The Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa consists of seven clubs across Johannesburg and they reach out to over 1 000 learners. They have a number of initiatives, some of which include driving academic success, career mentoring, mentoring specific to both boys and girls, computer literacy, and money management skills.
They also provide a place where children can go to do extra lessons and homework, play sport, and participate in various cultural activities.
On Tuesday the 22nd of March Transaction Junction sponsored a TANKS training session for 14 facilitators from the Boys and Girls Club of South Africa (BGSA). We met at their Protea Glen club in Soweto.
The TANKS training session was lead by Prof Jean Greyling. When the session began it was clear that none of the 14 facilitators had any prior coding experience.
Jean presented the TANKS training so eloquently, he was able to explain basic coding principles to the facilitators in a memorable way using simple analogies like following a recipe for making toast. We had a great time playing simple sequencing games, following instructions and learning about spatial awareness. We played the TANKS game together and covered some basic coding operations like repeats, loops and if / else statements.
By the end of the session each of the 14 facilitators were confident that they’d be able to convey these concepts to the kids at their home club and have some fun with the TANKS game while doing so.
Transaction Junction donated 14 TANKS coding kits to BGCSA (2 for each of their 7 clubs). By training the facilitators from each club we hope to introduce over 1000 learners to basic computer coding concepts.
After the training session we played the 1st few levels of the TANKS game with +/- 80 learners from the Protea Glen club.
“Thanks to the TANKS program, BGCSA facilitators now have an understanding of the basic principles of coding, and can feel confident running coding programs at the Clubs. We have tried running coding programs in the past and it has been extremely challenging for our teams as with their young minds, the kids quickly grasp tech concepts, while our facilitators often struggle to answer intermediate and advanced questions. Now our facilitators have a more advanced understanding they will be far more confident in exposing our kids to coding, as well as other tech programs. A big thanks to Blue Label and Transaction Junction for running this training day with our team!”
Mike McTernan
Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa
