The 49th State Kindergarten in Sofia works with over 300 children from 2 to 7 years of age in 10 groups. The kindergarten has 20 full-time teachers who work with the children on approved programmes for preschool education. Additionally, the kindergarten organizes a lot of extracurricular activities like sports, arts and crafts, second language classes, music, etc.
3 years ago the managing team of the 49th State Kindergarten decided to start various projects for renovation and modernization of the kindergarten’s facilities and educational programmes. The aim was to position the kindergarten as the best place for preschool preparation within its area. By increasing the number of enrolments, the kindergarten also increases its allocated budget.
The Kindergarten introduced project-based learning – a teaching method in which the children gain knowledge and skills by working in teams on a certain project for an extended period of time. In order to provide children with engaging and authentic information about their projects, the kindergarten decided to involve external guest-lecturers and specialists. The kindergarten started looking for a solution which will extend the network of external lecturers by offering an option which saves time and costs for travelling and involves people from different locations across the country and abroad.
The 49th State Kindergarten in Sofia started using the VEDAMO Virtual Classroom in 2016 by combining video-conferencing with tools to visualize learning content in various formats, such as documents, images, presentations, audio and video files.
By using the VEDAMO Virtual Classroom the 49th State Kindergarten in Sofia conducts blended sessions with guest-lecturers online. As a result, the children are able to meet with different specialists and learn new facts about the projects they work on. The parents are also involved in the process by making an online connection from their working places and sharing interesting facts about their professions. Thus, the kindergarten managed to improve the communication with the parents and to create a positive image of an innovative and qualified educational setting, resulting in an increased number of families applying for preschool preparation.