Visit to Kelme
The RIAP Association team was delighted to meet the girls taking part in the challenge of the remote programme Empower Girls Creativity Through Use of Digital Technologies (SparkDigiGirls). This time we met the girls in Kelme, at the J. Graičiūno gymnasium. We also invited the other participants from Kražantė pprogymnasium to this school.
We talked about how the girls are doing with the challenges, which technologies are the most interesting and which are the most difficult. It turns out that the girls were interested in augmented reality tools such as ScatchAR, Artivive and the artificial intelligence applications Aiva and HitPaw. They learnt about these tools for the first time and tried them out in practice by completing different challenges. The 3D modelling and printing challenges proved to be among the most challenging. It's a fun idea to create a 3D gift for a friend on your own, but you need to work and "tame" the 3D modelling programmes and 3D printers.
We share the work from the challenges on our Instagram account SparkDigiGirls. Join in!
International project funded by #Erasmus
Don't fall for online scams!
Safer Internet Week continues this week in Lithuania and across Europe. On 8 February, the RIAP Association together with its partner the Institute of Information Technology organised an international remote hackathon. It invited participants from Slovenia, Lithuania, Greece and Portugal to join the SparkDigiGirls project. More than 200 girls are currently trying out the newly developed "Technology Unleashes the Imagination" programme.
Between January and March, the girls take part in this programme, where they complete challenges that test technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, coding, 3D modelling and printing, cloud computing, blockchain. They learn how they work and, most importantly, how they can use them in their daily lives.
This time, in celebration of Safer Internet Week, the girls were invited to try out various interactive activities related to Internet safety. They rewrote situations with the help of Emogi, searched for answers to questions related to online fraud during a quiz, and tried a whole range of new tools such as slides, jumbo boards and others.
You can follow the girls' challenges and work in progress on the SparkDigiGirls Instagram account.
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Testing of the remote program "Unleash creativITy with technology" created during the project "SparkDigiGirls" has begun
This week, 50 curious girls from 6 different
Lithuanian high schools and 3 public libraries joined the test of the remote
program "Technology liberates imagination" created during the
"SparkDigiGirls" project.
By participating in this program, girls will open up the
possibilities of creativity and technology.
By completing the challenges, they will learn about
technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Internet of
Things, programming, 3D modeling and printing, cloud computing, blockchain. You
will learn how they work and, most importantly, how you can use them in your
everyday life.
The project is financed by the Erasmus+ strategic
partnerships program and is implemented in Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia and
Greece.
Technology unleashes creativity
In the first days of autumn, partners of the SparkDigiGirls project took part in the third partner meeting in Portugal. Tomar, a tourist and cultural city, is home to the Tomar Vocational Training Institute.
The two-day meeting was aimed at familiarising the participants with the activities of the vocational training institute, the smart laboratories located there, testing the innovations developed there, discussing the results of the project, and planning future works. A newly developed distance learning course Unleash Your CreativITy With Technology for
young and curious girls was presented. Girls aged 15-18 will be exposed to the possibilities of technology through the training programme. Through completing the challenges, they will learn about technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, programming, 3D modelling and printing, cloud computing, blockchain, how they
work and, most importantly, how they can be creatively used in girls’ everyday life.
The pilot training of the Unleash Your CreativITy With Technology distance learning programme will start in January next year. In this autumn, there will be an active preparation phase to select the youth workers and girls who want to participate in the training. There will be events and campaigns inviting young people to join the project activities. A total of 200 girls and 50 youth workers from Slovenia, Lithuania, Greece and Portugal will be able to test and evaluate the course.
The international project is implemented by Simbioza from Slovenia, Hellenic Open University from Greece, the Institute of Information Technology from Lithuania, the Tomar Vocational Training Institute from Portugal and managed by the Association Rural Internet Access Points from Lithuania. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for Youth Programme
smile and good mood lives here
"Leader, will you organise a camp next year?" "Leader, I'll be 14 next year, will you accept children of that age for the camp? ", "Boss, I have already booked a place for next year". These and other questions were the end of the children's summer camp "Vacation smart and creative" organised by the association "Public Internet Access Points".
This year, as part of the "TAPK2" project funded by the Education Exchange Support Fund, the VIPT Association invited 37 children to a seven-day camp in the heart of Varniai. "We are already organising the eighth season of summer camps and we are very happy that we are receiving not only new arrivals, but also children returning to the camp for the second, third and fourth time," says the organisation's director Laura Grinevičiūtė. - Very often parents read the advertisement about the camp and are scared by the IT activities, thinking that their child will spend the whole day in front of the computer. But this is a misconception. The main goal of the camp is to enable a young person to develop his or her personality not only through technology, but also through a variety of educational, creative and teamwork-enhancing activities," adds the Director.
