The End / The Beginning

Due to unforeseen events, I'm spending two days in Lisbon. I'm incredibly unlucky and incredibly lucky- pretty much got sucker-punched and, out of nowhere, my amazing cousin, Marina, who already saved me once by helping me to find my lost bag the first time through Lisbon, is now letting me stay with her this weekend while I wait for my flight home to the States on Sunday evening.

My last day of school went great. Class is still continuing for another week so that kids can create stories. Then they're going to have a big party where the kids will vote on the best stories (and the 5 winners will get computers), parents and special guests like the Embassy of Taiwan, STeP UP and the Ministry of Education will come, and kids will get certificates of participation. Yay!

Lesson 10 went pretty smoothly-- about as smoothly as Lesson 9. It seemed like the teachers didn't really grasp the idea of making a game. They got all the steps down- they learned that- but then they would just get stuck being, well, creative. But it's a process and they're certainly getting there.

We had a long talk about the upcoming school year and what to do. We made some solid plans, like:

• 1x/year- Beth visits to check in
• 1x/month- Teachers spend at least some part of the class talking about how to care for computer. Kids can write texts about it, do presentations, skits, or even have class-wide cleaning sessions.
• 3x/year- Meetings with parents- one at the beginning of the year, one in the middle of the year and one at the end (students and government officials will also be invited for an end-of-the-year sort of party)

In terms of content, the teachers have been enjoying picking an activity each class and letting kids experiment with it over the entire class period. I thought it might be fun to give each month a sort of theme- teach three activities and then, in the final week, use the knowledge gained from those three activities to do some sort of project. I brought them back to the malaria project they did last year, having kids write articles about malaria and then go around the schoolyard taking pictures of each other pretending they have malaria and such, then adding them to their articles. Doing things that are interactive like that, that get kids moving around-- that's great.

Got the director to sign a document committing to the salary that each teacher is receiving through the Ministry of Education. That way there's no question about how much they make over the school year. There were questions/doubts (dúvidas) about that so I'm glad we have something solid to look at now.

Also went to check out the cantina where the teachers said there might be room to put the computer cabinet. And uh...is there room or what?! Apparently the school used to have a kitchen but not anymore. So there are not one, but TWO small but gorgeous rooms at the back of the school. They're dusty, but they're locked, and they could easily be cleaned out and used not only as a storage unit but even as a small computer center. It's almost laughable how perfect it is. São Tomé, man. Something about this country, it was like the XO laptop was made specially for them.

The cabinet should be finished next week. I can't wait to hear about it. I hope it's nice.

At the teacher meeting, the teachers also took a second to reflect on the past year. They were amazed, really- just as amazed as I am. They said the kids are so computer literate now, after just one year. Many of them use email regularly. Lots of them are very familiar with the Internet. It's almost shocking how much progress these kids have made. The teachers say that there is a visible difference between students in the computer class and other students at the school. It's such a huge difference that it impassions the teachers more and more to get enough for everyone else to use, too.

I would not mind seeing five computer programs at five schools. I would also not mind if we could hire five coordinators for these five schools so that we can start building a little economy...and a country-wide initiative. I told the teachers how proud of them I was. They brought the kids this opportunity and they really did it!

"No, Elizabeth," Miguel says, quietly. "We did it."

This is not the end. It is, in fact, the beginning of a new chapter. Chapter Two! The teachers are stronger and more comfortable with the computers now. We're excited to see what a second year will bring. We definitely need to get more fundraising going for the little things that we are spending on to better improve class. And we REALLY need to get some funding so we can hire some people and buy more computers.

But we know what we need. And we're going after it.

Aula Como Deve Ser (Class As It Should Be)

Sometimes we have bad days, that is for sure. But the ratio of good days to bad days is getting better and better. Yesterday we had an amazing class. Today we had an amazing class, too. I'm so proud of these teachers for taking a difficult subject and making the most of it.

Explaining animation was a little bit difficult for the kids (for the teachers, too). Many thought the only solution was to change the color and watch the drawing automatically color-shift. But I explained to the teachers that if the students didn't actually make something MOVE (make a person dance, a sun shine, a car's tires rotate, whatever) they won't fully understand what animation will do. So it took a couple of false starts for the teachers to actually get where they were supposed to be. But then we got some great animations going (videos to follow) and the kids were really proud.

