SKT Completes ICT Education for Youth with Disabilities... Narrowing the Digital Divide

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] SK Telecom and Microsoft (MS) announced on the 20th that they have successfully completed the ICT education program 'Smart Farm' aimed at enhancing the ICT skills of youth with disabilities and providing new career exploration opportunities.

The Smart Farm program is a play-based education program developed in collaboration with the non-profit youth education organization JA Korea, designed to help youth with disabilities easily and enjoyably access the latest ICT technologies by creating their own 'personal farm' integrating Internet of Things (IoT) and Data.

In September this year, the two companies conducted online lectures for 14 teachers from 9 special schools to provide systematic education on the Smart Farm program. Subsequently, these teachers conducted education for about 170 youth with disabilities over approximately four months from September to December.

The curriculum consisted of ▲ planting seeds and installing IoT sensors ▲ accumulating data and writing observation journals using a dedicated application ▲ data analysis and harvesting stages. Students planted seeds, installed IoT sensors for temperature, humidity, and illuminance, checked real-time data changes through the application, and uploaded photos and writings to create plant observation journals.

The participating teachers evaluated that youth with disabilities, who are not familiar with digital technology, naturally became accustomed to the digital environment by using various IoT sensors and apps, while monitoring plant growth, learning how to accumulate and utilize data, and applying these concepts to subjects such as mathematics and science.

On the 18th, the two companies held a non-face-to-face conference to commemorate the completion of the Smart Farm program. The best school among the participating schools was selected and awarded the Minister of Health and Welfare Award. They also shared excellent teaching methods using Smart Farm and discussed support measures to strengthen the digital capabilities of youth with disabilities.

The best educational case was awarded to Myeonghyeon School, a private special school for students with intellectual disabilities. Teacher Eun Eunsoo of Myeonghyeon School stated, "Through 'Smart Farm,' youth with disabilities were able to naturally accept the latest ICT as play," adding, "Also, by working together with peers to cultivate plants, they were able to improve emotional stability, communication skills, and cooperation."

Wooonghwan Yoo, Head of ESG Innovation Group at SK Telecom, said, "We are pleased to contribute to closing the digital gap for youth with disabilities through the 'Smart Farm' program," and added, "We will continue to explore various ways to provide new opportunities to youth with disabilities using ICT in the 5G era."

Kyohwa Jung, Head of Policy Cooperation and Legal Affairs at Microsoft Korea, said, "As an IT company, Microsoft supports diverse social members in acquiring digital and future competencies," and added, "We will fulfill our corporate social responsibility by supporting SK Telecom and youth with disabilities to pursue big dreams and explore various career opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.