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Jesca Marufu of Designer Life ECD

Cool Lifestyle Correspondent
Dynamite comes in small packages. This rang true recently when a three-year-old girl, Jesca Marufu of Designer Life ECD centre in Kuwadzana outshone other kids who were doing a computer skills demonstration at a workshop that was organised by Dzidzo Inhaka Audio Visual Learning under the theme “E-learning in the new curriculum”.

The ECD teachers who attended the workshop were left wondering why it took the Ministry of Education so long to compulsorily introduce e-learning in schools when it is easily applicable regardless of social class, geographical location and race.

The other children who made presentations are Munashe Chisunga (5) of Shine Stars Pre-School and Edwin Matongorere (5) and Melisa Nyawaranda (6) both of Sheali ECD centre of Chitungwiza. The savy tech team demonstrated computer operation skills like drawing, painting, solving puzzles, solving mathematical problems, and playing games with exceptional mouse handling skills that left the workshop participants in awe.

This battle of computer whiz kids was also in preparation for the launch of the ECD Computer Skills League next month.

Marufu’s exploits shone brightest because of her composure in mouse handling and ability to execute computer instructions despite the fact that she is a pre-reader and barely a toddler.

In an interview with Cool Lifestyle, Dzidzo Inhaka director Shepherd Chimururi said they organised the workshop to promote the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme which is the basis of the basis of the new curriculum.

Munashe Chisunga of Shine Stars Pre-School

“We realise that a majority of teachers lack the digital skills needed to implement the revised curriculum. We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to technologically empower the Zimbabwean ECD child with computational thinking.

“Success stories of these children is our inspiration. It motivates the ECD directors and teachers from other schools as well to implement it in their schools. So have so far organised 14 workshops and in house training programs that have benefited over 350 teachers representing 145 school mostly in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare.

“Catch them young is our motto and we have been successful in doing that.

“The exhibition of computer skills by these young children who cannot read nor write deserve support of the parent Ministry and other stakeholders.

“The ECD computer skills league is dedicated to increasing and enhancing computer science education and opportunities for all children in our nation.

“This competition will challenge young students to apply their rapidly evolving intellectual abilities and add to their experience of working together. Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everyone, not just for computer scientists. To reading, writing, and arithmetic, we should add computational thinking to every child’s analytical ability,” he said

The children’s ECD category is divided in to ECD A, ECD’ and grade 1 and 2 levels.

“They will be given an impromptu assignment to test their creativity and intellectual development through painting, colouring, solving puzzles, drawing shapes and patterns.

Judges will assess the child’s ability to follow instructions in executing a given task using a specific software application then go on to consider keyboard and mouse handling skills, eye hand coordination, speed and time of completing task.

ECD centres and junior schools that were represented at the workshop included Woodridge, Bright Kids, Bizzy Fingers, Quality Junior, Great Kids, Kids Academy, Stratford Primary, Little Saints, Royal hearts, Southside View, Greater Foundation, Shine Stars, Little Minds, Bearisland, Ericson, learning Ladder, Sheali, Bright Minds among others.