Teaching technology with purpose: How the UN SDGs transform computing lessons into a drive for change

Humanity has always faced challenges.

Some of the most pressing challenges faced by society are visible both in news media and through observation of the world we live in. Climate change, conflict, hunger, poverty and questions around safe use of technology are issued that directly affect millions of children worldwide.

One of the key roles of education is preparing young people to enter the world equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to face these challenges. In this way, children learn how they can contribute to and improve society.

The challenges faced in the world are visible both locally and worldwide.

Two things have really stood out to me during my time in education.

The first is that children love solving problems. These can be deep, thoughtful problems like how to raise money for a charity. They can also be more immediate problems, like how to eject the wasp that has just entered the classroom. Presenting children with problems to solve brings out their best. It motivates them, sparks critical thinking and gives them reasons to apply their skills.

My second observation is that children are incredibly generous of spirit. They are naturally idealistic and want to help others. We frequently see young people being extremely generous with their time and money, willing to go to great lengths to support their communities and make a difference.

As educators, when we allow children to express these two qualities, we tap into a driving force capable of transforming not just their current communities, but the future that children will inherit.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In order to harness children's enthusiasm and generosity of spirit, we need to offer them a framework for applying these qualities.

This is where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are so useful for educators.

The UN SDGs (link) envision a safe, fair and sustainable world, where no child has to grapple with issues such as poverty, war or lack of services including healthcare and education.

The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals envision a fairer and more sustainable world.

The 17 goals are further explained through targets. These targets are visible by clicking on the individual goals on the page here: (link)

As an example, SDG 2, 'Zero Hunger' is split into eight targets including:

2.1: 'By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious food all year round.'

2.2: By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.

The UN website recognises both success and challenges in achieving these goals by 2030, stating, (link)

"Notably, there has been some SDG success since 2015 with improvements in key areas, including poverty reduction, child mortality, electricity access and the battle against certain diseases."

also noting,

"But progress is not moving fast enough. Only 35% of SDG targets are on track or making modest gains. Nearly half are progressing too slowly and 18% are actually regressing."

The UN SDGs provide an international, common language for the world's most urgent needs. When integrated into learning, they transform lessons from learning in isolation to teaching children ways that they can join with other children around the world and start to address some of the problems we all face.

The role of educators

Designing lessons to address some of the UN SDGs offers an engaging and transformative context for children's learning. This is true across all subjects but particularly achievable in the context of computing and digital learning.

Through programming, children can learn ways that systems can be designed to improve food production, clean up pollution, provide climate alerts and augment production.

Instead of telling children that they are 'learning to use variables', we explain to them that they are learning to store and use environmental data, helping to address UN SDG 2, 'Zero Hunger', target 2.3, "By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices..."

This can be achieved using Microbit technology, as children connect crocodile clips to pins 0 and 3V on the Microbit with nails that conduct electricity into soil. By measuring the electric charge between the nails, the Microbit can function as a moisture detector that alerts a user when a plant needs watering. Students can take this further using the data logging features of a Microbit!

Microbits are ideal devices for young children to use to monitor the environment.

Microbits can be programmed using the Makecode website (link).

In this Makecode project, Pins '0' and '3V' would connect to nails, inserted into soil. The reading from this would trigger different outputs depending on conductivity of the soil.

In this project, crocodile clips connect to a servo motor, which operates depending on the temperature. This covers or uncovers a sun shield for plants.

A lesson on how AI works and issues around human-caused bias can become an activity in meeting UN SDG 14, 'Life Below Water', target 14.1, "By 2030, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution." Children can use the fantastic Code.AI resource, 'AI for Oceans' (link) to learn about how machine learning works based on training and the effects this training can have when deployed!

Likewise, robotics lessons using Bluebots or more sophisticated robots can present children with the challenge of precise movement in the context of collecting rubbish, while avoiding wildlife.

Lessons on data collection become activities in monitoring environmental factors and wildlife. Students can collect data themselves, or from websites such as World's Air Pollution and enter this into spreadsheets to generate data. Data monitoring air pollution, with possible actions such as planting more trees or reducing car use would allow children to contribute to SDG 13, 'Climate Action', specifically target 13.3, "Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaption, impact reduction and early warning."

In 2026, I wrote a computing scheme of work called 'Think, Compute, Grow' . This is available download for free from my website here.

The aim of this scheme of work is to provide computing lessons for use by children all around the world and to use sustainable agriculture as a meaningful and engaging context for learning. I connected all 111 lessons to one of the UN SDGs. While doing this, I found that the UN SDGs were very easily matched to the engaging, meaningful projects that children can do.

Matching lessons to the SDGs did not make planning lessons harder! In fact it made planning these lessons more exciting and more meaningful.

Apps for Good

I have written previously about Apps for Good (link), an organisation which offers transformative experiences to children in education.

In my view, following the Apps for Good process of researching an issue, designing, building and presenting an app to address an issue related to social justice or climate action is one of the most meaningful experiences that children can have in education.

Through building an app as part of the Apps for Good process, children learn that their work can make a real difference, from educating users about a topic to offering real solutions.

Not only this, but the Apps for Good resources make reference to the UN SDGs. Children are encouraged to consider which goal their app addresses as they research, design and build their app. For a school that already makes the SDGs a visible part of the community and children's work, the Apps for Good project is a perfect project to offer to children.

Through schemes like Apps for Good, children learn how their work can have real effects on their environment.

Conclusion: from users to problem solvers

One of greatest challenges educators face is the need to balance the teaching of core skills and knowledge with opportunities for meaningful problem solving and expression. Children with good knowledge related to maths, literacy and computing concepts like conditions and variables will be far more successful when they approach real-life problems.

When thinking about this balance, I often use the analogy of sports education. Successful sports teaching recognises the value of repetition of skills, often in isolation. It also progressively gives athletes opportunities to demonstrate and apply these skills in increasingly complex game scenarios. Drilling skills without application feels pointless, playing games without learning skills leads to frustration.

Planning technology lessons around the UN SDGs teaches children that the work that they do can have a real impact, not just in their future, but here and now. It shows children the value of the technical skills they are learning, while giving them a meaningful outlet for the innate desire to solve problems and help others that is present within every child.

Next steps to integrate the UN SDGs into technology teaching

Visit the UN Sustainable Development Goals website: (link) Read the goals and targets and consider which targets could be linked to existing or future school activities.

Download 'Think, Compute, Grow!' Access the complete 111 lesson computing scheme of work for free here. Each lesson pairs computing concepts with sustainable agriculture and the UN SDGs.

Explore Apps for Good: Discover free courses and resources here for setting up and running Apps for Good in school, teaching children how they can contribute to the SDGs through app design.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals logos – (United Nations) - https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment - Used according to the guidelines on the United Nations website, for non-commercial, educational purposes. The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.