ARM ICT in Education Project
Africa Renewal Ministries (ARM) places great value in
providing education to children in Uganda and utilizing Information & Communication
Technologies (ICT) is one way to develop the educational opportunities of
students served by the ministry of ARM.
Through this
project, ARM will be installing computer labs in primary and secondary schools
at ARM project locations as well as enhancing the technology capabilities of
Africa Renewal University (ARU). By providing
technologies to deliver off-line content to teachers, students, health workers,
community members and other potential teachers/learners, ARM will address one
of the needs for improving education opportunities, particularly in rural
villages.
Evaluating
teacher skills and educating the teachers on ICT use must be part of this
project as well. Teachers will need to
have their technology skills developed and they must also be instructed in the
use of ICT’s in the conduct of classroom lessons. Developing computer-based learning curriculum
will be part of this project as well to ensure Ugandan Ministry of Education
curriculum requirements are met and students taught at the highest level
possible for overall achievement and the goal to attain 100% of students
passing exams.
This program
will not only include primary and secondary education components, but will also
extend to the University as students showing an aptitude for ICT can have an
opportunity for advanced degrees at ARU or other Ugandan University. One objective of this project is to establish
an incubator lab at ARU to foster creativity and develop solutions to meet the
needs of families & communities across Uganda.
To summarize, through this
project, ARM is working to provide technology to
schools, increase computer literacy, facilitate access to educational materials
even where no internet access is available and prepare students to perform at
university. Through this project, ARM
will take a significant step forward to achieve its mission to raise the Next Generation of Transformational
Christian Leaders in Uganda.
While the focus of this specific strategic plan focuses on
using technologies to improve education, the strategy cannot be in isolation of
the greater needs of ARM overall. It is
essential for the ICT infrastructure of the organization to be able to support
the specific ICT strategies deployed to the projects. Additionally, without properly considering
the impact to organization staffing and funding, none of the projects will be
sustainable. This strategic vision is to
provide a future vision that will provide transformational change to ARM’s
educational programs in support of the Mission.
PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
Very few school-aged
children in Uganda have ever seen a computer, let alone have access to learn on
one. The holistic view of using
technology in the educational system begins in ARM’s primary education program.
·
Tablet computers and educational games are ideal
for learning among the youngest students.
This does not replace
teachers, but supports the curriculum and lessons laid out for the
students. It also introduces technology
to students at a very young age to get them familiar with using technology as
part of the learning process.
·
In the primary schools, we will set up computer
labs with each having 30-40 tablets and/or computers as well as a server with
off-line content. These computers will
also be used by the community to help them learn how to use computers.
When you bring education to boys and girls,
you empower them to move
beyond their circumstances and into an opportunity to
redefine their futures.
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
·
Similar to primary grade level computer
training, the secondary schools will receive computer labs and higher level
training programs & educational materials.
·
There will also be university preparation
courses geared to prepare selected students to prepare for an IT program at Africa
Renewal University (ARU) or other Ugandan university.
·
Secondary school aged children are the ones who
will benefit the greatest from the introduction of ICT and greater access to
learning materials in the classroom.
They are more capable of independent learning and need to develop
research skills as well as improving critical thinking.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND
DEVELOPMENT
·
Computer labs at the project locations will also
be used by the community to help them learn how to use computers.
·
In addition to community education, programs can
be implemented to facilitate economic development and trade of goods/services
with other villages.
·
There will also be university preparation
courses geared to prepare selected students to prepare for an IT program at a
Ugandan university.
AFRICA RENEWAL UNIVERSITY
Africa Renewal University has established an IT Diploma
program and has also begun work on a Bachelor’s degree program. Few of the students currently arriving at ARU
for the IT program have even seen a computer.
·
ARU has established 2 separate computer labs for
student use for normal class purposes.
·
Much of the content available on the RACHEL
server is suitable for university-level classes and research. The content can be delivered on a RACHEL Plus
server or loaded on an ARU web server and delivered as local off-line content
available to any student on the ARU local area network.
·
There is a desire to establish an “Incubator
lab” that would allow students to develop applications or find ways to use
technologies available to them to address real needs in their communities.
·
ARU students can develop additional content and
assist teachers with learning how to use the technology, training materials and
conduct classroom lessons to enhance learning of the children.
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
In addition to the educational needs of students in the
schools, something that MUST be considered are the administrative needs of the
school. This includes administering and
tracking of tests, student records, class progress and all of the other
administrative needs of the school.
Historically, this has been done in traditional paper and binder
fashion, but with the ability to take tests on computers, there is both a need
and an opportunity to enhance the administrative tasks of school teachers and
headmasters.
RENEWAL HEALHCARE NETWORK
Renewal Healthcare Network (RHN) Doctors, Nurses and other
staff have access to a large volume of content for reference as well as
conducting community education in areas such as disease prevention, sanitation
& hygiene. A laptop with the
off-line content loaded can serve as a tool for conducting training for
individuals, village health teams, schools, families or any other group. This would expand the reach of the local
clinics and its healthcare workers into the community in providing education as
part of the overall community development program and ARM’s reach into the
country.
ARM ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATION
ARM has long been looking for ways to expand their use of
technology and expand the capacity to better serve its headquarters operating
needs as well as better supporting communication and operations at the various
project locations. Some of the
high-level need identified in a 2013 ICT Assessment include:
·
Making all the 26 offices networked with Gaba
utilizing fast internet, faster computers.
·
Utilize this network to enable phone
communications using VoIP. This will reduce
cell phone costs dramatically between locations.
·
Install solar power solutions at each location
to provide some level of reliable electricity to power computers.
- Each project will need a computer,
printer/scanner, and good digital camera.
- The following locations
comprise the core locations that require servicing by the central computer
systems at ARM HQ in Gaba:
o ARM
offices
o Gaba
Community Church
o Maranatha
High School
o Maranatha
Primary School
o Wentz
Medical Center
o Loving
Hearts Babies Home.
·
There is a continuing need for increased
internet bandwidth to support these locations.
Additionally, we should evaluate point-to-point wireless connection
RESOURCES
These are a few of the content and technology providers that we are currently examining for this project. There are MANY more possible, but this is a start.
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