TAKING ICT TOOLS INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

"You are among the luck Schools in Kasese District to have been chosen to participate in pilot of application of ICT Tools in the teaching of English" were the words of the Kasese District Education Officer Mr. George Mainja when he was handing over ICT Tools to St. Charles Voc. SS, St. Theresa Girls, Kilembe SS and Bwera Primary Teachers College at Virina Gardens Hotel, Kasese Municipality. Each School received: 2 desk top computers, 1 lap top, 1 project and 1 projection screen and 2 speakers. The equipment were given by RWECO and RICNET with funding support from Connect for Change.

Mr. George Mainja (right), The Kasese District Education Officer handing over ICT Tools to the head teacher St. Theresa Girls-Nsenyi, Ms. Pasikazia Mughuma on 28th June, 2013 at  Virina Gardens Hotel, Kasese Municipality

In his remarks the ED RICNET, Mr. John Murugahara, noted that the project was being implemented in 6 secondary schools and 2 Primary Teachers Colleges. That RWECO was working with Computers for Schools Uganda to ensure that the teaching of English Language becomes lively through the use of ICT Tools. Mr. Ericana Kiiza, Deputy head Teacher St. Charles Vocational SS-Kasanga, was concerned about the the safety and sustainability of the equipment, he asked RICNET to support the schools in engraving and retraining the new teachers who were recently transfered to the benefiting schools. He warned that, morality in schools had become rampant and asked RWECO to always talk something during the training of teachers.

The function was also graced by the media both print and electronic.

Follow this blog for more about the education component at RWECO:http://eduvoice.ug/




Jimmy B.O

TUTORS APPRECIATE THE INTEGRATION OF ICT IN EDUCATION.

Tutors and Student Teachers who participated in the training of integration ICT in teaching have applauded the innovation as enriching. This was revealed at Canon Apolo Core PTC in Kabarole District by the participants during the 3 day Training from 18^th- 20^th June 2013. The participants were college Tutors, student teachers and supervisors. The trainings was conducted by Rwenzori Information Centers network [RIC-NET] and Computers for Schools Uganda [CFSU] under the theme; “ICT ENABLED INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE”

 ICT for Education (ICT4E) refers to use of ICT devices and tools to support teaching and learning across the curriculum. ICT is not the main focus of learning, but supports the learning process. This refers to the use of technical aspects of ICT to extend and enhance the pupil’s learning in English and other subjects. The use of ICT however, makes new activities and approaches to the teaching of English possible.

In the context of the school curriculum, students/tutors are expected to explore, conduct research, write reports, do assignments, carryout personal revision and participate in discussions and present their individual or joint assignments. Computers can aid all these tasks and can move instruction/teaching away from the teacher-centered model to one that is more conducive to student problem-solving, written communication; creativity and collaborative skills – skills identified as necessary for 21st Century success.

Some of the benefits of integrating ICT into teaching and learning include the following; ICT caters for Different learning Styles of learners, it enables learners to play an active role in learning, it increases the attention span of learners, it provide real-life experience, it encourages collaborative approach to learning, it improves presentation of work, as well as offering flexibility of anywhere anytime learning during the teaching learning process.

ICT innovations also involve “Digital Storytelling,” it involves combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia, such as images, audio, and video. Digital stories bring together some mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music to present information on a specific topic. As is the case with traditional storytelling, digital stories revolve around a chosen theme and often contain a particular viewpoint. The stories are typically just a few minutes long and have a variety of uses, including the telling of personal tales, the recounting of historical events, or as a means to inform or instruct on a particular topic.

The potential for integrating speaking and listening, reading and writing can be enhanced by use of interactive multimedia resources. Most importantly, ICT engages pupils to work actively on language both when reading and writing and has the potential to highlight the way in which meaning is constructed.

After the training the Deputy Principle who closed the training thanked the training team for the good work in trying to simplify teaching learning process and pledged total support to the innovations. She asked those who have acquired the knowledge to pass it over to others properly and keep applying regularly.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A CHILD IN AFRICA

Pupils arriving at Boma ground after a procession around Bundibugyo Town

It took approximately four hours for a team of RWECO CU, the staff and pupils of Rukoki Model School to drive from Kasese via Fort portal to Bundibugyo. It was a very tough journey, mostly for the young ones but it was a worthy journey due to the learning environment that was at BOMA Grounds, Bundibugyo. It was the day of African child and the western regional celebrations were in Bundibugyo District at Boma grounds. The theme of the day was eliminating harmful social and cultural practices affecting children; Our collective responsibility. So many children put up so interesting performances ranging from Music to drama. Their performances were all advocating sounds of the little children seeking for the redress in the way the community, teachers and also back to the households treat them.

Day one started as different teams arrived from different places. After most of the teams had arrived, they made a community outreach and decided to clean up some wards thereafter made a procession around town to alert the people on the days celebrations. 

Pupils cleaning the pediatric ward - Bundibugyo hospital 15th June 2013

Day two, 16^th June, 2013 started with a procession around Bundibugyo town and back to Boma grounds where speeches and performances were held. There was a parliamentary session held by pupils and in this presentation, they talked about child labor and its consequences on the growth of these children affected. They also talked about early marriages and put up good recommendations on how to overcome this device in relation to their causes and effects on the children and these include supporting orphans in terms of education, encourage family planning so that to avoid unwanted pregnancies that could be a burden to the parents and that government should cooperate with other stakeholders to fight against child neglect that result in to child labor and that corporal punishments should be abolished to encourage children keep at school.

A pupil's parliamentary session 16th June 2013

Rukoki Model Primary from Kasese District who put up a touching presentation. This was led by three impaired children who used sign language to communicate their massage to the audience. The other pupil who was disabled with no arms showed the world that disability is not inability.

