IT Companies Explain Teachers, What they Await from School Leavers
IT ClusterIT business specialists presented lectures to school teachers from Kharkiv region at the invitation of the Kharkiv IT Cluster. While their mentees were completing tasks at the regional level Olympiads on programming and computer sciences, they were listening to the speakers. The lectures aimed to give them an understanding of what basic fundamental knowledge should have school leavers, so that they could continue studying IT at universities.
The first set of lectures about artificial intelligence took place at the Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics. Sergey Krivonos (SoftServe), Vladislav Kolbasin (GlobalLogic), and Ivan Magda (Ambisafe) were invited as speakers.
Diligent learning and further work using the instruments of linear algebra, mathematical analysis, theory of probability and many other underlie the modern futuristic scopes. Modern teachers face the multi-sage tasks:
- To breathe a new life into figures and formulas, showing their implementation in real life;
- To explain basic IT instruments to children and give them opportunities to use them on their own and complete simple tasks. Specialists say, that children learn them intuitively and even a -5years old child can create a video, and a 8-years old one is able to animate it. Their interest grows, when they feel the ability to cope with tasks. The same is true for programming skills.
- To encourage children learn to search for information and process it.
“Our aim is to understand the needs of teachers and to help them implement new elements into the studying programmee, so that lessons on Informatics could become more productive, interesting, and practice-oriented” – the Kharkiv IT Cluster Executive Director Sofia Belenkova stated.
The second set of lectures covered the topics of computer graphic design and animation, presented by Svetlana Dakhina (Multiplication Kharkiv), Viltoria Glukhovetskaya, and Alexey Kirichenko (Vialex Motion Lab). The lectures took place at the Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics under the motto “If it is not moving, it is dead”.
Ukrainian animation industry has recently celebrated its 90-years anniversary. In 1927 first animated cartoons like “Ukrainization” were created. Best times for Ukrainian animation came in 60s, and cartoons about Cossacks by Vladimir Dakhno are still popular among different audiences. By the way, in the middle of 70s, professionals at the National Technical University “KhPI” Cinema Studio created first videos, using computer graphics.
Animation has been attracting children and adults for many years, but in order to create high-quality video products is important to know the basics of composition, get an understanding of a film rhythm, human emotions and the principles of processing information by a human brain. This knowledge form an essential part within the STEM concept of education, that is being introduced in Ukrainian schools.
“The school programmee receives new elements every year. Teachers, that want to gain children’s interest, must constantly obtain new knowledge, and transfer them to the young generation. Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and many other topics attract children”, – stated Ludmila Starchenko, Methodist of the innovative development centre of the communal educational establishment “Kharkiv Academy of Continuous Education”
She also added that this set of lections will bring a positive effect, when new teaching programmee will be introduced from September 2018.
The presentations raised interest among listeners. Their feedback will be considered, so that Kharkiv IT Cluster could make new propositions for enhancing the quality of teaching Informatics at regional schools.
“We understand that today’s children will soon come to SoftServe as young professionals, and their success will depend on the skills and knowledge, which they gain at school and the university. To that end SoftServe pays much attention to school teachers and to enhancing their technical skills and popularizing STEM disciplined at schools”, as Gennadiy Bukshevalov, Development Center Director at SoftServe summarized.