Teachers Talking - case studies in designing technology enhanced learning for rural livelihoods

“ TT” - Teachers Talking – About ICT Pamela McLean ‏ - Designer and Presenter Dadamac 2004 - 2008 and continuing http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/

Situation

Working with teachers, trainers and children in Nigeria and Kenya to develop ICT skills and awareness. http://picasaweb.google.com/lorraine.duff/TeacherTalking http://teacherstalking.blogspot.com

Participants are in rural communities where many people have never seen a computer.

ICT is coming onto the curriculum, so teachers are asking for training.

Typical rural Nigerian schools have few books, and no electricity or computers.

Internet access is via cyber cafes and training centres, usually a considerable distance away.

Task

We want to give teachers and trainers relevant knowledge and experience of ICT to share effectively in their communities

Problems we need to overcome include:

Poor infrastructure

Local culture of rote learning and not asking questions

By contrast effective users of ICT demonstrate self-direction, active learning, research skills, interrogating data etc

Poverty of resources in schools and for professional development for teachers

Lack of exposure to books, photographs, magazines and the continual flood of information seen in “developed” countries

Actions

We worked with teachers and developed a short training programme with three elements

Hands on Computers – sufficient experience to say “I have used computers myself and can tell you this is how it is”

No-Computer Computer Course (NC3) – participating in example lessons to replicate in schools

Teachers Talking Online – joining a supportive online community which participants can return to via cyber cafes after the course

Course actively addresses issues of asking questions and alternatives to rote learning e.g. simulations

Results Improvements have been made since 2004 course. TT has been replicated in Kenya. We are moving away from an ICT introduction which is presented face-to-face. Resources for NC3 are being developed which other course presenters can access online. We are developing online skills for supporting the participants and various trainers at a distance. TT-online activities include basic cyber cafe skills of joining a yahoo group and a chat room. Participants do this to become part of TT's supportive community. These trends suggest that we might train other trainers (perhaps cyber-cafe staff) to present the TT programme to aid replication.

Observations It would be better to do the programme with a clear longer term strategy. Participants benefit from continuing to meet regularly, to keep in contact with the online support group. Such ongoing involvement could be a way to recognise and develop potential local trainers. TT is altering as mobile phones reach rural areas. It is now possible to start teaching about a computer through a comparison with a mobile phone. We also have people using mobiles to access the chat room and yahoo group “from the bush”. We have experimented with audiographic conferencing within TT and see it also as a possible occasional way to continue course development and skill training with trainers.

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