 A disabled pupil with no hands from Rukoki model showing his skills in knitting 16th June 2013

 

God Bless us all
Gilbert Masereka

CFSU MEETS HEAD TEACHERS, PTA AND BOG TO RAISE AWARENESS AND SUPPORT ICT ENHANCED LEARNING (17th June 2013)

To ensure a smooth and successful implementation of the projects, head teachers, PTA and BOG membershad to be brought on board with the project. It is on this note therefore that Computers for Schools organized a meeting inviting all head teachers, PTA and BOG members of all project schools in Kabarole district. The meeting took place at Kaalya courts on 17^th June 2013.

The purpose of this meeting was to ensure that the heads of schools, PTA and BOG allowed the C4C project activities to be implemented within their institutions. Further on, administrative support is needed to ensure sustainability of the project even after the project life has ended. As a ripple effect of the project, administrators had to be fully aware of the project activities within the school so that it does not only benefit the English department but also other departments. Issues that were discussed in the meeting included the following among others;

• The project brief, activities involved and responsibilities of the stake holders especially school administration
• Discussion of achievements in the schools so far and challenges faced

     The ICT project officer discussing the brief

The heads of schools discussed the achievements and challenges that they have been facing since the project inception to date. The heads of schools each discussed what was happening within their respective schools with regards to the project. After looking at the achievements, challenges faced were also brought up and solutions to mitigate the challenges were pointed out and below are some of the issues that were discussed;

Achievements

• The set up of the English language resource room; Canon Apolo core PTC, Ruteete secondary school and St. Leos and Kyebambe have set up English labs with resources like the laptop, projector and the speakers. Now with the two desk tops and flash disks that CfSU has added to the department, these institutions have worked on these resource rooms making them more student friendly and as safe as possible. The teaching and learning process can now comfortably take place in these rooms.
• Development of more interesting and fascinating lessons using Power point and Photo story; the head teachers of these schools were proud to mention that the teachers are developing more interesting lessons as testified by their students. Learners are more eager
• Computers in the resource room; with the availability of these computers in the English resource room, teachers are now able to develop their lessons and type exams freely in their free time without competing with students which was the case previously. It has even helped them practice more, getting a grip on computer usage thus erasing the computer phobia of students being better than them. The learners have also adopted a research culture where they can accomplish projects on their own.

 

    Mr. Otigo Evans explaining the benefits and challenges they face 

The representative from the DEO’s office of Kabarole district Mrs. Harriet Angwena finally urged administrators and PTA members to fully embrace the program and give the much needed support to the teachers and implementing organizations. She also pledged to be supportive at the district level by offering the necessary support like inspecting and lobbying at the ministry.

     Administrative members listening to the DEO

BUNDIBUGYO COMMEMORATES THE DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD

 Going by the common agreement of rotating the celebration of the day of the African child, this time round the event was held at Bundibugyo Boma ground on Sunday 16^th June 2013.
 

The day of the African child was established by the African union (AU) IN 1991. It is recognized globally in memory of the brutal massacre of black children who courageously marched on 16^th June 1976 in Soweto Township protesting against the substandard way they were being taught, their demand was that they be taught in their language.

The theme this year was Eliminating harmful social and cultural practices affecting children: our collective responsibility.

The day drew children from in and around the Rwenzori region. Kabarole, kasese and Bundibugyo represented the regional participation. About 1100children are believed to have participated.

Among the activities carried out that day were essay writing competition, a procession through Bundibugyo town, music dance and drama and poem reciting

Computers for schools Uganda and RWECO participated in essay marking, contributed towards a general grand lunch for the children and their teachers and participated in music and poem reciting.

    Also one pupil with special needs from Rukoki model showcased his talent on a sowing machine

 Bwambale Andrew with no full hands on a sowing machine

In her speech, Madam Barbra the country director save the children (guest of honour) thanked her staff for all the good work done in the Rwenzori region. She also elaborated on the day of the African child and its importance to the children of Africa today. She finally awarded prizes to those who had excelled in the essay competition.

The commemoration came to an end with the serving of a grand communal lunch.

   

RWECO/RIC-NET CONTUNES TO EMPOWER SCHOOLS THROUGH ICT

RWECO / RIC-NET staffs visited the Secondary Schools in Kasese District on 10^th - 11^th June 2013 in order to get feedback on the progress of ICT enabled Teaching of English language in Schools. The team that included John Silco, Strida and Jimmy visited St. Charles Secondary School, Bwera Teachers College, St. Theresa Girls’ Secondary School and Kilembe Secondary School under the theme of “empowering schools through the use of ICT”. The meetings were attended by the head teachers/ Principal, one ICT Teacher and the Head of the English Department.

STUDENT IN THE ENGLISH LAB AT ST. CHARLES VOC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

 During the discussion, the parties agreed to share information across all schools through interactions and open discussions, agreed on training on 4^th and 5^th July 2013 of English Teachers on design and development ICT enabled methodology/ Skills in teaching of English and offer maintenance backup support. The issue of students’ actively participating essay writing competitions under three categories of: corruption, service delivery and the love for English as a language was stressed.

AT ST. THERESA GIRLS SEC SCHOOLS

 The schools were encouraged to setup a language library, procure readers or novels in order for students to improve on their vocabulary and students reading skills. Most of the Head Teachers promised to make use of the career days like parents days, sports days, and independence days to encourage students use their skills. Schools were encouraged to the use of bulky messages in order to make communication with parents very easy and visit the www.eduvoice.ug .

NOTING ISSUE OF CONCERN AFTER MEETING AT KILEMBE SSS

Conclusively, RWECO promised additional equipments to Schools which included laptop, two desktop computers, speakers, Projector, Projector screen, Generator and Internet modem. By Muhindo strida