UKEd-Magazine September 2019
MGF2019 - SUPPLEMENT The Moscow Global Forum - City of Education 2019 - How the Moscow City Government is transforming and updating its educational infrastructure
Contents
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How Moscow is Shaping the future of Education
Editorial
School 2114
As a teacher, it is always interesting to look around other schools and classrooms and, during the trip to Moscow, we took a tour around School 2114 to see how the City Government is investing heavily in the educational infrastructure, especially in terms of technology.
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Skolkovo
Based on the western fringes of Moscow, the area os Skolkovo is fast becoming a space for medical, technical and engineering innovation. We took a tour around this impressive site, exploring how Russia is building an infrastructure that will become more self-reliant.
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Highlights from MGF2019
We explore some of the most common themes and highlights within the two big halls of the Moscow Global Forum, City of Education 2019.
See our online coverage and articles at: https://ukedchat.com/mgf2019/ and our supplement site at https://theedwire.com/ To learn more about the Forum, see https://moscowglobalforum.ru/en
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Disclaimer: The UKEdChat team were invited to Moscow by organisers of the MGF2019. We retain all editorial decisions, and the content has been produced independently, and without any interference. Photos by Colin Hill, Diana Zharikova and MGF2019 organisers. All content and photos (c) 2019.
HOW MOSCOW IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION Moscow Global Forum City of Education Editorial: by Colin Hill - Editor-in-chief It is easy to consider Moscow and Russia with many clichĂŠs that encircle our worlds. Images of spies, the portrayal of Russia under the Soviet era, and the legacy from the communist revolution under Lenin are easy to recall to mind. However, Moscow, the Russian capital, is now establishing itself as one of the most innovative education systems around the world. Make no mistake; they had a lot of catching up to do, with global rankings historically placing them low in terms of academic outcomes. As part of the Moscow Global Forum, City for Education 2019, we were invited to explore the developments of the educational system within the Russian capital. While exploring the infrastructure, technological developments and educational improvements were all on the agenda, with it apparent that investment in all these areas has been significant. In this special supplement of the UKEdMagazine, we dissect the visit to the Russian capital, and the significant visits we made. Our visit to the impressive School 2114 highlighted how investments in the educational system are making a real change to the teachers and students of Moscow. The rise of Solkolvo Park on the fringes of the capital city highlight how the talent, creativity and innovation are at the heart of future developments, drawing and retaining local talent for economic improvement. Our attendance at the Moscow Global Forum, City for Education 2019 also highlighted the trends, priorities and enthusiasm to improve the educational system in Russia. We focus on some of the quirks, differences and preferences that were obvious at the forum. You can find out more information about the MGF2019 at https://moscowglobalforum.ru/en Page 3
SCHOOL
2114 MOSCOW
How one school in the southern suburbs of Moscow has transformed into a modern technological learning centre. As the new school year dawned, Director of school 2114, Kolosova Irina Anatolevna explained how a skills-based curriculum is at the heart of the developing curriculum with mathematics, engineering and sciences central to that drive. Home to 3,738 pupils and spread across three buildings, School 2114 is situated in the Southern suburbs of Moscow, with 186 teachers part of 665 adults working across the site. With a clear investment made in the infrastructure, what is on show in School 2114 is mirrored across other school sites within Moscow, and a project-based approach to learning is also evident, although many curriculum objectives need to be met.
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Throughout the school, it is possible to see the latest innovations in engineering, robotics and technological advances – where else in the world do students learn about Drone technology and the electronics, software and hardware required to safely operate in simulated and real-life situations?
Additionally, the school boasts the latest in lazer cutting technology that supports working with different materials, along with 3D printers helping to build anything within the realms of creative young minds. Supporting this revolution in education development is the Moscow e-schools platform, built using curriculum standards, but also resourced with activities created by the teachers themselves. Available in schools and at home, this rich and accessible resources help students extend their learning. As a former mathematics teacher, Kolosova enjoys the data that the online system offers, maintaining that with so many students, checking progress, attendance and behaviour are all important management processes. On the tour, the Director told about how even the youngest pupils get to explore and develop skills by exploring the impressive robotics laboratory. It is clear that Moscow school faced many challenges in recent history, but a change in policy, along with a clear investment in the infrastructure supporting innovative teaching and learning is now having a positive impact on the education system within the city.
