Simon’s Report 20: Our New Intern, Judy Kinya

Monday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

I was privileged to have Judy Kinya, Ntugi Group’s new intern, working with me today.

It was our scheduled day to be at  Ntugi Secondary school, but they had taken a mid-term break,  so it was a good opportunity to have her prepare for the week’s activities, so we worked at the Conservation Education Center in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Judy turned up on time as we had a lot to do for the day. Since Judy’s initial task at Ntugi Secondary will be to work with journalism club to help them develop a comic picture illustrated story with the Fototoon Activity, we chose to begin with this to ensure that she would be comfortable with it when she gives her first lesson.

For her first week at Ntugi, we chose to target the new students who did not belong to the computer club, and to introduce the activity to them. We had a couple of things to do.

First was to help students learn to use Sugar’s Record Activity to take different types of pictures i.e., Long Shot , Medium Shot andClose Up, as well as know how and when to use different speech balloons  (e.g. whisper, word bubble, exclamation bubble and scenario box).

She also learnt that a scene could have as many as twenty photos, introduced by one scenario text box. Together we wrote a sample story of an incidence at school and she will use it to teach by having the students design and shoot pictures from that story.

She learnt this first, and then had to start her first class on the very next day!

Tuesday: Ntugi Secondary

We went to Ntugi Secondary where Judy had the story we had written on a USB a flash disk. I helped her load the file to the machines she was to use and, during her first class, she had the students read the story and decide what pictures they could come up with to match the action described. They fast came up with 20 pictures for the first scene. She was doing very well during her first day of teaching and I helped her where necessary.

Wednesday: Ntugi Secondary

We were in Ntugi again on Wednesday where we did our second lesson with the club. This was the day to learn about different types of pictures and how to take them. We had the students practice on this and did very well. We had half of the group making very good shots and of the required size.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

We had students from Chogoria Secondary school and they had a chance to use the XOs at the center. Ephantus used the Speak activity to type questions that he shared in to all the students as a way of evaluating how much they could remember from the trip. Students were expected to type back the answers and send them to Ephantus and this served to find out what messages they are taking away f rom their visit to Lewa - and back to their school; it also introduced them to the keyboard and to typing introducing them to typing.

Friday: Leparua Primary

At Leparua primary school the kids are doing very well with Scratch. I realized that the students had not known how to save the earlier projects they had worked on and this turned out to be a lesson for the day.

At the end of the day, the pupils leant on how to save their projects in the journal and how to rewind on the earlier steps.

Post by Simon Mwangangi

SIMON’S REPORT 18: The Itch to Scratch

Our OLPC project is taking a new look every day. With every new understanding of the ability of the OLPC XO’s, I am trying to make developments in the projects that will make them more appealing and satisfying to the demands of teaching various subjects at our partner institutions.

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

At Ntugi, the students are working on a Scratch project. Scratch is an animation Activity that I recently introduced to the Computer Club . Being a high school, I saw it good if they started Scratch at the more abstract level of learning about the flow charts used in programming in order to make them able to arrange the building blocks to achieve a specific objective. They were able to learn this and for demo, I had them draw a flow chart that guides a person repairing a non-functioning bulb. This was to help them learn how to use the symbols properly. They will then work on a flow chart that will directly be used to create a program with Scratch.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary

At Ngare Ndare we are working with the teachers to develop a syllabus that integrates the computer technology into their teaching. We are focusing on two subjects (Chemistry and Physics) and we have found many areas that XO’s could assist in teaching. This will be very important since we are hoping to launch a new pilot at Ngare Ndare once they have a power supply; they are currently being served by the 4 XO’s I carry in my backpack to the school. Once they have the laptops on site, and know how to use them, it will be easy to integrate the subjects.

At Lewa Primary school, the teachers were learning to use the word processing application to prepare exams for the students. They are preparing such that when they get power and machines in the school, they will be able to process evaluation tests in school. 

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

At Subuiga , we are working on a Scratch project that can lead the way to creativity by both the teachers and students in creating projects of their preference. We worked on the flow chart and next time we will be arranging the blocks as per the flow charts to create a program.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

The CEC at Lewa is another institution that is by all means trying to maximize the usage of the machines in its functioning. Ephantus has presented teaching materials that I am trying to adapt to Scratch. This week, we had students from Rugusu Primary School who had a chance to use the machines in evaluating their learning during the day and learn basic computer operation.

