The Digital Readiness Academy prepares teachers and students with the core digital and financial literacy skills they need for the future in an increasingly tech-centred world.
How we deliver the project
We’ve partnered with HSBC and Micro:bit, a UK not-for-profit educational foundation that aims to inspire children to learn digital skills for the future.
The Digital Readiness Academy has been piloted in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Aims of the Digital Readiness Academy
- to equip teachers with digital skills to support classroom learning
- to encourage students to expand online learning capabilities
- to give students future life skills for planning and budgeting
- to develop new teaching and learning resources for future readiness
The Digital Readinesss Academy Programme
The programme offers:
- teacher training
- a student Hackathon challenge
- School-based Code Clubs
A two day online training course that integrates Micro:bit enabled digital activities across the curriculum, to support:
- core soft skills including creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking
- financial literacy and planning
- workplace links via exposure to industry contexts, networks and prototyping industry solutions [not sure what this means??]
Teachers will be introduced to the processes and resources for developing integrated curricula, learning materials and student activities.
Teachers who complete the training receive British Council CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certificates endorsed by the Micro:bit Educational Foundation.
Student Hackathon
The Digital Readiness Academy will run a student Hackathon for all participating schools.
Celebrating how creativity and design thinking improve our world, the Hackathon requires students to use Micro:bit tools to respond to real-world digital challenges.
Hackathon values
- skills development:participants will learn new skills, tangible (e.g., coding) and non-tangible (e.g., problem solving)
- interdisciplinary: the challenge will require multi-disciplinary thinking and activities e.g, blending technology with engineering, or arts and computer science
- for social good: the events must demonstrate how and why they are designed to have positive social impact
- playful: using play to nurture a breadth of skills that enable participants to fulfil their potential
School-based Code Clubs
British Council Code Clubs will be set up in each participating school, led by teachers and run by student volunteers (or Digital Readiness Academy Ambassadors) acting as peer tutors. Using open resource online Code Club activities, each club will run sessions on how to code simple Micro:bit tasks across different themes to develop soft skills.
Benefits of the Digital Readiness Academy
- schools will see a digital transformation of their curriculum
- teachers will develop confidence and competence, becoming digitally more literate
- students will access digital learning and be able to demonstrate new skills
- teachers and students will be motivated to use online learning in and out of the classroom
- communities of practice will be established for the ongoing development of digital learning and the building of capacity through collaborative relationships.
Eligibility to participate in the Digital Readiness Academy
Priority will be given to schools that:
- are government or public-funded
- support students from low to medium income families
- have teacher training needs in core skills and financial and digital literacy, ICT or STEM
- can commit to the entire programme