Bunião did the best animation, with my help. He had a man with a gun, with multiple bullets coming out of the gun. Ok, so maybe in the USA this isn't the perfect picture, but we worked with it. I told him, how about we make the gun fire a bullet? So we made a picture of the man with the gun. Then we added a bullet. Then we added another bullet. Then we added another bullet. That way, when it animated, it showed a man with bullets streaming out of the gun. It wasn't particularly graphic- just a stick figure with a weapon (ok, that sounds graphic when I say it like that, but I promise it wasn't anything overwhelming), but Bunião went crazy when he saw it working. I used his animation to show the rest of the class and I think it helped them to understand. From there kids started to get more imaginative, making cars spin, people grow and change clothes, and flowers bloom. It was a really fun day in class.

The kids also paid really great attention. Just like they did yesterday. More kids seem to be coming to class again. I'm so proud of them. One of the girls, who I mentioned the other day, took her computer home again. I saw her take her computer out of her backpack. I didn't know what to do and I mentioned it to one of the teachers.

"Oh," Professora Adelina said. "When James came by at the beginning, he told her that she could keep her computer. That's why she takes it home."

"But only her?" I asked. "No other student?"

"Right."

Apparently before I came along, James and someone else told this one girl that she could keep her computer forever and ever. The teachers stood there in a mixture of shock and confusion. They didn't think they could question James so they just let him do whatever. Well, the deed is done and we can't take this computer away from this girl anymore. But I told the teachers that if anything like this happens again and someone tells them what to do, remember that they are absolutely in charge of their own program. And if they don't feel comfortable being in charge, they can ask me and I will be in charge. Only listen to me, I tell them. If someone else tells you to do something, don't do it if you don't want to because they are not in charge of you!

I think when the teachers first got these computers, they were confused as to what was going on. Ok, so they get a whole bunch of computers...great, I guess, but what in the world are they doing here and why us? Nothing was really communicated to them very well, so anyone who looked like an authority figure they just listened to. I came in at a very opportune time when they were just hoping for someone to give them some direction. And in that way, we have grown together.

After class, we had a repairs class. A couple of days ago we learned how to take apart the computers. This time I taught the teachers how to reflash the computers, the alt+period command to unfreeze Etoys, and a few other things. I'm going to edit the Repair Guide tonight so that more things apply to the teachers as well, so they have them.

Tomorrow Miguel and I are going to survey the space where we're going to build the cabinet. Faia should be done with the cabinet next week. I talked to Faia about how the power strips are breaking. Miguel said that he will fix the power strips himself, and buy outlets that won't break. I trust Miguel to do the job well, not that Faia was necessarily trying to cause trouble or anything, but just that Miguel is more directly connected to this program and it makes more of a difference to him that the outlets work. I told him to go to the store, find out how much outlets will cost, bring a receipt and bring it to me tomorrow when we go to look at the space for the cabinet. Then I will give him the funds to buy the supplies he needs.

The teachers are hoping for laptops that are suitable for themselves. I have two friends that are willing to donate their old laptops to me so that I can send them to the teachers. If you have a laptop that you'd like to donate to this cause, please let me know as I am looking for a couple more (I need between 4 and 5 laptops total). I definitely think the teachers deserve some laptops that they can use for their teaching. This isn't directly related to the computer program but it sort of is. Anyway, even if the computers are used, that's ok. The teachers are willing to pay the shipping if I arrange for the computers. We're going to work that payment out when I get home.

So things are running smoothly, to some degree. Tomorrow is my last day and I already can't believe it. So much to do, so little time. But...the talk I had with the teachers today was just amazing. They really took responsibility for this project. Tomorrow we are going to have a long discussion about how to structure the upcoming school year. Today we had a talk about our responsibilities. My responsibility is to keep coordinating the class and fixing little problems as they come along, and staying in contact with the teachers via email throughout the school year. The teachers' responsibility is to keep the class going and to teach the students how to use the computer (I suggested that this year we focus less on how to use each activity and more on doing different projects that employ the use of various activities at once, that way students can have a more rounded experience. But we'll talk about this tomorrow.). The principal's job is to submit the hours worked by the teachers, which he has been doing, but the only thing is that the teachers don't know how much money they make for this extra class and would like to know so that they can keep track of their finances (this is fair).

