Code 4TEEN Labs, a research and development company focused on scaling education’s most critical components through technology inclusion has partnered Lagos State to integrate coding into primary school curriculum in the state.
Code 4TEEN Labs explains that coding is the process of creating instructions that computers then interpret and follow. This is as the company and Lagos State commissioned its first Edu Lab for coding at Grandmates School Lagos.
Otaru Daudu, the founder and executive director of Research & Automation at Code 4TEEN Labs speaking during the launch of the Coding Lab in Lagos, said interactive textbook Andrew Teaches Coding, continuous development plan for computer science together with the newly installed 21st Century Code 4TEEN Lab have come together to ensure access to coding can be achieved by all students at Grandmates school.
Daudu said this opens them up to prepare for the immense opportunities presented by a technology driven world.
Speaking on how important is the newly established lab at Grandmates school for the students, he said, “ALPHA was set up within an eight weeks time-frame and the design of the Lab was guided by Flemmings theory on learning style.
“This ensured that we accounted for auditory learners through ceiling speaker installations, visual learning through interactive boards and as well traditional learner through the availability of desktops through which students can learn via practice.
Education science and psychology remain the key drivers behind all decisions taken in designing and fitting ALPHA,” he said.
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Folashade Adefisayo, the commissioner of education in Lagos State in her speech at the event said she had a peripheral knowledge of coding, assured that it is the future and that is why Lagos State is excited to invest in it.
She reiterated that coding is part of what Lagos State is excited about as it is the future of education.
Adefisayo said since Sanwo-Olu’s administration came onboard, it has been able to integrate some subjects into our schools’ curriculum in a bid to build skills of the students.
“We are developing an app and putting the whole curriculum into one app. Teachers are trained to use these app. Our teachers have tablets and they report to us the subjects and topics they are teaching real time.
“Over 18,000 teachers in primary schools have access to this technology. A teacher that teaches in Lagos public school should afford a phone that can be used to download apps. We are putting these skill teachings into the app, all in a bid to ensure every student has not only fundamental education but vocational skills,” she said.
According to the commissioner there are over one million children in Lagos State, making funding an issue. She however hinted that to mitigate this challenge, Lagos has public-private partnerships to help bridge the gaps.
Speaking on some of the challenges for students, Adefisayo said, “Some students are not able to learn coding because even their parents don’t have laptops for them to practice with at home. We don’t have more lands to build new schools in Lagos and migration into Lagos has continued to be a challenge for us. The quality of teachers and bureaucracy also pose challenges.
