Going to Africa - I need your input.

Mbabane, Swaziland
picture by Stephanie Marton

I am going to Swaziland in Africa for three weeks in June. Yippee!! A good friend of mine is a pediatrician in Mbabane, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to visit her. Her experiences have been amazing, and I am excited to see her life there first hand.

When the idea of taking a trip to Africa became a reality (thanks to frequent flyer miles), I realized that I want to do more than just tour the country. I want to learn about education in Swaziland, connect with African teachers, share my skills and possibly turn this project into an independent study credit to complete a master's degree in instructional technology.

At the Illinois Computing Educators conference in February, I attended Sharon Peter's session "Professional Development Without Borders". Her presentation started the process of thinking about what I can offer teachers in Africa (and what they can offer me). She gave me many great ideas like bringing flash drives full of teacher resources. The schools Sharon worked in had computers, but bandwidth was an issue. She recommended downloading what I can here and bringing it on flash drives. I take my broadband connection for granted knowing I can download what I need when I need it. But, schools in Africa are not so lucky. I hope I can make contact with teachers in Mbabane before I go, so I can learn about challenges they are facing and how I might be able to help.

So, I need your help. Do you have any contacts who can help me? Do you have ideas or advice? I am still in the brainstorming phase and I also want to tailor what I do to match the needs of the area. With that in mind, this is my current to do list. It may change, but I wanted to share it so I can make it better with your input.

1. Connect with Swazi teachers by searching for blogs. (K-12 and/or university)
   
2. Download free teacher resources to put on flash drives.
3. Download open source software that is useful for teachers and bring on CDs or flash drives. (Open Education Disc)
4. Start a PayPal account and take donations for flash drives, flip video cameras and inexpensive netbooks (XO or others).
   
5. Put together materials for professional development workshops for teachers (focusing on technology integration and/or science/math.)

Please help me solidify my plan. Thanks PLN!

Can E-Learning Strategies Help Us in Face to Face Classrooms? (part 3)

Communication and interaction are important
A teacher working for Virtual High School states that teaching online has helped her in her face to face classes. She is better at clarifying instructions and connecting with students and families, both of which require a more conscious effort when working online. In an online class, students do not have the benefit of tone of voice and teachers do not have the benefit of confused looks to know when to try a new approach. Online teachers must rely on clear and articulate instructions and building an environment of trust so students know they can contact their teacher when needed. Constant interaction between teacher and student is important.

Professional development is key

Creating a Learning Object
Originally uploaded by
Diseased Wits

Virtual High School has a major professional development component because they understand that online learning is a "new perspective on the notion of teaching and learning," (Dorste and Dorste, p. 57). In order for teachers to be successful, they need to understand the technology used and also the pedagogical strategies that work for online learning. The same is true in the face to face classroom. If we want teachers to adopt the strategies that work for learning, we must support them to do so.

This concludes my reflection about how e-learning can help us in face to face classrooms. Can you think of other things that online learning is teaching us about how to increase learning in face to face classrooms?

About Me

I blog here about learning, technology, traveling, photography and anything else that catches my interest. This blog started out as my reflection journal for a graduate class titled, "Instructional Technology for Diverse Cultures", and it was my first attempt at blogging. I am still working on finding my blogging voice.

I am an instructional technology specialist for a community college in Illinois. I help teachers design and develop their online classes as well as design and deliver technology training. In my former life, I was a high school teacher who thought (and still thinks) that ALL students can learn physics and math.

As an educational technology graduate student, I am interested in finding a successful model for professional development for teachers. I believe that a successful professional development program must include the creation of a community of learners through connecting online with social networking tools. I love teaching, learning, physics, math, technology, photography, my piano and traveling. And, I believe that a good education system can help solve many of the world's problems.

I welcome your feedback. Thank you for reading!