Culturally Relevant Coding: an Experience in South India

Abstract: After several years of developing creative computing projects in schools across South India, we have observed the importance of integrating local cultural elements into teaching and learning processes. During our recent stay in the Bangalore region as part of the Inventors4Change project, we implemented three activities aimed at connecting culturally significant elements from South India with concepts of creative coding and computational thinking. This article introduces the concept of Culturally Relevant Computing and provides a detailed description of the activities and their initial implementations in various schools and organizations. These efforts resulted in a total of nine workshops conducted in diverse contexts, involving different teams of educators and students of various age groups. The article also includes conclusions on the impact of employing Culturally Relevant Education in educational projects that use technologies for creative learning.