The seven-day camp programme is designed to ensure that children are not bored. During the IT activities, the campers created a game with Scratch, tried out various augmented reality tools such as Assembler and created interactive greetings with Canva. In addition to the IT activities, a lot of attention was paid to various creative explorations. During these activities, the children learnt how to work in teams, make decisions, find ideas and resolve conflicts. Building bridges with tools found in nature, building the tallest marshmallow tower, searching for treasure in Varniai are just some examples of teamwork. And then there are various educational activities, such as learning to write in Samogitian, drawing on a bag, searching for the most precious Lithuanian flower in the Cloud Forest, meeting the Riflemen, events, dances and other fun activities.
"For my son Tomas, this was the first overnight camp", says Liubovė, the mother of the camper Tomas. He came home with great emotions and impressions. Even now, at the end of the camp, he still remembers and tells us new things about the camp, the activities and his friends. I am also happy to have discovered this camp," adds Liubovė.
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RIAP Association organises a series of remote meetings "Afternoon Discussions"
As part of the international Work in Tech project, the RIAP Association is organising a series of remote meetings called "Afternoon Discussions" for female participants. During these discussions, we invite IT and non-IT professionals to share their knowledge and experience. During the first meeting with psychologist Jūrate Bortkevičienė, we talked about the job search in IT, women's expectations of themselves and ways to overcome fears and achieve what they want.
1st International Staff week - Higher education for global understanding
Célio Gonçalo Marques, director of the Laboratory of Pedagogical Innovation and Distance Education (LIED) and professor at the ICT Unit of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, participated as an invited speaker through videoconference, in the 1st International Staff week - Higher education for global understanding, with the communication: "The use of digital technologies to develop girls' creativity: paths and practices in Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia", which took place in Tomar on 9 June 2022. The communication focused on the Erasmus+ project “SparkDigiGirls”, which aims to Empower Girls’Creativity Through the Use of Digital Technologies.
One-day technology camp at the Šiauliai Povilas Višinskis Library
On 28 April, the RIAP Association invited teenage girls to a one-day technology camp at the Šiauliai Povilas Višinskis Library on the occasion of the International Day for Girls and Technology.
The camp was organised within the framework of the international project "Girls in the Digital World: Smart and Creative" (SparkDigiGirls), funded by the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for Youth Programme.
The project aims to encourage girls to explore digital technologies and to offer ideas for a new and creative approach to a tech field still dominated by men.
"Girls have a good understanding of how Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram, reading e-books and surfing the web work. But what they lack is information on how different technologies can be useful in their daily lives," says Laura Grinevičiūtė, Director of the RIAP Association, adding that her organisation is currently working with partners to develop educational materials aimed at allowing girls to use their imagination to explore technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, augmented reality, coding and so on in real-life examples. Such hands-on experiences could, she said, increase girls' interest in IT while they are still at school.
During the camp, the teenage girls tried out a newly developed coding activity with Scratch. They created a game to virtually model a garment they wanted. Using their imagination and coding tools, the girls managed to create some great and original works.
Did you know that...*
Did you know that...*
In primary school, boys and girls are almost equally likely to want to work in a science-related field. However, in older grades, girls' attitudes and opinions are changing, and they are more likely to choose careers in social, environmental and medical fields over science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and ICT studies.
This is due to preconceptions, lack of role models and other reasons that limit girls' ability to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by digital transformation.
The RIAP Association, together with partners from Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia and Greece in the international project SparkDigiGirls, is looking for solutions to how IT careers and interest in technology should be developed while still in school.
SparkDigiGirls partner meeting
The RIAP association is launching the 2-year Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships funded project "Creativity and Digital Technology Skills for Girls". According to statistics, only 9% of girls choose STEM studies after leaving school. What's more, around 40% of school-age girls think that technology is not for them.
To challenge existing stereotypes and strengthen girls' interest in digital technologies, the Association, together with partners from Greece, Slovenia, Lithuania and Portugal, will encourage girls (aged 15-18) to engage with technologies such as Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and learn how to use them creatively in everyday life situations.
The meeting of the two partners, on 20 and 24 May, focused on the project, its progress and upcoming activities.
