A group of very excited 10 to 14-year-old children we support spent the day learning about new and emerging technologies at the digital consultancy’s Melbourne offices.
During the day, the kids experienced virtual reality, programming, robots, 3D animation, texture painting, 3D printing, AI art and coding!
SHINE for Kids mentor coordinator Caity said the highlight of the day was “watching the kids have a new experience”.
“We have had lots of messages from parents since saying their kids haven’t stopped talking about [the day] … they LOVED trying out all the cool gadgets!” she said.
While a lot of the tech talk went over the heads of the SHINE for Kids adults in attendance, it was unbelievable how quickly our kids took to it.
“It was amazing to see the kids engaged and having fun interacting with the creative tech setups,” said volunteer host Alanna.
“It was incredible for us to see how quickly the kids picked up the technology and really went above and beyond in tasks we asked them to complete.”
“It was such a great day for all involved,” Alanna said.
The kids also benefited from having the opportunity to engage with a group of adults who love technology as much as they do!
The volunteers who showed our kids the different technology they work with were patient and ensured every child felt supported and comfortable enough to give things a go throughout the day.
One of our kids, Sam*, doesn’t usually like to attend group events as he finds it hard to socialise and be in new environments, but at the end of the day, he pulled us aside and asked when the next Technology Day would be!
It was clear that he felt comfortable and was highly engaged with the activities throughout the day.
For many of our kids who experience difficulties at school and require support including with our in-school mentoring program, remaining focused on set tasks can be difficult so it was wonderful to see them all having so much fun and learning at the same time.
Sam also told his mentor at his next session with her how proud of himself he was that he made some new friends!
These are exactly the type of experiences that encourage kids to imagine all of the things they could achieve in the future.
Using (and excelling!) at learning new technology helped to boost their confidence, and their interpersonal skills were honed by chatting with new people in a different environment.
“The kids haven’t stopped talking about it since we went!” Caity said, “every session with us or the volunteers since has been filled with stories about the day!”
“The kids said that it was the best day and they want to go back.
“Every kid is asking Santa for something they played with that day this Christmas!”
One of the volunteer hosts John said “We love sharing creative digital technology with kids during Impact Day and volunteering places are always oversubscribed.
“The kids are always curious, fun and enthusiastic. I’ve been volunteering with kids from traumatic backgrounds for 20 years and it is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling to see the kids inspired and learning.”
Thank you to everyone who made our first Technology Day such a success!
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