The teachers asked me how in many countries these laptops are being used. I told them I didn't know...probably at least 30. Their eyes went wide. 30?! I don't think they were expecting this number.

I tried to explain a little more about OLPC. OLPC is an organization that makes these computers, I said. But they don't teach how to use them, necessarily. They send the computers out and then the country has to develop their own program with them. I am here because many individuals, and individual organizations, feel it necessary to accompany the teachers and give them a little bit more help in identifying how they can best use the computers and then putting them to use. When I first came last year, I had no affiliation with OLPC besides being a sort of "expert" on these computers (ok, so that was a blatant lie- as many of you know, I didn't even know what OLPC was when I first arrived, but the point is I'm an expert of sorts now). Then I joined an organization  (Waveplace) that works on the side of developing educational curricula for this laptop. Waveplace is independent of OLPC. But many independent orgs like Waveplace, some in the USA and some in the country where the program was developed, have taken these programs under their wings and have tried to develop them. And this is why I'm here.

The teachers had never really gotten this explanation, and I think it made a huge difference. Last year, I didn't really know what I was doing there either. But now that I have a more established role with this program, I understand what we're doing and what our goals are. Being able to verbalize that was as good for me as it was for them. Now we all are very certain of our history, what we're doing here, and what we must do (roles and responsibilities). The teachers understand that OLPC isn't telling them what to do anymore- it's just them and me that decide things. The computer program is to be their own.

We talked about what the Ambassador of Taiwan said, and the Ministry of Education. The Ambassador wants to donate 100 computers to five different schools. This doesn't accomplish our goal, but it's certainly nice because the computer program can be a country-wide project, which will certainly help our visibility in other places around the world and maybe even in the long term help us get more funding. The good news is the teachers are getting paid extra for their work on Saturdays, so it's not the end of the world if our Saturday classes have to continue for a while. But Miguel looked me in the eye and said, "Beth, you know how people are. We need to keep up with this issue and make sure to follow up with everyone so they finance this program as they said they would."

I told him I agree with him completely, and though I can certainly keep up with things via email and the phone, I will need their help to stop by the Ministry of Education and check in on things to make sure that the Ministry and the Embassy keep talking. The teachers definitely seemed poised to take on this role.

Can you imagine the change that would happen around this country if we could get computer programs developed in six secondary schools in São Tomé? It would be incredible. It wouldn't be perfect, but I definitely think the 100 computers in each school would affect more than 100 students. It might be directly used by 100 students but it will inspire many more. And that will make a difference. Just the idea of being able to do more with your life will make the difference.

I'm sad to be staying only one month. I am going to miss São Tomé when I leave (tomorrow is my last day already). But I do feel that I have accomplished my mission. I've talked to the organizations I wanted to talk to, I've fixed little problems like power strips and space issues, I've gotten this summer program going, and adequately prepared the teachers for the year to come. And in this way I am very satisfied. I know I will be back, hopefully every year se Deus quiser (if God wills) and I can find funding for it. It might be better to come in the winter when flights are cheaper. But I am so grateful for a bright future I see at the São João School, and in these children.

Talking with Jeff at the University of Illinois about the idea of doing a long-term study of these students after having participated in the computer program. May need to be something that waits a year, but it's certainly something that can be done. It'd be interesting to see how these computers affect students' future schooling and careers.

Like a beaming mom, I am proud.

The Culmination of My Life...Over the Past Ten Months

Today is the day the ambassador is coming to visit. I'm dressed up really nice. I arrive at school about 10 minutes before 2pm, and most of the teachers and a solid percentage of the students are already there.

I think everyone realizes that today is an important day. I review Lesson 8 with Professora Arlete; she has a few questions that she wants to cover before class starts.

And then class begins.

Today is the polar opposite of yesterday. The teachers are working together beautiful...their teamwork is like magic. The kids are angels. I swear they're all sitting up extra straight today, nearly silent. When they speak, it is to ask a question. We conduct class like this for an hour, until the ambassador shows up.

