A local educator dedicated to teaching how the power of technology can enhance learning is off to Ghana to deliver a seminar to 25 children.

“It’s going great; it’s exceeding what I expected,” said Darren Burchall of his Great4Learning programme, which he started a year ago in his home country of Brazil.

Bermudian donors have pitched in to donate a robotics kit to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Stem) initiative, starting next week in Gomoa Fetteh, a fishing community on the Ghanaian coast.

The charity Stem Academy is going to train children who are involved in a Ghana non-governmental organisation, the ACE IT Foundation, run by Mr Burchall’s friend, Quinton Sherlock.

Students will construct a buggy car robot, build circuits from scratch, and programme a computer game.

However, the aim is to awaken creativity along with teaching circuitry and coding.

“I’m not trying to make engineers, but give them skills that can transfer anywhere,” Mr Burchall said. “This type of learning helps children develop vital 21st-century skills, and it helps them to investigate and inquire.

“It never goes right the first time, and when it doesn’t work, you have to find out why. They will learn to explore over and over, and to collaborate with other people.”

The Great4Learning programme has delivered courses in Bermuda, Brazil, Paraguay, Africa, England and Europe.

Mr Burchall is also planning to meet with Kenyan officials, and has spoken with the South African consul in Brazil to link up with more places of learning across Africa.

The programme, which is aimed at “school leaders, teachers, parents and students”, today finishes its Bermuda Christmas Stem Maker Academy.

Among the initiatives showcasing the technology’s innovative capacities, local teachers and students were treated to a 3-D printer that made a Christmas ornament.

• To learn more, visit www.great4learning.com