Simon’s Report 25: Paying It Forward With Computer Clubs

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

Paying forward is the main concept that is powering the development of the Computer Club at Ntugi Secondary. The structure of the club makes this possible as it creates a path that information flows from top to the bottom. The Club, with 25 students in total, is divided into 5 groups of 5 students and each group has its own group leader. The group leader has the responsibility of attending lessons on Mondays in which I take them through new work and they pass the information to the rest of the club members during the week.

We work this way because I only have a short time with them, but they have got a lot of time with themselves. This will enable the Club to develop faster as it is easier to work with 5 group leaders than with 25 students at a time.

This process will also gradually convert them into teachers themselves, and help develop their ability to pass on information as well as promoting collaboration. All the assignments  are done by every member of the club and it helps me evaluate their progress as well as monitoring them. Group leaders who do not work efficiently are replaced.  The long term goal for the group leaders is to become interns themselves, once they graduate, and to do the work that Judy and I are currently doing.

Am testing this pay-it-forward teaching structure with the introduction of the Scratch Activity and, having taught them on initializing an animation by the control keys, motion blocks, the XY grid concept , and reading XY coordinates at random by pointing the cursor on the stage, I left them an assignment to help them develop an idea from the things introduced this week.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary

The enthusiasm of students at Ngare Ndare is encouraging. There is already a Computer Club like that of Ntugi Secondary and they are very motivated and competitive - they claim to work hard to defeat the ones at Ntugi Secondary!  With the addition of Judy as Intern, and the addition of 4 more laptops in her ‘backpack’ kit (for a total of 8 laptops in both of ours), we are now able to reach the students in a better way than before - although there is a great need for more XO’s. At least, now, 3 students can now share one laptop and, before the April break, the UCC group helped me as I introduced a couple of new Activities to them. On this visit, the NN Computer Club students divided themselves into groups and elected their leader and with the remaining time I taught them switching between Sugar and Gnome and sugar.

The Lewa Engineer whom I spoke to promised that they will have mains power installed within a month’s time, and that will make a permanent pilot ehre possible.

Lewa Primary School had gone for games and I had no chance to meet them. The plan there is to now, having already trained the teachers,  to engage students who will form a club for the school.

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

The Grade 6 students from Subuiga Primary had what they called a ‘lucky day’ after being appointed as the class to form the Computer Club for the school. They are very good in following instructions easily, are great explorers and the most important skill I saw in them is the willingness to teach other members of the club any concept they had learnt - even before they were instructed to. I think they are self driven and motivated. I was able to cover a lot with them especially considering that it was really  the first day they were introduced to the XO laptops.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

At the CEC we had students from Nanyuki Primary school. We had an outdoor activity with them and had a chance to take the photos of the environment and comment on them using the XO laptop.

If the centre had a Blog that linked it with the schools supported by Lewa that have laptops, and are participating in the Ntugi Group OLPC program,  it could be a great chance to share discuss and solve many environmental factors through the blog. I think this will be possible when other schools get laptops this June. 

 Friday: Leparua Primary

The Leparua Primary students are very happy now that they have 16 laptops (from the original set of 8) and it makes it possible to work on two activities at a time. I continued to teach Scratch and Judy, our new intern, led another class on Turtle Art. I had left the class with some assignments and they made their presentations and I was able to see where they had weaknesses. They easily forgot to include the “-” in a negative value and so the Sprite could go in a different position. By talking about and understanding their mistakes, they learnt how to test each block at a time before adding the next. It was fun.

Post by Simon Mwangangi

Simon’s Report 21: The BCC Comes to Interview Us!

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

This was a great day for me. I was to host a group from the BBC who were coming to Ntugi to interview us about our program and how we use the OLPC laptops. The program, Horizons, is on BBC International and broadcasts to. Their goal is “ to see how innovation is going to solve the most pressing needs of the world and its people.”

This Yahoo article explains:

Horizons has reached over 360 million households in 122 countries and, after airing just the first half of Season One, Horizons is the second highest rated show in BBC World News, outperforming the long-running “World Business Report” and second only to “World Challenge” a 7- year veteran program.  

I would have a chance to tell the OLPC story to the whole of the world! I was a bit anxious and wasn’t sure this could be true as i Godfrey, Judy and other students waited to receive the group. But, it was true, and soon they arrived and we drove back to school. The interviews began and i was able to present the development of the project in the school and talk about the expanding program in the Lewa area.

We had Judy teaching the Journalism Club on Fototoon,  and Jackline, the Head of the Computer Club, teaching the Computer Club on Typing Turtle.  Luckily enough, there was a group of science club using the Vernier USB data sensors to carry out an experiment with the XOs.

The BBC group was amazed of the ability of the XO and mostly for the fact that it works on such low power, can be used in the bright Kenyan light outdoor, and that it is dust-proof and has such a long life compared to any other computer. They were amazed that we could get the Internet at school, especially because we are in such a remote area. The BBC host was even able to use the XO to talk using Skype with their colleagues making another show segment in China.

The BBC crew followed Jackline to her home where they saw how she taught her Mum and little brother at home on how to use a computer using the XO laptop that she carries home. It was such a nice day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures cause we were so busy shooting the interviews! They say the episode will be on BBC International sometime around November 10th, 2012. We are all waiting.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary

As usual, we went to Ngare Ndare Secondary school.  We met with the teachers to review what we had been learning since we expect 12 new OLPC laptops next week, and a visiting group of students from UCC who will help in teaching. The NN teachers will also be the part of the teaching team. I proceeded to Lewa Primary where the teachers used the XO,s to compile and analyze students marks.

