Our Kenyan schools are about to have internet access!
10 laptops were kindly given to us by The Priory School. We have installed them all in Kipsamo, our hub school in Kenya, in order to pool resources together in one place and encourage teachers from our other partner schools to visit and work with each other.
The laptops will be used by all the schools and with the help of our new In-country Manager, Solomon Lagat, Elimu is currently purchasing internet modems - similar to USB sticks - so that they can access the internet at the same time.
Many people in Kenya have the internet on their mobile phones. It is as affordable as sending a text message but is limited more to email and social networking sites which is why Facebook, in particular, has been our main mode of communication with our Kenyan teachers and headteachers.
Until now, however, the schools themselves have not had computers or internet access, both of which are much more expensive.
Solomon will deliver the modems in his first visit to Nandi Hills as In-country Manager. Solomon has studied computing and will run a session on how to use them and also show teachers how to sign-up to the TES. This is the online presence of the Times Educational Supplement.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have just started working for the TES, yes, where there are quite a lot of former teachers (former teachers seem to still be identifiable as teachers!). A quick glance at the website though will tell you that the TES is used by a global network of teachers. They share their own resources, swap experiences and ideas and support fellow professionals in the forums. TES has over 500,000 downloadable teaching resources. And most importantly, it is all entirely free.
This type of portal does not exist in Africa. I used to wonder about this, but didn't know where to start. So it made sense that once the schools could access the internet, we would introduce them to the TES site as it chimes very much with Elimu's views on supporting the teaching community, whether it's here or in Kenya. The internet will also allow our partner schools to connect with one another more easily and develop their links. There could be a Skype session on the horizon.
So, Solomon's first job is connecting our schools to the internet - and offering internet tutorials!
The teachers there will be writing blog posts in no time.
Report and pictures to follow in due course.
With thanks to The Priory School,
Jo
10 laptops were kindly given to us by The Priory School. We have installed them all in Kipsamo, our hub school in Kenya, in order to pool resources together in one place and encourage teachers from our other partner schools to visit and work with each other.
The laptops will be used by all the schools and with the help of our new In-country Manager, Solomon Lagat, Elimu is currently purchasing internet modems - similar to USB sticks - so that they can access the internet at the same time.
Many people in Kenya have the internet on their mobile phones. It is as affordable as sending a text message but is limited more to email and social networking sites which is why Facebook, in particular, has been our main mode of communication with our Kenyan teachers and headteachers.
Until now, however, the schools themselves have not had computers or internet access, both of which are much more expensive.
Solomon will deliver the modems in his first visit to Nandi Hills as In-country Manager. Solomon has studied computing and will run a session on how to use them and also show teachers how to sign-up to the TES. This is the online presence of the Times Educational Supplement.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have just started working for the TES, yes, where there are quite a lot of former teachers (former teachers seem to still be identifiable as teachers!). A quick glance at the website though will tell you that the TES is used by a global network of teachers. They share their own resources, swap experiences and ideas and support fellow professionals in the forums. TES has over 500,000 downloadable teaching resources. And most importantly, it is all entirely free.
This type of portal does not exist in Africa. I used to wonder about this, but didn't know where to start. So it made sense that once the schools could access the internet, we would introduce them to the TES site as it chimes very much with Elimu's views on supporting the teaching community, whether it's here or in Kenya. The internet will also allow our partner schools to connect with one another more easily and develop their links. There could be a Skype session on the horizon.
So, Solomon's first job is connecting our schools to the internet - and offering internet tutorials!
The teachers there will be writing blog posts in no time.
Report and pictures to follow in due course.
With thanks to The Priory School,
Jo
This is a great initiative Jo. Lets do it. I know the task ahead is huge but we can do it. I am sure the children and teachers of Kipsamo will be very pleased with this milestone.
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