According to the program design, partners
were to document and share lessons learnt from the implementation of the
project in the secondary schools and primary teacher colleges. The purpose of
sharing and documenting was to learn and discuss how the lessons learned would
impact future program implementation and also help make the program better.
Computers for schools Uganda and RWECO have for the past two years been discussing
these lessons in a participatory manner. This is normally done at the end of
year where all the project staff gather in a central location to discuss
challenges, successes and lessons learnt. Listed below are some of the lessons
that have been learned since project inception;
·
Administrative support
is very important for the projects to be a success since they offer both the
moral and technical support to the teachers. An example of Canon Apollo Core
PTC where with the support of administration, the department has been able to
procure more computers for English lab.
·
There is need to train
school administrators (Head teachers, principals, deputies and Directors of
Studies) in ICT customized for management as without their knowledge of ICT use
for management, they do not understand the need for ICTs in schools. School
administrators should be trained to be champions of ICT usage and integration
in the schools.
·
From the action research
that was carried out, CfSU and RWECO found out that using SMS alone to
communicate with parents is not a very effective method of relaying messages to
parents. This method should therefore be coupled with other avenues like use of
radios and community public address systems.
·
It was discovered that
it is very important to encourage teachers to involve students more in the
teaching/learning process to boost their creativity and research skills. This
is mainly done through group discussions and take home exercises.
·
New more advanced
software for developing lessons should only be introduced to teachers after
they have fully grasped the simpler tools.
·
Learner involvement in
the learning process through research, group discussions, collaborative
learning and presentation is important as it fully engages them and reduces
boredom. They need to be given time to interact with ICTs through group work
and research so that the learners’ creativity, research skills, problem solving
skills and critical thinking are boosted.
·
Teachers need continuous
practice and re-tooling to improve their lessons and point them more towards
the learner.
some of the tutors being helped during a re-tooling session
·
There is need to prepare
sample and demo lessons by implementing partners and champion teachers to other
teachers more exposure to learner centered lessons.
·
Continuous encouragement
of teachers and hands on the computer will increase the efficiency in the use
of ICT tools to teach.
·
Careers’ days and open
days are good platforms for implementing partners to interface with parents since
they are crucial stakeholders in the success of the project. It is crucial to
tailor teacher support activities to school activities so that the school time
table is not interfered with for example Careers’ day.
The teachers are tasked by the
implementing partners to follow up on these lessons accordingly. An example of
such a scenario is; during one of the meetings, it was discussed that it is
important to involve learners more in the learning process and the teachers
were tasked to help the learners be more active through assignments of research
and collaboration.
