Project # 1 - Education

Although there are 11 of us here, we are broken up into 4 teams, each dealing with a different client.  My team of Ken, Greg and I are working with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, which is basically the Mayor's office, providing essential services to the citizens of the capital city of Accra.  AMA Homepage

Here's a picture of the team that met at the Kickoff on Day 1.


In front - me, Samuel, Vivian, Mrs. Sackey
In back - Tony, Ken, Greg, Mr Akoto


Mrs Sackey, the Director of Budgets, is our key interface for both projects.  She's been our sounding board, has pushed the AMA participants to make change, and has been keeping the Mayor informed of our progress.

She's a lovely warm women, who is always telling stories and laughing.  We've quite enjoyed her leadership.

Our first project was focused on improving the way teachers in Accra leverage technology to improve their quality of teaching.   We started by visiting schools and the Ministry of Eduction to determine the current situation and upcoming plans.

We quickly realized that even in the "model" schools, there was an extreme lack of computer infrastructure.  Here's the view from our very first visit.

The teacher did an amazing job, considering the rows of students had 1 computer, 6 chairs and 8 or 9 students.  While we traveled around the country on weekends, we learned that even this was unusual - many students are learning a compulsory subject theoretically, and there are no computers for them to use at all!







This student was at the edge of his seat - literally!!

We met with teachers. 

We talked to teachers in the classrooms.

I love this picture of all the happy faces!

We spoke to the teachers about what they needed.  Many told us they didn't know how to turn on a computer, never mind having basic skills to manage documents, use tools, send email or access the internet.  We realized we had to take baby steps...





This classroom didn't have any wiring - the cables had been stolen as the copper is valuable!  So no fans, no lights...

Rarely did we see an electrical outlet at floor level - a requirement for powering up computers and projectors which teachers would need before we can expect them to use ICT to teach non-ICT subjects.   And of course, there is no security - the few computers that were there were exposed to theft.




However the children didn't care!  They were so sweet and welcoming...

The children were charming and loved having their picture taken!

 Ah the children are distracting me... Back to the project. 

We investigated many options to provide the tools for teachers to be able to gain needed skills and to leverage the tools and content available to improve their ability to use technology to teach.  The results included: 

• Coordination of a number of disparate programs already underway to deliver computers to the schools, and a strategy to ensure that no teacher is left behind in the development of ICT skills
• Development of a teacher portal with a taxonomy of web based teaching sites, e-learning and teacher productivity tools
• Tools to enable teachers to leverage their new skills by practicing with mark calculation spreadsheets, report cards and lesson plan development - all of which is done manually today! 
• Roadmaps for rewards and recognition, certification programs, integration with their measurement system, and communication programs to drive participation and excitement
• The development of the CKO (Chief Knowledge Office) position to ensure ongoing development of content and governance of the teacher participation and measurements
• Other long long term recommendations once workstations and basic IT skills abound and reliable high speed internet reaches all schools - there is so much more they could do!