The ambassador is a wonderful man who I know believes strongly in the power of technology. He likes the computers, he thinks they're cute, he's watching the class and he knows that the kids are enjoying class, too. We only have about 50 students today (out of 80 total or so), and I explain to him that because it's vacation, attendance is a little bit more lax. The students aren't part of the São João School anymore so the students that are here are here purely because they want to learn, and for no other reason.

He seems impressed by this, and things are looking up for us. I'm feeling good about our program, about the ability of the Ministry of Education and the Embassy of Taiwan to work together to achieve something really beautiful with this computer program. The Embassy is considering purchasing 500 computers, but not giving them all to the São João School, but rather 100 computers to five different schools. I explained that it would be necessary to purchase internet, train teachers, and do lots of organizations five more times in order to successfully place 100 computers at five more schools. But it's not impossible.

There are pros and cons about this idea. Obviously our goal is to have enough computers for the São João School and not any other school so that the computers can be used in the classroom, the way they were intended.

At the same time, however, our class has been quite successful, even if it has been severely lacking in computers. Perhaps if we spread out computers among multiple schools, it would spread across the country and have an even greater influence on people merely through its geographic accessibility. I don't know if this is true, but it's a thought.

Though Ned summed it up perfectly- why not let the Ministry of Education decide where the computers go? The program is going through them anyway.

So here we are, Tuesday evening. We have interested prospective funders (praise the Lord!!! Hallelujiah!!!). We have some ballin' teachers that have a great handle on the class. We have a computer cabinet in the works, so that we actually have a place where we can put our computers and their parts. We have a bunch of freshly broken power strips (already), though Professor Miguel tells me he knew that the outlets Faia and Dany had me buy were not strong enough, and is confident that he can purchase some durable outlets and fix them himself. We have the second half of our repairs class tomorrow, and a scheduled meeting on Thursday to plan the upcoming school year. I gave the teachers their certificates today, as well as their payment. I also gave Professor Miguel the certificates for the students.

But one thing we have more than anything is strength. I am confident that this year is going to go even more smoothly than the last. The teachers are confident, they know what they're doing and feel like "experts" to some degree. The only thing I have to do is keep myself coming back on an annual basis- perhaps looking into funding from Rotary or some other organization that can help pay my travel.

Boo-yah, world. Let São Tomé show you all how it should be done!

PS- By the way, the "putting Scotch tape over the jumpy trackpad" trick works like a charm!!!!!

Class - 13 July, 2010

To get a little insight on what class is like, and our fabulous students, too :)

The Google Game

Before class begins and for the grand prize of a lollipop, I ask various groups of students to race each other finding answers to random questions I ask, using Google. I asked this group of girls to tell me what the population of Portugal is...and Susie is just seconds away from getting the answer via a Wikipedia page she found on Portugal's geography and demographics.

Politics and Candy

So I'm walking in town and I get a phone call. It's the Embassy of Taiwan. The ambassador is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to watch our class!!!!

This is huge news, as the Embassy of Taiwan is considering funding our laptop program. I mean, this is bigger than huge. This is the culmination of a year of work, and it's all happening tomorrow.

About an hour later I'm sitting in the office of the Minister of Education, a really sweet man who sounded really pleased to hear that the laptop program was going well. His office had cancelled on us about three times up until we actually got to see him, so meeting with the guy was a treat and a half. Roberta (of STeP UP) and I basically explained to him that he has to talk to the Embassy of Taiwan himself in order for us to get funding through them. He's interested in lending us this hand and writing a letter to the Embassy right away, knowing that I'm going to leave the country on Friday.

When I get to school, I meet all of the students in one classroom. We're only getting about 50% attendance these days, because of the fact that it's summer and attendance isn't required, as well as the fact that this is the last week of campaigns (for Prime Minister, I think) and people are literally skipping work to participate in campaigning. I, in fact, got caught up in a parade today while driving my motorcycle to work. Actually, "caught up" is an overstatement, because I literally drove into the parade because I knew otherwise I'd end up like ten minutes late to class. Oh well.

So anyway I meet the kids in the classroom. And I clap in rhythm to get everyone's attention- it works perfectly- and then I grab a piece of chalk and say, "Let's play a game."

I draw the spaces for three words on the chalkboard and start our favorite game in class, Hangman. The kids love this game-- I introduced it to them last year and now they play it all. the. time.