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

We went to Subuiga and had the teachers make arrangement in anticipatation of the UCC group that was to come. We revised what we would teach the students and the teachers planned to help us assist the students on the following week.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

We had students from Karimba Primary school and they had a chance to interact with the XO laptops. After the game drive, they used them to answer questions asked to them by Ephantus and they learnt the keyboard so fast. They had a problem with the first question but improved as they procceeded. We usually link the laptops together in a wireless mesh network so that the question typed by Ephantus on his XO gets instantly to every computer in the room. When the students type the answers, Ephantus can see every response and have them for concideration.

 Friday: Leparua Primary

At Leparua Primary we had kids continue to work with Scratch. They learned how to create a new Sprite, have it dance and involve sound. and dancing movements Up and Down and Forward and Backwards.

The kids learned so fast and we were impressed. I had Judy with me and she assisted in the teaching and helped us cover more since she showed each group as i explained.

Its a nice school with smart kids.

Post by Simon Mwangangi

Judy’s Report 1: The BBC Films Our OLPC Project

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

Godfrey, Simon, four students from Ntugi Secondary and I went to the tarmac to wait for the BBC group who were coming to film us for a documentary show. They arrived there at 11.00 am and we took them down the road to Ntugi Secondary. Simon and Ntugi’s Principal, Phineas Ithinji, were interviewed.

Later, filming was done in the class as the students were working in the  Fototoon Activity to create the speech-bubbles on the photos which they had already taken with the XOs. Then, we went to Jackline’s home to interview her before the BBC group had to drive back to Embu.

Tuesday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

We went for a game drive with students from Muraga Technical Secondary. After the game drive opened the Chat Activity on all the laptops, Ephantus explained to the students what they were required to do, and he sent them the questions based on the field study and they were able to answer him by typing the answers so everyone could see them, and see who had remembered.

Wednesday: Ntugi Secondary

A Ntugi I taught the students who were unable to use the speech-balloon icons properly in FotoToon and they were able to comment on the already taken photos by the end of that session.

Thursday: Ntugi Secondary

At Ntugi, we discussed with the students about the photos we should take for the next scene of the already created story, and what sizes would be appropriate for each panel (Close, Medium or Long Shots).

Friday: Leparua Primary

We went at Leparua with Simon, and we taught the pupils how to make a sprite jump and move on the X/Y-axis in the Scratch Activity using the motion and control blocks.

Post by Judy Kinya

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 16: No lack of enthusiasm…but we need more laptops!

Following the fieldwork I carried out for the last week, here is a report on the performance and progress of the pilot projects around Lewa at the institutions targeted by the Ntugi group.

Monday: Ntugi Secondary

At Ntugi, the spirit of collaboration and creativity in project development has been shown by the performance of the Computer Club. The Club is growing larger every day - 35 students now - and there is much more contact time between the students and the OLPC XO’s.

Last week, I introduced the club to the Sugar operating system’s  ability to share activities between several students and now it is being well practiced and peer editing is improving the students typing speed, grammar. It is  helping more in sharing of ideas, especially the write activity. It’s a forward step in development.

Tuesday: Ngare Ndare Secondary/Lewa Primary

I carry four XO laptops in a backpack to these two schools. I use two int he morning at one school, and then two in the afternoon at the other. This is because there is no power yet at the schools, and I have to conserve two with full batteries for the afternoon school.

With only two laptops to use at Ngare Ndare Secondary and Lewa Primary, my main teaching is limited to the teachers’ PD. We are helping them expand their knowledge on the abilities of the XO’s, and on computer and Internet literacy, and with this basement of knowledge, they can develop projects to suit their preferences in teaching once they get enough laptops for the students. They are also happy to learn computer skills like typing and computer operation. In a way this is good because the teachers will be ready for the students who learn so fast at a young age that it can be hard for teachers if they are not given sufficient and advance training.

Wednesday: Subuiga Primary

I am at Subuiga all day so I can deploy allfour laptops in my portable backpack kit.  Unlike Ngare Ndare and Lewa Primary, at Subuiga at least a small group of students can be included in the program. I am working with the administration to set a regular time for the students. With the whole day there I should be able to handle both the teachers and the students group.

Thursday: Lewa Conservation Education Centre

As there is constant development at the new Conservation Education Centre, one of the development targeted is the computer lab, and the development of fun environmental and conservation-related activities. I am using the Scratch Activity to develop some designed games that will help in teaching the students visiting Lewa different conservation ideas. Apart from games, there will also be presentations by use of the laptops. But, last Thursday we had a black out and were not able to do anything with the laptops.

 Friday: Leparua Primary

Leparua is a wondeful school full of ambitious students and very willing to participate in new projects. Leparua students have adapted to the new way of collaboration learning where they are using the shared Write Activity in asking and answering each other questions and competing to be the best group. This is promising to improve their learning in school since every group wants to always win by asking the toughest questions and answering many questions. The teachers are also becoming interested in this since every teacher wants his/her subjects discussed for better results.

Am looking forward towards next week.

Post by Simon Mwangangi