We have produced 4,000 physical Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths activity workbooks and resources to support homeschooling without the need for internet access.
We have been working across our hubs in Welsh Universities to provide digital resources, activities and workshops for schoolchildren in Wales since the beginning of the pandemic. Following feedback that not all children have easy access to these resources, we posted 4,000 bilingual activity packs to secondary schoolchildren across Wales to work on in their own time, requiring little or no support from parents or teachers.
With school closures, there is the real possibility that children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can fall behind with their schoolwork. So, we created physical resources to help pupils keep learning.
The packs contain three workbooks with the themes Cryptography, Computational Thinking, and Geometry with Paper. All activities can be done at home with only basic resources such as paper and pens, and do not require internet access. Activities are aimed at all abilities and the pack includes up to four hours work.
Professor Faron Moller, Technocamps Director, said: “We have always been keen to reach the disadvantaged and to ensure a fairer Wales. The workbooks have been a great initiative to include all pupils and to plug the gaps in provision due to a lack of resources.”
Victoria Price, teacher at Ysgol Greenhill, said: “This is a great resource for our Key Stage 3 pupils who don’t necessarily have easy access to the internet. At a time when we as teachers are so busy planning and adapting, extra support with our lessons has been invaluable.”
Normally, participants can either take part in school or with a community club, or visit our purpose-built outreach classroom on Swansea University’s Singleton Campus. These hands-on workshops aim to bring STEM to life, whilst giving pupils a chance to meet the Technocamps team and get a taste of University life on campus.
We were able to produce these activity packs thanks to funding support from the Welsh Government’s European Social Fund and HEFCW.
