Training Day: 3

Langa, day three. All teachers were able to attend the session; we started off with a brief introduction of the MELISSA project and its various aims and intentions. All participants completed the research questionnaires, and then proceeded with watching two videos which gave the context to our endeavours. Both videos concern the use and adoption of ICTs both globally, and locally. It was important for us to provide teachers with some 'mass' on what we were there to achieve. Many of them have not encountered ICTs as a real educational tool; and it became crucial for us to allow teachers to think critically about such opportunities. As an acquaintance told me that same day: the focus should be on teaching first, and only then can it shift to that of technology. This is an imperative and useful philosophy for us to live by; we should be engaging critically with ICTs in education, and never make assumptions on its supposed empowering qualities.

Anyway, as Murphy would have it, the online questionnaire system was not cooperative. Firstly, the school's network administrator has blocked basically 90% of the web, including the questionnaire site. This chewed at the patience of all, and I was forced to use a web proxy to circumvent the annoying network restrictions. And second, I was man alone in the effort. So it took quite some time for us to complete all the questionnaires, which tested everyone's character. But we managed, and were finally able to watch the videos - which, in foresight, I was able to make available offline. For bandwidth, as always, remains a key concern at all our participating schools. But that was all for day three.

Yesterday, I returned for the third session at this school. But teachers had unexpectedly had an athletics event the afternoon - of which they failed to inform me - and were already gone when I arrived. So this is yet again Murphy at play...the logistics and schedules of schools are probably the biggest impediments to providing full-scale, full-time training. And yet, there is very little to be done about this. We've tried phoning in the afternoons, but that doesn't help either: sometimes they have the inclination to cancel the session over the phone for no apparent reason other than them being 'too busy'. So I prefer to arrive at the school regardless. At least then I can have a personal chat to those in charge. Let's hope we are able to schedule a back-up session for this school.

A teacher doing some lesson preparation. Haven't seen much of this in the labs.