Over 1,200 elementary pupils join free Google programming project

Tech giant Google officially announced its education programme offering free computing knowledge for elementary school children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh Long and Tien Giang, on May 29.

The "Programming Future with Google" educational project was launched on May 29. (Photo: NDO)
The "Programming Future with Google" educational project was launched on May 29. (Photo: NDO)

The project is funded by Google Asia-Pacific, with technical assistance provided by the Mekong Community Development Centre and Dariu Fund.

The "Programming Future with Google" supports over 10,000 hours of Scratch free programming for more than 1,200 elementary school students, aimed at equipping them with basic programming knowledge and developing creative thinking for children.

Lasting until the end of August, it will offer training for 30 teachers in ten public primary schools.

The Scratch-oriented programme targets children, helping them to develop visually-interactive logical knowledge. Instead of writing command lines, they just need to think logically and choose to drag and drop blocks of various colours to assemble them into scripts that control objects on the computer screen.

Through technical support and laptops provided by the Dariu Foundation, the project is being deployed in each computer room in the central and suburban districts of HCM City, as well as in the two Mekong Delta provinces of Vinh Long and Tien Giang.