Girls' participation in STEM
Girls' participation (or lack of it) in STEM and ICT has become an important issue for business, education and policy makers. In response to today's issues, the report presented in this report has been produced as part of the Erasmus project SparkDigiGirls. The project aims to identify the factors that hinder girls and young women from pursuing a career in ICT and to provide tools and guidelines to address these issues.
The report summarises roundtable discussions with 37 experts working in the IT sector, education organisations and the public sector in Lithuania, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal. The insights gathered show that gender stereotypes persist, as well as misconceptions about the nature of ICT work. It also highlights the importance of teachers and educators, as well as the visibility of female role models in the field. Investing in concrete and creative activities in ICT is also a crucial factor in stimulating girls' interest in the field.
Partner meeting in Greece
7-8 June The second partner meeting of the international SparkDigiGirls project took place in Athens, Greece, on 7-7 June. Representatives from the Public Internet Access Points Association, the Public Information Technology Institute and other partners from Slovenia, Greece and Portugal attended the meeting.
The meeting focused on the development of a new distance learning programme aimed at stimulating girls' interest in technology, and on the presentation of solutions and training content.
The programme will be available in five languages for girls aged 13-18 this autumn. If you are interested in the project and would like to participate in the pilot phase of the new programme in the autumn, we welcome your emails to: asociacija@vipt.lt.
Link to the website: http://digigirls.eu/. The project is funded by the #Erasmusplus programme.
Partner meeting in Vilnius
In the last days of the summer, RIAP Association was happy to host the SparkDigiGirls partners meeting in Lithuania. Representatives from Greece, Lithuania, Slovenia and Portugal gathered for the two-day event.
As a new learning programme will be developed at the end of next year to foster girls' interest in technology, the partners' meeting focused on finding solutions and proposals for the new distance learning programme and its content.
During the meeting, experts in their respective fields shared their knowledge on the latest innovative technologies, digital tools, suggested topics and scenarios that would break the stereotypes of girls in technology and increase their interest in IT and its application in their everyday activities or favourite fields.
Addressing the factors hindering women's entry into IT
Addressing the factors hindering women's entry into IT, the RIAP Association, together with organisations from Lithuania, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal, launched in May 2021 the project "Girls in the Digital World: Smart and Creative", which aims to engage 15-18 girls in digital technologies (such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things, robotics) through their creative use in their everyday activities.
Over the two years of the project, the association and its partners will aim to change stereotypes and societal beliefs about the female gender and technology, to strengthen digital literacy skills and open up new opportunities for creativity, and to encourage girls to pursue IT or STEM studies after leaving school.
The international project "Girls in a digital world: smart and creative" is funded by the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for Youth Programme.
Unleash girls creativITy with technology
Today women in technology are still a
minority. According to the Women in Digital Scoreboard (2021)
which covers EU member state countries, gender disparity is indeed a prevalent
factor in the technology sector. Only 19% of ICT specialists and about
one third of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates are
female. Female interest in ICT and STEM subjects drops far too
early, and evidently by influence of broader social factors, which ought to be understood
and tackled.
Therefore, ALL DIGITAL members Hellenic University from Greece, Simbioza
from Slovenia together with other partners in Lithuania (RIAP association,
Information Technology Institute) and in Portugal (Polytechnic Institute of
Tomar) are running two-years Erasmus funded project Empower
Girls Creativity Through the Use of
Digital Technologies (SparkDigiGirls).
This winter
a new online program Unleash CreativITy with
Technology was launched in five
languages English, Slovenian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, and Greeks. The program aims
to support girls age 14+ to uncover creative and innovative problem solving of
different daily life situations with the help of digital technologies such as
AR, AI, Cloud Computing, 3D modelling&printing, Blockchain, etc.
Online programme consists of 16
separate learning modes called challenges. Each challenge covers a specific
topic or area of interest of young girls. For example, fashion, design,
environment, culinary, art, etc. Each challenge includes two essential intertwining components: digital technologies and real-life
situations or problems that young girls face in their lives. Girls are invited
to make a birthday present in 3D, create clothes using programming, design own virtual
room by using AR tools, create music by AI, culinary web-site and NFTs and many
other challenges.
Over the course of the project the consortium of partners are
tackling stereotypes and societal beliefs on gender and technology, strengthen
girls’ digital literacy skills as well as encourage
girls to pursue IT or STEM studies after graduation of high
school.
Access to online program Unleash CreativITy with Technology (only
for registered users): https://moodle.digigirls.eu/course/view.php?id=2
Instagram account: SparkDigiGirls