The word ended up being "Embaixador de Taiwan" (Ambassador of Taiwan). Then I asked the kids why I wrote "Ambassador of Taiwan" on the chalkboard. No one knew. I asked if anyone had met a real ambassador before. One girl raised her hand; she had met the Portuguese ambassador at one point. I asked if anyone had met the Taiwanese ambassador before, and there was silence.

I told them that tomorrow everyone was going to meet the ambassador of Taiwan because he was going to come to our class to watch.

I explained that this past year, this class has been an example for how computer classes in São Tomé can work. I explained that the Embassy of Taiwan is interested in not only financing our project, but maybe even other projects in other schools across São Tomé. This means that tomorrow is a very important day, and we need everyone to (1) be there, (2) be there on time, and (3) be on their BEST BEHAVIOR!

This was the theme of the day.

So these are the good things. Class ends up being a disaster in all other respects. The teachers arrive 30 minutes late, then we do an hour of repairs class which ends up leaving the teachers feeling rushed because I had told them we needed about three hours of time and for some reason they didn't seem to believe me, started class at about 3:30, went till 5 and covered the joystick and about three of the first steps in Lesson 8 (or in so many words, we didn't cover NEARLY enough material). I was very frustrated. I spent my time in the back repairing some computers and came in a couple of times to basically glare at the teachers and ask them what the HELL was going on. It seemed that they had no ability to manage the class of 40 kids...even though there were about five teachers there! It drove me crazy. I thought I was working with teachers, and here they are hardly able to manage this classroom. And then they start to teach Lesson 8 and they're doing it all wrong, like, literally teaching the students to do things incorrectly!

When class was over (10 minutes later than normal), I sat the teachers down and basically said "So, what happened???" I told them if class is like this tomorrow, there is no way in the world anyone, let alone the Ambassador, would want to finance our project. It's so disorganized and was just "uma grande confusão"-- utter chaos. Professora Mirian said the reason why it was like that was because the teachers didn't practice their lessons the night before, and they will do this tonight. I told them it's so, so important that class goes well tomorrow, and all the teachers agreed. I think there are a number of things that are frustrating them-- the energy problem certainly doesn't help, as when there is no energy at school, there's usually none at home, so the teachers can't practice with their computers because they don't have electricity anymore. They are also still learning the materials themselves. Professor Miguel insisted that the confusion was just part of the learning process, and that they would get things and be able to teach them better later.

I understand that it's a process, but there's no reason why the teachers can't confidently teach material and manage their classroom. I was livid today watching class go down- teachers standing up there, letting kids go crazy, not able to control them. But I also need to remember to breathe-- these teachers believe strongly in this program, and I know that. The material is new, and there is no rush to learn it. The current students are nearly gone now. The teachers learning the material effectively is better because they will be the ones teaching it to the following 6th grade.

Professor Nélys asked me to teach the class tomorrow while the Ambassador is here so things run more smoothly. I looked him in the eye and said "I can't believe you just asked me to do that." I can't possibly show the Ambassador that we have a sustainable, working program if I am the one teaching it!

As you can see, some frustrations today. But perhaps a chaotic day today was what we needed. It might be a good kick in the pants for the teachers tomorrow. Now I know that they're going to try their absolute hardest to give a good class tomorrow. I'm not sure how many students we are going to get, but they have been told to come to class early and to be on their best behavior, not just by me but by the other teachers. Since it's the summer, I do hope the embassy understands our lack of attendance. But everything else needs to be perfect, just perfect.

Got an email from the American Embassy today-- I asked them to fund our summer program. They received the proposal but it looks like half of the proposal- which consists of my travel back to São Tomé- can't be funded since the Embassy doesn't fund travel. That's all good and well, but it looks like we're back to square one trying to figure out how to get me, the program collaborator, over here for an annual check-in!

Cross your fingers. Tomorrow is a big day for us.

So Proud

Before class, all the kids are sitting around with their computers, enjoying some "free time" before we start. It's a computer programmer's dream. The schoolyard is quiet and the teachers and students are all sitting around, on benches, on the floor, under trees, using their laptops.

I buy five lollipops from the man selling them across the street. I approach the first group of kids with laptops I see. "Are you guys on the Internet?" I ask.