School 2114 is not unique, with many projects mirrored across the city. School 2114 also enjoys a swimming pool, allowing students to build their physical skills, but the facilities are also available to the local community when not in use by the school. The bright, well-presented and updated School 2114 certainly showed the progress that has been made, and a show-case of what education can look like with positive investment, the inclusion of professionals in delivering the curriculum, and a clear vision of what a 21st education should include in terms of technology opportunities. Page 5
Skolkovo Take note of the name – Skolkovo. You will be familiar with the name Silicon Valley, but if you delve deep into the name, you will see an ethnically diverse selection of programmers, designers and leaders in technology drawn to the USA to hone and develop their technological skills. With tax and financial incentives, talent has congregated from around the world to make Silicon Valley a force within itself, impacting on lives (positively and negatively) on a daily basis. But why should one nation and one region dominate so much when there is a reliance on international talent? That’s one of the main premises behind the development of Skolkovo Park on the western outskirts of Moscow, encouraging innovative development within the realms of technology, engineering and medicine
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Spread over a site covering 1,000 acres, Skolkovo was launched in 2010 by Dmitry Medvedev, the then Russian president, as the flagship of his campaign to modernise the economy. Work is well underway to build modern medical facilities, allowing for research and less reliance on external interferences that can slow or stop development in its tracks.
Skolkovo Start-Ups Alongside, Boeing has a research and flight testing unit on the site, with many other technologies, engineering and smaller businesses who use the vast space to develop and produce their products. At the heart of the site stands the main buildings of the park, including the start-up hub and the impressively designed Skolkovo University.
Skolkovo University At the heart of the park is the impressive Skolkovo University that focuses on STEM at a postgraduate level to encourage innovation. Beyond the academic rigours that are expected at such an institution, the university invites students from around the world to undertake their research, being offered stipends, in many cases, supporting the brightest, innovative minds.
Providing a space for innovation, creativity and research, Skolkovo offers fantastic areas to help businesses to develop. For the smaller start-up business, shared spaces allow a low-cost flexible opportunity to work with like-minded individuals when taking those formative steps in building the company and product. As businesses grow, Skolkovo enables office growth, although the demand for office space within the area is highly sought after.
EdTech Start-Ups Of note, exploring some of the educational based technology companies using Skolkovo as their base, three companies stood out in offering technological solutions to teaching and learning:
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SKYENG
DRAGONLEARN
SKYENG.RU is an online English school popular within Russia. Also based in Cyprus, the company offers students language skills to develop speaking English. Initially focused on teaching English language skills to adults, the company has evolved developing a resource aimed at children and young people.
Dragonlearn is a global learning platform with a focus on mathematics, science, English and coding aimed at primary aged students through game-based learning activities. The company is also behind the developmentof BRICSMath, a largescale competition reaching across borders to compete locally and internationally in mathematical skills.
YACLASS YACLASS.EU is a learning content platform covering 16 school subjects within Russia, with an exploration of conscious intelligence. The platform covers 40,000 of the 43,000 schools within Russia. Using computer algorithms, the platform ensures progression and deep learning with its students, ensuring that students remain engaged, challenged and supported.
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Skolkovo Skolkovo Park demonstrates the ambitions of a nation. The energy, commitment and belief within the community is to be applauded, and the innovations being developed and made within Skolkovo will not only have a positive impact on the local population but also make the world a better place.
