The morning started quietly. A group of ING Belgium volunteers arrived at the school with laptops, robots, and a few boxes of cables, not quite sure what the day would look like. The pupils, on the other hand, had no idea what was coming.
The first workshop was about coding. Small hands moved blocks on screens, and within minutes, the room was full of questions: “What happens if I change this number? Why did my character fall?” Each question was a little moment of discovery.
Then came the robots. Pupils watched their creations move for the first time, sometimes in the right direction, sometimes not. Every wrong turn led to a laugh, a fix, and another try. That’s the part of learning that’s hard to teach in a textbook.
In another corner, the cybersecurity session made everyone think twice about their passwords. And when the virtual reality headsets came out, the classroom went quiet, then erupted in gasps and giggles.
By the end of the day, the teachers and the headteacher had watched their pupils change, becoming more curious, more confident, and more willing to try things on their own.
For the Devoxx4Kids team, it was a reminder of why we do this. Technology should not be reserved for a few. It should be a playground for every child.
Thank you to the school’s headteacher and teaching staff for opening their doors, and to the ING volunteers who made the day unforgettable.
See the photos and feedback from the day on the school’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1646192950625983