 Friday: Leparua Primary

At Leparua, introduced the Scratch activity to the students for the first time. I wanted to explain how a computer animation could be used as a teaching tool. To do this, I started by explaining how a person would do some activities after he/she is given some instructions, in person, in the classroom. We had one person being offered instructions to do different things and they performed those tasks as instructed. The next step was now to change the presentation from the classroom to the laptop screen and to show the students that typed commands as a script in Scratch could make an animated person, called a Sprite in Scratch, follow instructions also.

These instructions are  given by the programming building blocks in Scratch.

The students were able to move the Sprite on the screen using the motion blocks and control blocks to make a dancing sprite. We will by the next time involve sound in the sprite and use bubbles to have the script communicate. The kids learned very fast, and they are in Grade 7!

Am looking forward towards next week. Thanks to all support given to me.

Post by Simon Mwangangi

SIMON’S REPORT 17: ‘Scratching’ the Surface

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

The past week was so successful with the introduction of the Scratch Activity to some of the institutions for the first time. One of the schools where I introduced it was Ntugi Secondary, where I had made a demo project just to show them how it could work. The project was a kind of a tutorial presentation that  can be used in teaching the names of different things in the environment.

It had a script of an imported, pre-drawn ‘costume’ or sprite of a teacher teaching in front of a background of a blackboard.

As the Scratch animation runs, different items appear on the screen and the teacher says their names as they appear.

After this section is complete, the teacher then evaluates the user/player.

She asks the player the names of the pictures as they appear once more.

and the

The person using the laptop has to type in the correct name for the objects and hit ‘enter’.  

The program only allows for the correct answer for one to score points.

I haven’t yet figured what to do if someone answers incorrectly! 

They were so eager to know the way to create such a project like the one I had demonstrated… but the main problem for them was to have them put the programming instructions into the script in the order in which the which they should be executed. They were a bit impatient and din’t really understand the sequencing and cause that they need to in order to make the Sprite behave as they want!

To solve this, I plan on having a class on flow charts where I can have the students make a flow chart of  the instructions first before entering them into the  laptop  from the Scratch menu of instructions.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary 

At Ngare Ndare, the teachers were occupied, but I involved students in a shared Speak activity where they discussed through a voice chat some questions in chemistry. The challenge here again was the typing speed but with few lessons on Typing Turtle,  I think this will be solved.

At Lewa Primary the teachers were learning on how to word process word on the XO, and Gnome operating system. They hope that once the school gets power they will be typing exams for the students. They didn’t complete the document and they saved to the Gnome desktop to continue with it on next Wednesday.

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

I also introduced Scratch to the Subuiga teachers and we are working for the same project I have talked of earlier the basis for tutorials to help in teaching. We were able, together with the teachers involved, to come up with the required pictures and next step is to teach them to control the movement of these in Scratch.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

At the CEC, we had a visit from Chege, the Chief Conservation Officer at Lewa and he was happy to see the hand given by the XO’s in the teaching of conservation education. We had had students from Githongo Boys School. With the wireless ability of the XO’s, I connected the machines to the same mesh network and Ephantus, the Head of Conservation Education at Lewa asked questions through a shared chat, and students discussed the questions among themselves though the laptop’s Chat Activity and at last he gave the correct answers. The students had fun as they learned.

 Friday: Leparua Primary

At Leparua, I met with teachers where we discussed the welfare of the project in the school and they promised to give full support and get involved in applying the applications in teaching.

I am looking forward towards next week!

Post by Simon Mwangangi

SIMON’S REPORT 13: 2012 Begins!

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

We started the term well at Ntugi Secondary. The target of this term will be to integrate the OLPC’s Sugar OS Activities with the syllabus in the school. This will be possible by engaging the Activities (application programs) I had been teaching last term with the syllabus as an aid to help in deep understanding and creating more interest in learning. Last term, I started at Ntugi by engaging the Memorize activity. The computer club members learned how to create custom Memorize games and the had to create a game that matched each piece of lab equipment with its name. This will help the coming Form Ones (Grade 9) in learning lab equipment which they currently have problems with. It will also help the students master creating games and making them even better.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary

I was supposed to be at Ngare Ndare and the Lewa School but could not make it,  so I spent the whole day at the Conservation Education Centre with Ephantus. We had students from Githongo Secondary who had a chance to use the XO laptops to evaluate the field work they had done. Although many had experience with laptops before, they were happy to use  a different OS (operating system) and machines of different type. They wished to have the same in their school.

A student at the education center using a laptop to play a memorize game.

