Let’s get it started
The lessons at the Junior High schools in the K.E.E.A. district have begun and so have the AIM. workshops. Hence, it is about time to inform you about this year’s ICT-workshop. After 10 years of preparation, the workshops now take place at the brand-new, freshly opened AIM. Community ICT Training Center. This year, AIM. Ghana is offering the ICT education to over 200 students from 6 Junior High-schools, that are split into 10 batches – five of them during weekdays and 5 on Saturdays.
For the first term, Michael and me – this year’s ICT volunteers – intend to teach the computer newbies an intuitive control of the computer and navigation within the windows user interface. Only few of them had to opportunity to explore a computer or laptop during their childlike curiosity phase what we are now trying catch up with. To achieve this resurrection is going to become essential for the workshop, because we are reliant on the drive to explore all the possible tools and maneuvers that the computer brings along.
This should not be all too difficult, since the students are highly motivated and curious to learn new things, but it is impeded by the class’ desire to stay on the same level. As soon as a student solves an exercise, he jumps up to help his classmates with to arrive at the solution. Unfortunately, thereby students that are hold up by a task miss the chance to find their individual approach to solve their problem. So far, we believe that the causes can be found in the differences in age, that reach a magnitude of up to 4 years, and develops a noticeable casting within the class. However, we hope to break these hierarchies by splitting the students into skill levels, to give equal learning possibilities to every student.
Nevertheless, the workshops are lots of fun, since the kids already know a vast vocabulary from their previous ICT lessons in school and trust us completely to teach them useful skills. And therefore, I am joyfully looking forward to keep you up to date with the latest progresses.
Bye for now
Chris
