Dear Family and Friends,

Here is the latest on how e-schooling is making its way into Monduli:

In May, I was working a lot with the computers at my school. I helped facilitate the transfer of our weekly testing system over to computers in a way that is affordable (and sustainable!) for my school. All O-Level students are now tested in every subject once in a three-week cycle, which is certainly more than they were being tested before (in he past, their grade was 20% midterm exam, 80% final exam). Special stencils can be printed by computer and proofread by the subject teachers, reducing the number of confusing errors which were previously common on exams. The stencils are then reproduced on a mechanical duplicating machine (like a mimeograph), at a fraction of the cost of photocopying.

Because this is a simple concept but a complicated process, it was a perfect learning experience for the teachers at my school. The six or so teachers who know how to type (including me) take turns typing in and printing the tests. The typing isn't difficult, but they all had to learn the system of file storage, the way to combine exams from different subjects onto one page to save paper and stencils, and most importantly, troubleshooting when things weren't working right.

I was around to help them with some of this, but I was deliberately not around for much of it. I knew that the best way for them to learn was to make mistakes and correct them on their own. On important days I made sure to stay within arm's length (but not finger's length) so that if there were any real emergencies I'd be available.

I also got in the habit of passing by the office where the computer sits to see if there were any issues. Most of the time, however, I found Mr. Panga or Mr. Mollel typing away. They'd call me over and say something like, "You know, I was having so much trouble earlier this morning; I just could not figure out how to [-----]. I was ready to send a student up to get you, but I played around with it for a while and finally I got it!" There's always a smirk or a wiggle of the eyebrows accompanying the final comment, showing off for their 'teacher'. :)

I have already written to you about the fact that we have been building a computer classroom at our school for almost a year now, and it's finally more or less ready. The Lutheran Volunteers who were previously at my school arranged to have about 18 computers donated to the school. They arrived in September or so but the classroom wasn't finished. In fact, it still wasn't finished as of the time those volunteers left in December.

You have also heard about the fears I had about the sustainability of having computers donated without allocating teachers and other support for them as well. So anyway, my fears were confirmed, and there was no Lutheran Volunteer brought in to replace the volunteers who arranged the donation. Because of a recent sudden change in Tanzanian law, there is no date in the future when the Lutheran Church knows it can bring in replacement teachers. It's not their fault, but still, here we are.

Meanwhile, the computer classroom was close to being finished by the end of April. I supervised the final electrical work, and made sure a voltage stabilizer was installed which matched the power requirements of the individual stations. In mid-May, just before I was ready to leave on vacation, we were finally able to get our hands on the last few gizmos we needed to switch on at least some of the computers.

On the last few days before vacation, I spent about 18 hours in the computer lab, setting up eight of the computers, installing MS-DOS and Windows 3.11, and MS Word and Excel. By that time, there were enough teachers here who already have enough background from working with the weekly testing so that they could get some good practice in while I was gone.

So when I got back from vacation, I found that many teachers had been practicing diligently on the machines in the time I'd been gone. Dr. Msinjili (our headmaster) told me that every teacher, bar none, had typed up their terminal grades on the computers, even if it took them hours of hunting and pecking. They may have been doing this to make their grade reports look nice, but I suspect they were really doing it just to get some practice on the machines. I also saw some other teachers using the machines who had not yet done any of the weekly test typing. They were learning from the other teachers who already knew a thing or two.

Well, when I got back, we got another voltage stabilizer, and I was able to get the room ready so that all eighteen computers can be run at the same time if necessary. Also, on every computer, I put a blank MS Word version of the "Scheme of Work", a term-by-term plan of which topics each teacher will teach and what kind of methodology they will use to support their lecture for each topic. This document is required from every teacher, so if they are looking for another excuse to use the computer for something they have to do anyway, it's there waiting for them.

Honestly, I was a little intimidated by the upcoming term in regards to this computer program. I didn't think I was ready to take on a computer course for teachers in addition to all the other things I want to do. My other problem is this: I learned physics in a classroom. This not only taught me physics, but also how to teach physics, how and why a syllabus is laid out the way it is. Computers, on the other hand, I learned to use by buying a computer and using it all through college. I don't have the foggiest idea how to teach computers in a classroom because I never learned in a classroom.

Fortunately, I think some other concerned teachers and I came up with a reasonable solution to this. At least to begin with, there will be no computer "classes", either for teachers or for students. Instead, there will be open hours for the teachers to come and learn. Right now, any teacher who wants to is free to get the keys from Dr. Msinjili and use the computers at any time... but what we have done is to say that from 3PM-5PM weekdays, there will be someone "on duty" who is more familiar with computers than most. Sometimes it's me, other times it's of the other teachers who was doing the typing for the weekly tests. We'll just be there to answer questions, make suggestions, and to point out helpful features. I like this, because it makes us more like facilitators than lecturers.

One thing which may really change how I approach this issue: My school has apparently hired a new A-Level physics teacher, arriving in early August. He'll be picking up the new Form 5 students, while I'll be continuing with Form 6. This cuts my teaching load almost in half, giving me more time to work on computer classroom issues, and to work on the secondary projects I've got going on here and there. All in all, it should be a less busy last term... or if it is busy, it will be busy doing stuff I care more about than normal classroom teaching. :)

Stay tuned for part (c)!
Ethan

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