying sensors, etc.
As for programming, students start to learn programming game education tools from junior high school, and learn to use programming languages such as Python, and in the senior class, they start to learn Xcode, an application development tool launched by Apple.
He said that Xcode allows students to design applications that are close to their daily lives, such as weight loss, social applications, etc., which students can install on their mobile phones and even their relatives and friends.
According to Cheng Jiajian, the school's STEM mainly includes education in Robotics, programming, etc. For example, starting from junior high school, students can use Lego learning accessories and other tools to understand the basic theory and operation of robots, and then learn to combine micro-controls. Parts such as devices and wires.
(Screenshot of online meeting)
Cheng said that Design Technology is one of the subjects of the IB diploma course, and senior students can also use STEM and computer science knowledge in the course to solve problems.
Apple recently launched the AirTag item tracker. Cheng Jiajian said that some students in the school used Bluetooth to design small devices earlier to remind users to take away their items.
He believes that the content of STEM courses should be closer to students' daily life, rather than "doing for doing". In addition, new elements such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) will be added to the curriculum along with technological development.
He recalled that a few years ago, he started to cooperate with Koding Kingdom, a technology education institution, to provide students with STEM activities and workshops such as robots, AI, and VR, and then further introduce STEM into the curriculum through teacher training.
Programming education joins primary and secondary school class hours, Hong Kong Education Center launches Roblox curriculum
Computational thinking education is increasingly being valued all over the world. In recent years, the Education Bureau has also introduced programming curriculum guidelines for primary and secondary schools, suggesting that programming learning should be arranged in class hours.
In addition, many schools will also provide extra-curricular activities for students to understand programming thinking. For younger students, gamified learning is especially suitable.
Roblox is a game platform that has emerged rapidly in recent years. It is also a game development platform and is also widely used in programming education.
In 2019, Tencent and Roblox headquartered a joint venture to establish a Chinese branch "Roblox".
Duan Zhiyun, Vice President of Developer Relations of Roblox, stated that the company organizes activities to allow students to learn complex programming using Roblox Studio (Roblox's development tool) through cooperation with different partners. It will also cooperate with schools and educational institutions to develop educational games. .
(Robust website)
Duan Zhiyun, Vice President of Developer Relations of Roblox, stated that the company organizes activities to allow students to learn complex programming using Roblox Studio (Roblox's development tool) through cooperation with different partners. It will also cooperate with schools and educational institutions to develop educational games. .
Robles has also cooperated with the local technology education center Koding Kingdom in recent years to provide programming courses and workshops for Hong Kong students.
Koding Kingdom founder Huen Wenhao said that Roblox has its advantages in programming education, because students are already familiar with Roblox, which can enhance the motivation and fun of learning, and Roblox also provides a game development and publishing platform, which is precious to students Creative space.
After students learn programming, how can they further participate in development, or even use it as a career?
Duan Zhiyun said that the company attaches great importance to the developer community. At present, the mainland market will be divided into three stages according to age groups, including teenagers and children who can experience the charm of programming through Rob Lex and try to create games by themselves; young people, college students, etc. You can use the platform to practice what you have learned and realize your creativity to grasp future employment opportunities; for more mature developers, Robles will select a team with potential and incubate as a company.
At present, local students can use Roblox to learn and develop and publish games, but they may not be able to participate in the incubation program.
Duan Zhiyun also expressed that he hopes to have the opportunity to cooperate with Hong Kong institutions to try similar incubators in the future.
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