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

At Subuiga Primary, the teachers were very busy scheduling for the term and we were not able to do anything with them. They promised to try and have the day free for next Wednesday’s visit.

Thursday: Conservation Education Centre

At the CEC we had different students from Githongo with a lot of curiosity and eagerness to experience the OLPC XO’s .I think it was due to the message spread by the others who had come the day before. I had time to teach them how to do basic tasks in the Sugar environment like quitting an activity and shutting down. 

Friday: Leparua Primary

At Leparua, before the end of year break, I had left a FotoToon project in progress and the goal of that project was to accomplish it as quick as possible. The students had created a basic sample of a picture illustration/cartoon and I used this first experiment as a base to help the improve their next project to something of better quality. One area where we are working on improving is  was to use shots of different sizes and different angles.

A Leparua student learns to take a MCU (Medium Close-Up shot)

I spent the day at Leparua teaching this. They got the concept and I left them take specified photos to create another story. I will be checking this on next Friday.  

Post by Simon Mwangangi

Simon’s End of Year Report

It has been a very busy term with a struggle to create the foundation of OLPC project in different schools. I am encouraged by what has come out of those institutions in a such a very short period of time.

At schools like Ngare Ndare Secondary, Leparua Primary, Lewa Primary and Subuiga primary, this term has meant the introduction of OLPC projects,  while at Ntugi Secondary this term has been about developing their use of the XO laptops to a higher level.

The thing I feel has been achieved best is the curiosity that has arisen at these schools after realizing how much help the OLPC XO’s can be in learning if they are introduced to the school curriculum. This idea has won acceptance at all the institutions I have worked with.

I have seen teachers, after an introduction of an activity in Sugar, enthusiastically suggest areas where it can assist in teaching. The Sugar activities that have been voted very useful in teaching are;

• Record
• Tuxmath
• Fototoon
• Distance

The most helpful ability of the XO laptop that has been highly voted is the inbuilt network enabling sharing of activities . But these are the only activities that I have been able to introduce to them this term. Still, we are developing the knowledge base well.

Next term at Ntugi and Leparua, I am planning to suggest an activity I will call  “silent discusions activity” where the students will, after researching about a topic on the Internet, use the Write activity (when shared) to discuss about the topic without using their text books. In the Write document they can correct each other and in the long run will have mastered the concept of the topic. I will explain to them that this is similar to the process by which Wikipedia is built - by many people collaborating, sharing and correcting information.

Lewa’s  Conservation Education Centre is another institution that has easily picked up the concept of the OLPC project.The CEC has enhanced the experience of students from all over Kenya who visit Lewa. As part of their visit, those students to have a chance to use the OLPC laptops as part of their program. Since many come from a very remote areas where access to computers is still rare, using the XO laptops is very exciting for them. And, for the CEE it is a very helpful tool to teach about conservation and get the concepts well mastered by the students.

Personally, this has been a successful term. My position as an intern has improved me as a person, training me to handle multiple things at a time and deal with different institutions  which each have different levels of understanding and different interests. My goal has been to make them understand the main purpose of the OLPC project which is to boost education through use of technology. The position of intern has also provided me with the resources to research about computer science (XO laptop, Safaricom modem and data time) and I find it a great chance since this is an area I have always dreamt to venture in.

The only shortcomings have been:

• Trouble with transport - some of the schools are very remote and the rains have been hard - which mostly make me very un-prompt.
• Dealing with large classes using only a few laptops and a sitution where everybody needs my attention and this makes me to do very little advancement even in a longer period of time.

The most vital thing now is to try to connect all the institutions/schools involved in the project. We have so far connected Ntugi Secondary and Leparua Primary and we have established have a common time they can chat on IRC.

If Ngare Ndare Secondary could be developed with a permanent set of laptops, and connected to Ntugi Secondary, they could have lot to share since they are both secondary schools. For instance…

• The Prefects at Ngare Ndare could IRC chat with the one at Ntugi and they can share the problems they encounter.
• Students at each school can be posting very difficult questions on a blog for the other school to research and answer.This could be a very good way of learning .

Under development is a blog that will connect Lewa and all the schools in the project where they can ask questions about conservation education and Ephantus Mugo can answer them through the blog.

If all these connections succeed, even technical problems could be easily shared and locally solved!

Thanks to all who have participated to make this term such a successiful one. Schools have closed for holiday and am looking forwad for the next year to get these ideas in practise.

Thank You

Post By Simon Mwangangi