Seren Kids, in partnership with Rydes Hill prep school in Guildford, Surrey, has conducted a Web 3 & NFT workshop for 7- to 11-year-olds, in what is thought to be the first education program of its kind in the UK.
Seren Kids, which runs workshops and summer camps to educate children in digital skills, delivered the training which covered E-safety workshops, Web3 and NFT workshops during the digital skills clubs.
The first session occurred on June 20, 2023, at Rydes Hill Preparatory School, with the second session following shortly after at The Hampshire School in Chelsea on July 3.
Seren Kids’ sessions provide E-safety workshops & Web3 and NFT workshops during digital skills clubs over the summer, although the training provider additionally hopes to rollout Web3, E-safety & NFT workshops directly through schools in the near future.
What the session included on children’s online safety and Web3
In these sessions, children were taught how to be safe online, critical of the web and question information found online. Children were also taught to be savvy about online interactions with people they may encounter on the web.The sessions included practical tips such as TAG (Tell A Grown up) and how to demonstrate E-safety knowledge through creating E-safety content (podcasts and videos) which students can share with their peers at school.
The Web3 workshops covered key concepts including: Web3, blockchain, the Metaverse, cryptocurrency, AI, VR, AR and IOT. As part of the session kids were taught how to create their own NFTs and Web3 content assets.
Education on the cloud was also covered within digital safety, as children were taught to be critical of information online and educated on the purpose of age-restricted content.
The students were also shown the benefits of Web3, how they can safely and responsibly use it, be creative with it and how to create their own NFT’s which we then send to their parent’s wallets.
Hannah Clifford, MD of Seren Kids, said: “We need to teach children to be responsible online and to be kind citizens of the web, just as in the real world. Statistics show that children online will commit to more risky behaviours than they would in real life because they feel more protected by anonymity online. This is something we are trying to educate children and parents on through our digital skills clubs. We encourage educators and parents to have an open non judgemental environment where children and parents discuss their online lives, we also encourage parents to experience part of the children’s online lives first-hand to have better understanding.
“Whilst there can be age restrictions for aspects of Web3 just like for Web2, children are likely to still access these platforms the way they do social media. Parents may not know a lot about Web 3 platforms and the related communities, tools or resources. They may be unable to make informed decisions about their children using them or guide them on safe and responsible use. This is why getting Seren Kids Web 3 workshops into as many schools as possible is so important. Our goal is to minimise the digital divide and provide skills to all children”.
Web 3 and future tech advancements for children
Clifford added: “I think Web 3 is going to be the dominant form of web in the not so far off future, in fact AI is already taking its place heavily across most industries including education. Web3 and future tech advancements are going to create jobs and modes of communication that do not even exist yet. In order to ensure our children are prepared and able to live safely alongside these advancements, parents and teachers need the correct training and education to be able to guide their children”.
“We already see children wearing apple watches, playing with smart robots and using Siri for homework. It’s more important than ever to help children understand how their data is harvested and how to properly consent to what happens to your personal data. We want kids to have a choice to benefit from automation and AI but also know how to live without it. We also want kids to understand the dangers of online social or gaming platforms where anonymity is permitted and how you may not know who you think you are talking to online”.
“Whilst it’s important to educate on online safety there are huge benefits from the technological advancements we are seeing. The opportunity of Web3 can open up a whole new world of personalised education and access to different cultures or experiences in an instant to children. It promotes more secure assets and ownership of your own work and better healthcare systems which can solve health issues more quickly and accurately, and this can all benefit children”.
Want to learn more about blockchain from industry leaders? Check out Blockchain Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California and London.
Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.