Highlights from MGF 2019 A visit to an educational exhibition, festival or forum often offers an insight to what the priorities are within the society where it is hosted. Take away the layers of the international giant exhibitors, and you can see where small, start-up industries see an opportunity to fill gaps in education that, they feel, are still valued within society. Among the glitz and glam of the modern technological advances, you can see products, services and industries that are present among the local environment, and a visit to the Moscow Global Forum, City of Education 2019 (MGF2019) was no different. Celebrating one of the largest exhibitions in this part of the world, with the number of delegates exceeding 146,000 over a four-day period – including royalty, educational leaders, teachers, school-leaders, pupils and other educational organisations – the MGF2019 highlighted some stark elements that shine a mirror on the culture and priorities within the Russian capital city: the embracement of educational technologies; competition, and; STEM.
From the forum, these three strands were clear to see, and evidence was in abundance around the four-day celebration of education.
Embracement of Educational Technologies: Speak to any young Moscovite, and they will avidly tell you about the technology they love to use both at home and school. The educational system within Moscow (in particular) has invested greatly in the latest technology available to help enhance teaching and learning. The central e-schools portal offers a rich resource of lesson ideas, videos and information that is available and accessible to students, teachers, school-leaders and parents in and away from the school building. From a UK perspective, it is surprising to see how shooter-type learning experiences are showcased within the exhibition, with many different army-based activities popular around the MGF arena, and they are popular. Notably, a project focusing on the gaming industry was popular and Page 9
evident, with a Moscow school opening specifically to help students, from the age of 14, become part of the gaming process, from the ideas, development, implementation and release of new gaming ideas. An addition to the exhibition floor space was the inclusion of coding platforms, helping young people acquire key technology programming skills that are going to impact on their futures and gain an understanding of the software they interact with. Bright lights, shiny displays and eyecatching activities were a prominent feature throughout the two large exhibition halls, but space was also given to smaller companies whose budgets are more constrained, with robotics and stop-frame animation learning opportunities tucked away in the connecting corridor.
Competition Competition within Russian schools is very notable, with medals, certification and commendations highly regarded. School entrances are plastered with trophies and certificates, and the enticement to achieve well is clear – especially among boys who, if they do not proceed with their education, Page 10
can be conscripted to join the army at the age of 16. For girls, failure to achieve academically can lead to increased difficulty in gaining the simplest of employment. At the MGF arena, celebrations of achievements were high on the
agenda, with awards being given to the schools Olympiad, and the pride and commitment to such competition are very clear to see. Teachers were also praised and rewarded for their commitment to pedagogical developments and involvement in developing the Moscow E-School platform that continues to grow to support the teaching and learning across the curriculum.
STEM Achievements within STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics), were scattered around the two main halls of the MGF2019, with a fascination clear among young delegates. Even younger delegates had the chance to explore accessible microscopes and coding equipment, with older students having the opportunity to explore chemistry experiments within the arena. Beyond the sciences, Page 11
delegates were able to explore technological advances that can be used in education, alongside engineering building-blocks that lay the foundation of developing an interest in a wide range of industries. Young people are encouraged to participate in the WorldSkills competition that focuses them on practical learning activities including tile-cutting, 3d model creations, engineering and coding. This was a particularly popular and busy section within the arena, giving young people hands-on experiences to try out new skills.
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MGF 2019 It is clear to see that the Government of Moscow is continuing to invest heavily in their education infrastructure, with a focus on STEM-based subjects still highly regarded, along with advanced Russian language skills, and English. Alongside, modern technological facilities that are being rolled out to most schools within the capital. Speaking at the end-of-show press conference, Isaak Kalina, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head, Moscow Department of Education said, "I can personally see what school environment are interesting for our young people. Every topic that I saw at the forum was very interesting. "I am very much interested in how to
make a school more efficient for the teachers and students. We understand that, for every teacher, we know that if we are not capable of interesting our students, then our efforts are for nothing. During this forum, I can see the fields that students are particularly interested – what are the techno-spheres, what are the subjects, and what are the topics. I like to imagine the image of our schools for the future, and the forum helps to see that." Following the Soviet era, it is clear that the educational system did require an update in terms of infrastructure, curriculum and facilities but, thanks to a clear financial injection, the City of Moscow is well placed to steer its young people into an exciting, positive and sustainable future. Page 13
