Support the deployment of new technology in Croatian schools
In less than 24 hours we have achieved our primary goal and now we are aiming even higher at - 100,000$. If we achieve that goal we will include more than 500 institutions into the project!
STEM revolution in the Croatian schools Where will my child be in 2031?
Zach Shelby, the CEO of the Micro:bit Foundation stated: “We are excited to see Croatia on its way to a nation-wide deployment of micro:bit like the UK and Iceland and we are happy to have found such enthusiastic and capable partners in Croatian Makers”
We are Croatian Makers (IRIM - Institute for Youth Development and Innovativity) and we are the largest educational initiative in the STEM field in the Croatian school system. More about us and our results please read below.
Micro:bit is an exciting new technology that has been developed by BBC, Microsoft and other partners to achieve massive deployment and usage in elementary schools, not only in STEM fields, but also in design, arts and other subjects. With this project we want to introduce this technology on a massive scale in Croatian schools. More about micro:bit you can find below.
We cannot wait for a curriculum reform. Children deserve a modern education right NOW!
Instead of 19th century style rote learning in the atmosphere of submission towards any kind of authority figure, kids need modern competencies, development of a growth mindset and a strong character – i.e. skills they will need to participate on an equal footing in the society and economy of the 21st century.
The cost of not reforming our school system is enormous, not only for every child involved, but also for the whole society. STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are essential not only because the most highly valued professions are in that field, but competencies from these fields are becoming essential in most other occupations and are also key for development of mindset and character.
With this campaign we would like to use the enormous leverage we have with 360 schools and other institutions involved, 1800 donated robots and 8000 children participating in the Croatian Makers league and introduce on a massive scale the latest educational technologies: every child should be given an opportunity, for his/her own sake and because we are too small to waste our human resources.
As the first phase of our project we would like to donate at least 3600 micro:bits to at least 360 schools and institutions involved in the Croatian Makers league.
We believe that with a successful implementation of this phase we can induce the next one, which is that each and every child in 6th or 7th grade of elementary schools in the whole Croatia gets a micro:bit, together with the complementary education. With this we can radically close the technological and mental gap between what the Croatian education offers and the contemporary young people need. This means we are talking about 40,000 micro:bits. Such a mass of cutting edge technology can change not only education, but also the whole society Mass introduction of STEM technology into schools brings changes to social values immediately
Croatia, the newest member of the EU, is tragically oriented toward the past: the last war of 1991 and the previous one that started in 1941.
When we speak about the school system, we speak about the future. Reform of schools or curriculum is an abstract idea. We all know that a successful reform would bring results in 20, 30 or 40 years. However, when a child comes home full of enthusiasm with an attractive new piece of technology that they love, each parent must ask themselves: ‘Where will my child be in 2031?’ Furthermore, will this be the country where they will pursue their dreams or will the parent be left on their own in the future.
On top of that, the values we teach our children in schools today become fundamental values of our society tomorrow. So, it is high time to take a radical step forward.
That is why your participation is crucial, not only to financially support this campaign, but to give impetus to a far greater next step. And if we implement that, only the sky is the limit! Who we are
Croatian Makers brings STEM activities to Croatian schools with a series of initiatives (a family of platforms), the most renown of which is the Croatian Makers League It encompasses 1800 donated robots to 360 schools and institutions that work with children, with 8000 children involved.
Our projects
The central project of our family of platforms is the Croatian Makers league. Other projects include Internet of Things and STEM car (more about them you can find in the Croatian text above, please use Google Translate).
We are a grassroots movement, participation is entirely voluntary, we rely on hundreds of enthusiastic school teachers, most of whom work for free, but on the other hand we are already institutionally established and have contracts with all the participating schools and are under the high auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia.
We are the real civil society. We are fully privately financed, for the most part by the Bakic family, and numerous donations from individuals and corporations.
You can follow us on our website and our FB wall (please use Google Translate).
We are spreading STEM activities in the region, and have just enabled partners - by donating initial capital and the whole franchise / know-how and education - in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Many more attractive video of our robotic activities in schools can be found on our YouTube channel. What we need and what we offer
What we need
We need 60,000 USD so we can provide sets of 10 micro:bits for 360 schools and institutions involved in the Croatian Makers league.
Why us? Because in our previous work we placed our trust in highly motivated educators and their principals, who have supported them in their work – They are the force of change!
All proceeds from this campaign will be used exclusively to buy and ship the equipment and all general expenses of our NGO we will provide for by ourselves.
What we offer
Everybody who takes part in our campaign becomes part of change – a key change not only in lives of many young people, but also change in the mindset of the whole society: instead of being oriented towards the past and negativity – let’s orient ourselves towards the future, positivity, accomplishments and vision. By participating now in changing the education of children who will leave schools tomorrow, you are making this country better today!
Off course, we also offer privileges i.e. perks. But not in order to ‘bribe you’, but to enable you to experience first-hand the change: we are providing micro:bits for one or more children, exclusive courses with our Master educators, as well as symbols that you can proudly display: badges and T-shirts.
Risks and Challenges
One of the risks is that we fail to fundraise the necessary amount. In that case we will lower the number of donated micro:bits for each school.
The second ‘risk’ is that we raise more funds than we need to buy 3600 micro:bits. In that case we will ‘recruit’ more schools – don’t worry we are excellent at that. Similarly, if some institutions are unable to participate because the educators participating in the Croatian Makers league do not have the capacity for it, either due to time constraints or other reasons, we will recruit a replacement school, or raise the number of micro:bits to 15 pieces per institution.
The challenge is how we will organize the distribution of knowledge – but in fact we are great at that, just look at the participation in the Croatian Makers league or the projects in the Internet of things we have organized. Other ways you can help
If you have decided to donate or if at this point you are unable to do so, please support us by sharing this campaign on social networks and spreading the word about us in other ways. We believe we are doing a great thing for the whole society!
Important note: The perks we currently offer are only for shipped to supporters from Croatia!
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