This week I had the opportunity to sit in on classes at Rwamaga and Escaf. At Rwamagana I observed a teacher named Jaque and was able to have an extended conversation with him both before and after the class. He didn’t use the XO’s directly in the class I observed but assured me he has was excited about having the XO’s and has used them in other lessons. At Escaf I observed two different classes where the teachers were actively using the XO’s in lessons they had prepared. While all the teachers I observed were great with the students and exhibited strong teaching skills the main difference I recognized was the type of learning that was taking in place. At Rwamagana the students were taught using dictation and notes hand written on the board. It was a call and response method where Jaque recited a lesson and then asked questions to the class pertaining to what he had gone over. Although this seemed semi-effective in memorizing the direct material presented there seemed to be an implicit restriction on the ability of the students to engage with the material and expand outside of that which was given.

At Escaf the teachers gave a lesson and then turned the students loose to explore and learn without the boundaries of notes or explicit dictation. In this environment creativity, exploration and group learning was encouraged and the students were able to create their own projects. What was interesting is that even though instructions were given, the children often exceeded the expectations of the teachers with what they were able to produce. I think the distinct differences in the type of learning that was exhibited in these separate instances is what makes the XO such a valuable learning tool. Seeing this first hand led me back to the question: How can we get teachers to buy into using the XO in conjunction with their lesson plans?
One issue I was able to identify was the pace and fluidity of the class. With Jaque at Rwamagana his teaching style was very fluid and fast paced allowing him to touch on more material in one lesson using the methods of teaching he is most comfortable with. At Escaf while using the XO’s, the pace seemed to be slower and more fragmented as XO issues were addressed throughout the class with each particular student. A method that one of the teachers at Escaf utilized (and I thought was very perceptive of him) was when there was a student or group of students that quickly accomplished what he had asked of them he asked them to write the steps on the board for the other students who were draggin behind a bit. Even though he may not have known how to do everything he recognized that his students may have a better handle on the computer concepts created an environment where students were teaching other students. I think one of the main issues that hold the teachers back from using the XO’s in their classes is their own comfort level with the XO itself. Using the method of students teaching students that gap in comfort is mitigated.

One of the best moments this week also had to do with comfort. At Rwamagana we conducted teacher training with the presence of a group of Americans from Nashville, Tennessee. The presence of the Americans seemed to motivate the teachers to work harder and be more attentive with the lesson. At the end of the class, Mellissa (who did a great job teaching the lesson, guma guma Mellissa) asked if the teachers had any questions or comments. One of the teachers replied, “No fear”. In my opinion this was a big break through, and illustrated that if we can effectively motivate the teachers to learn the programs we can eliminate their fear of using the XO will start seeing more teachers using them in their classroom. Small victories are sometimes the most savory.