"Yes, Professora." They say. I tell them that we're going to have a contest to see who can find out what the capital of the United States is. The first person to guess wins a prize.

I find a group of boys inside the classroom and tell them to look up the national languages of Belgium.

And to some girls on benches, I tell them to find out the population of Portugal. As I explain their question, one of the boys runs up to me. "Washington!!!!" He is yelling. "WASHINGTON!!!!"

That's right. The kids are learning how to Google (or maybe not Google, but some sort of internet searching). Ten minutes later, the girls all squeal, "ten million, three hundred fifty five thousand, eight hundred twenty four!"

I pass out my lollipops to the winners. Can't believe six months ago some of these kids had never touched a computer in their lives. And now they're conducting research.

Lesson 7 goes great today. The kids are picking up the material as fast as ever. There were fewer kids in class than normal- maybe 30-40 kids total- and five teachers. We all stayed in one classroom.

I was sorting through all the computers that weren't being used, doing some triage- figuring out which ones had bad keyboards, which had bad screens, etc. We definitely have a few damages but most of the screens are still usable so it's only the keyboards that need replacing, of which there are probably five or six. So anyway, I look up in the middle of class, and I see this vision that just makes me smile.

Professora Arlete is standing in front of class. Her voice is strong and powerful. She's giving students instructions on how to set up the slider, the maximum and minimum values. Then there's Professor Nélys, he's writing on the chalkboard behind Arlete, describing perfectly the process that she is verbalizing. Professora Mirian and Professora Adelina are sitting with the students, checking in to make sure they understand. Every once in a while Professora Mirian lifts her eyes and watches Professora Arlete teach. And Professor Miguel is out of the classroom. I actually don't know where he is, but you can't have everything go perfectly.

Anyway, I think to myself, my GOD I am so lucky. These teachers are not only amazing at what they do, but they're a team. They're working together. It's as if these five teachers have been teaching computer class all their lives!

In many ways, this has been a slow and grueling process. It took a whole year to get these teachers comfortable with their computers and with this program. But then, it's amazing because...it took only one year for these teachers to be so good at what they're doing! The kids are using their sliders to make their objects go up and down. They're asking questions and having problems and the teachers are helping them. The teachers are coming to me less, asking me fewer questions. They're figuring things out on their own. And the best part is, they're confident. I'm loving Etoys because it's giving these teachers some real material. It's harder, sure, and I'm sure they're feeling really tired sometimes from all this work, but I know we would all agree that it's going incredibly well.

And the harder they work, the more they are dedicated to this program. Professor Nèlys came with me to the Ministry of Education today (unfortunately they rescheduled us again for Monday morning, but what can you do). Professora Mirian keeps asking for updates about the cabinet that my friend Faia is making for us (I just finished the design and brought a computer home so he can take some measurements. We're hoping he'll be able to finish it before I leave). And Professora Arlete is just killing it on the lessons. She's driving me crazy with excitement. And she's taking my advice to heart- she's saying things like, "make a design, any design! It can be a flower, it can be a star, it can be a tree- whatever you want!" when before she would say "everyone make a house, now!" OK, so it's not the exact opposite of rote learning, but if only you could have seen her last year, not understanding anything, getting so frustrated, not sure if she was all for this computer thing. If only you could see her now.

And now she's standing up in front of the class and so confidently explaining how to make something move with the slider, and I just couldn't be more thrilled!!!

As you can see, things are going well. They're not perfect- we haven't done any lesson planning for next year, I feel so lame for spending money fixing power strips that in the end are just breaking really easily all over again, and I really wish we had enough computers for everyone and I wasn't leaving so early in the financing process. But for what we have going, I am confident that we'll be able to get through another successful year of laptop use.

Things are slower here. It's taken a full three weeks (15 days) to cover 10 days of lessons. In between lessons we've been doing a lot of logistical work, fixing things, discussing other things. In the end, the extra time has been beneficial to us. It has helped the teachers to let things sink in better. And they are already amazing teachers-- that I did not have to teach them. They just had to learn how to use their already-existing talents in this program.

Sent a financing request to the US Embassy for us to have a summer program again next year. Cross your fingers that it works out, though we probably won't know until the end of this year so we have some time to keep them fingers crossed.