Children from Colombia and Poland Share a Unique Lesson through Samsung Smart School

Summary

• Colombian and Polish elementary students connected in an interactive, multicultural activity using Samsung Smart School solutions
• The initiative was planned by Samsung Electronics’ employees in Colombia and Poland to offer an opportunity to broaden learning horizons in the wake of a global sporting event

Olsztyn, Poland and Bogotá, Colombia are nearly 10,000 kilometers apart. When the school day begins in Colombia, it’s time for students in Poland to go home. But on June 7, a class of elementary school students from each city adjusted their schedules to meet with their counterparts from the other side of the world. Using Samsung’s Smart School solutions, the children connected to share a classroom that fused technology into education.

Students from the San Francisco de Asis Educational Institution (Colombia) and Olsztyn elementary school (Poland) introduce each other using Samsung Smart School solutions

Capitalizing on Opportunities to Share Learning Experiences

As a preamble to one of the most popular sports events worldwide, employees from Samsung Electronics Colombia and Samsung Electronics Poland got a hold of each other and agreed to take this opportunity to broaden the horizon of their Smart School initiatives. Soon, they were able to gather elementary school students from the San Francisco de Asis Educational Institution (Colombia) and their peers from the Olsztyn Elementary School (Poland) to take part in a unique multicultural experience.

Each team of students wore T-shirts in national colors

“The goal of Smart School is to transform education through the use of technology,” said Cesar Muñoz, Senior Manager of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics Colombia. “At this moment there is much attention with the sports event that is happening and kids find it interesting to connect with their peers from Poland. With this, we demonstrate them that technology opens up all kinds of possibilities and that there are no barriers.”

There had been much interest in each other’s country as Colombia and Poland were set to play each other in an upcoming sports event

Learning about Each Other’s Country

Class began with the greetings and introductions from each side, followed by a virtual tour of the Smart School classrooms and shows of some cultural performances – one of the Colombian students performed a traditional dance to the music played on the harp by her teacher; Polish children shared a song of their own.

“Let’s talk about our countries!” Students from Poland line up to present their drawings

They then proceeded to learn about each other’s country including where they are, what their customs are and also a little bit about Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous Polish astronomer. At the end of the class, students from each side of the Atlantic had even learned a number of words from each other’s language like ‘friendship’ (amistad, Spanish) and ‘goodbye’ (do widzenia, Polish). With tablets and virtual quiz tools, the children were given a chance to check their knowledge on Colombia and Poland.

A Colombian student prepares to perform before her Polish friends across the Atlantic

Expanding the Horizon of Learning

Maria Paula Castillo, a student at the San Francisco de Asis School, shared her excitement saying: “We were very excited to get to know the children of Poland. I had never had the opportunity to talk to someone from another country.”

Colombian elementary school students were excited to meet their Polish peers

“Meetings like this expand horizons, showing that we are similar despite our differences,” said Jolanta Okuniewska, a 2016 finalist of the Global Teacher Prize and leader of the Smart School in Olsztyn, Poland. “They stimulate students’ curiosity in cognitive terms, giving them an example of how important it is to know foreign languages and showing them that anything is possible. I am very happy that my students were able to go on this fascinating journey to Colombia.”

Additional Images

Performance for peers in Colombia – dancing and singing break every barrier

“We were very excited to get to know the children of Poland,” said one of the students at the San Francisco de Asis Educational Institution

With tablets and virtual quiz tools, the children were given a chance to check their knowledge on Colombia and Poland