STEAMonEdu project partner Colectic is a nonprofit cooperative in Barcelona that works for the inclusion, autonomy and empowerment of people and communities in the social, labour, and technological fields. We understand and use technology as a tool for participation and social transformation.

Colectic was born as a cooperative in 2017, but its history goes back more than 25 years ago, since it is the result of the transformation of the Teb Youth Association into a cooperative. We manage one of the first telecentres in Spain and led to the birth of the first telecentre network in Catalonia, in 1999. We currently work for the Catalan Government in the coordination and advice of 750 telecentres that are part of the Punt TIC Network.

Colectic plays a very active role in the STEAMonEdu project, with implementing all the work packages and leading the creation of the International Community of STE(A)M educators. Colectic brings to the project its 25 years of implementing various social and digital inclusion activities taking advantage of the experience acquired in previous projects, that we’d like to share with you:

Makers per la inclusió (Makers for inclusion) – in Raval district (Barcelona)

Makers for Inclusion carries out an awareness-raising task, based on outreach activities that arouse interest and encourage the learning of techniques related to digital manufacturing. It is also essential the involvement of educational agents in the territory and the development of complementary activities to the educational curriculum, extracurricular activities, open workshops, etc. In which areas? Scratch programming, electronics with Arduino and free hardware, sound technologies, digital manufacturing and 3D printing, video game creation, internet of things, etc.

In Raval district, Colectic neighborhood, the project ‘Makers in the classroom’ invite the students of the INS Milà i Fontanals institute to collaborate with groups and organizations in the area.

It is an active learning, a reflection on practice, which aims to strengthen the feeling of belonging and rooting in the territory. It focuses on students, promoting responsible and active participation through real situations of daily life, within the concept of global citizenship, seeking the good of society as a whole.

After visiting some primary schools, participants design and create their own proposal for toys/games with digital manufacturing technologies, in order to return to primary school and invigorate a game session with the little ones, in addition to giving the toys created thinking about them.

mSchools Toolbox

The mSchools Toolbox is an online repository of validated and tested mobile educational content for schools, teachers, parents and students. The content is curated by teachers and educational experts to ensure it fits the current educational curriculum.

It is a multi-faceted mEducation programme of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, in partnership with Ministry for Digital Policy and Public Administration of Generalitat of Catalonia, Barcelona City Hall, and GSMA.

mSchools empowers students and teachers to integrate mobile technologies into the classroom, opening up new ways of teaching and learning that improve achievement and employability.

Technovation Girls

Technovation Girls is a global initiative created in 2009 with the aim of increasing female participation in the technological field, in which women represent only 30% of workers. Every year, Technovation Girls Catalonia invites teams of girls (10-18 years old) to learn and apply the skills that are necessary to solve real problems by creating a mobile application.

Through a mentoring process that takes place within the classroom or as an after-school activity, the participants work on solving a problem. They work individually or in groups (from 1 to 5 participants) with the assistance of a teacher and/or an external mentor. The process begins with the detection of a specific and local problem to which the participants want to contribute a solution; the participants are inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. Different possible solutions are designed and selected for the market study or survey.

Later, the solution is programmed with MIT’s App Inventor and, in parallel, graphic images, sales elements and a business plan is designed (written by participants over 14 years of age).

By Colectic