Holistic ICT for EcoLiving

Growing from two previous IT Schools (2008 and 2009), collecting feedback and involving key stakeholders in current design of the IT School 2010. These were the watchwords that guided the design and implementation of this year’s IT School of the Eco Tour 2010 program.

Signing In

OVF formed a Planning Committee which included  four ICT teachers from two Junior High Schools (JHS) and two Senior High Schools (SHS), a Headmaster and a representative of the Municipal Education office. The committee identified the participating schools and criteria for selection of participants and planning of the closing event.

Joy Tang meets with teachers

The volunteers (NTHU students) introduced Open source education Operating System software, EZGO, produced by Taiwan Ministry of Education. Other courses included OpenOffice.org, Introduction of internet application on teaching, such as online open course websites to provide seed teachers access to finding teaching resource, including creating blogs, websites and so on, Introduction of how to record image, sound and edit a teaching video, and Eco protection.

Further explanation

Further Explanation

The entire program was to empower seed teachers to be able to find open source tools to assist them in teaching.

After the courses , feedback was collected through questionnaires. The teachers agree that those educational websites or software introduced, can truly assist them in teaching different subjects during class. The teachers showed their complete understanding of each course in their final presentation. In the final presentation, teachers were able to use OpenOffice.org in making syllabus and other files; they were also able to record everything they wanted to show by using recording software and movie editing software.

After this year’s IT School Advanced Course, the participating teachers are going to form a group.They, as the human resource in ICT training, are willing to teach other children and teachers in Winneba, making sure this IT School project becomes sustainable.

Teachers' perspective

In all, 15 ICT teachers from 15 JHS (10public, 5private) in the Effutu (Winneba) Municipality, attended the 6-day program .

A month or so there were some questions and allegations about OVF not having proper authorization to do business. The truth is that we let some key paperwork lag as we have struggled with the funding to keep our operations going. However this was not due to any knowing or willful effort to deceive or defraud anyone as some of these people seemed to imply.

With our persistence we were able to get some of the key paperwork for keeping our work going in Ghana and the Winneba Open Digital Village – the main project and effort of OVF in Ghana continues to florish in Winneba.

OVF Certificate of Incorporation to operate in Ghana:

OVF Certificate to Commence Business in Ghana:

My Taiwan Trip is coming to an end very soon. I go back to Arizona on Tuesday the 29th.

On Thursday we (Cherry, Scott and me) again met up with Apple (Wei-Ping) Jia and Synic (Meng-Juan) Wu who are both from the Bamboo Community University. We did a tour of three of their facilities in Hsinchu on Thursday (they have a total of ten in the Hsinchu region).

Hcinchu is often regarded or referred to as Taiwan’s Silicon Valley and has a population of about 400,000 people making it Taiwan’s 6th largest city. The signature or flagship landmark is the Hsinchu Science & Technology Park located on the main Taiwan freeway just on the outskirts of town.

While there will met Ahmad Haris and Zulfikar Ahmad who are involved BCU’s GELI/EMate Program in the Central Aceh region of Indonesia who will be presenting on Sunday to discuss their work at ICOS09 oneVillage Community Day in the context of BCU’s work and ours as well with the theme being “dissemination of innovation”.

Bamboo Community University is basically a continuing education program located in Hcinchu, Taiwan (which is about 40 miles from Taipei) that our colleague Apple Jia runs that focuses on training people on using open source computer + internet tools. First with met with the Curator of local cultural bureau and toured their facilities, then saw the disability learning center. Finally we toured a local Taoist Temple and their computer facilities. After setting up centers like this they work with orgs like the Taoist temple and the other groups mentioned to train (mostly seniors) people on using Gimp, Open Office, blogs and other internet tools.

Over the last several years they have changed and expanded their mission to focus more on promoting Information and Communications Technologies in Emerging Societies like Indonesia. Since 2004 they have build relationships with a series of leaders and visionaries in the Central Aceh region of Indonesia through the (Gayo E-Learning and Informatika (GELI) Project.

After we met with the volunteers working at the three centers, we had some time to discuss possible ways we could work together.

Online Resources:
Community Day Wiki Page: http://www.opendigitalvillage.net/index.php?title=27-Sept-2009
Community Day Press Release: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4H_Fp_FpdaROWFjZjgxYzYtM2JiZC00NGYwLTkxYTYtZTM4YWNmYTI0YjRj&hl=en

Congrats Kafui Prebbie on another milestone for OVF Ghana and WODiV.

OVF Ghana certified as Inveneo Business Partner, August 7, 2009 in Chesbury Hotel Abuja as after Business and Marketing Skills Training.

For more photos please see Inveneo Link sent to all ICIPs here – http://www.flickr.com/photos/inveneo/

New Academic Year IT School (Annual Project of OVF- Ghana)

The New Academic Year IT School, an annual project of OVF was an integral part of this year’s program.

The objective of the School was to provide ICT knowledge to promote Information and Communication Technology for Sustainable Development (ICT4SD), in the Winneba region.

Pro V.C of U.E.W speaking at the Launch of the IT School, WODiV, Ghana

The school run for 2 weeks from August 10 – 21, and saw ICT knowledge being transferred from volunteers, who come from an ICT advanced region, to people who come from a region where ICT knowledge is mostly needed (Winneba).

In all there eight (8) schools from different educational levels participated in the IT school. Three students and a teacher, from each school participated.

Section of IT school participants during the training session, WODiV,Ghana.

Subjects taught ranged from hardware, software(major focus on the concept of GNU/Linux and the spirit of Open Source), to internet applications.

Participants demonstrate what they have learnt, at the IT School closing ceremony, WODiV-Ghana

Teachers who participated in the IT School were invited to a meeting to review the School, challenges and prospects.

Conclusions reached were:

• IT School 2010 will focus on teachers and students of deprived Upper Primary and Junior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana.
• One month IT School; 2 weeks for teachers(Trainer of Trainers program) and 2 weeks for students.
• Program content for Trainer of Trainers Program for IT School ’10.
• Formation of IT School ’10 Management Committee, to include the teachers, representation from Education  Directorate and Palace
• Regular meeting and communication of committee.

There was an elaborate ceremony, well attended by participants and dignitaries, to climax the IT School. Participants also demonstrated what they had been taught at the school, over the 2 weeks.

Group Photograph of Volunteers, participants of IT School and Guests, after the closing ceremony,WODiV-Ghana